Geoscientists’ drawings of natural selection

Abstract

Natural selection is a fundamental scientific process, yet students and educators alike demonstrate misconceptions of the process. Though images are used often in science to facilitate learning, it is less common to assess learners’ understanding through their own drawings. This study utilizes a multiple-choice assessment of evolutionary processes and a drawing prompt to investigate participants’ abilities to draw the process of natural selection. We analyzed multiple-choice assessments and drawings from 109 geoscientists from a range of career levels. Drawings were coded for the presence of six components of natural selection. We found that geoscientists scored better on the six-point multiple-choice assessment (mean = 4.2, SD = 1.1) than on the six-point drawing score (mean = 3.0, SD = 1.8). A regression analysis was performed on drawing scores to explore predictors of more complete drawings. Higher multiple-choice scores were a significant predictor of higher drawing scores. The regression analysis also indicated that women scored significantly higher on their drawings. Our results suggest that drawings may be useful assessment tools for measuring understanding of natural selection, and that images used in teaching natural selection are recalled by learners when drawing natural selection. The mismatch between recall and scientific models suggests modifications to artwork used in instruction might be beneficial.