Exploring Preservice Teachers’ Mental Models of the Environment

Abstract

A major premise underlying this chapter is that if preservice teachers are aware of their mental models of the environment, they will want to develop more accurate images that inform how they will teach about the environment in the future. This chapter describes how we used drawings as a survey tool to uncover preservice teachers’ mental models of the environment, our findings, and programmatic changes that we implemented as a response to our study. Building on previous science education research using drawings that describe preservice teachers’ beliefs about the subject of science, we developed the Draw-An-Environment Test (DAET). We then developed a rubric based on the NAAEE Guidelines for the Preparation and Professional Development of Environmental Educators (2004) for scoring the drawings, the Draw-An-Environment Test Rubric (DAET-R), to quantitatively analyze the data collected using the DAET.

Appendices

Appendix A: Draw-an-Environment Test

Date: _________ID#____________________

In the space below draw a picture of what you think the environment is. Below that, please provide your definition of the environment (in words).

My drawing of the environment is:

My definition of the environment is:

(Adapted from Wee, B., Harbor, J., and Shepardson, D. (2004), November). Multiculturalism in Environmental Science: A snapshot of Singapore. Paper ­presented at North American Association for Environmental Education Conference, Biloxi, MS)

Appendix B: Draw-an-Environment Test – Rubric (DAET-R)

Date: _________ID#:____________________

		Present	Interactions with other factors	System interactions made explicit
Factor	0 Points	1 Point	2 Points	3 Points	Score
Human	Drawing does not contain pictures of humans	Human(s) drawn without any apparent interaction with other factors	Human(s) drawn interacting with other humans and/or another factor (e.g., human fishing or walking on a bridge), but without special emphasis placed on the influence of the interaction on the environment	Humans drawn with obvious deliberate emphasis placed on interaction with one or more factors and the influence of that interaction on the environment through the use of special indicators such as conceptual labels and/or arrows
Living	Drawing does not contain pictures of living organisms	Living organisms (e.g., plants and animals) drawn without any apparent interaction with other factors	Living organisms drawn interacting with other living organisms and/or another factor (e.g., animals grazing), but without special emphasis placed on the influence of the interaction on the environment	Living organisms drawn with obvious deliberate emphasis placed on interaction with one or more factors and the influence of that interaction on the environment through the use of special indicators such as conceptual labels and/or arrows
Abiotic	Drawing does not contain pictures of abiotic factors	Abiotic items (e.g., mountains, rivers, Sun, or clouds) drawn without any apparent interaction with other factors	Abiotic items drawn interacting with other abiotic items and/or another factor (e.g., wind blowing a palm tree), but without special emphasis placed on the influence of the interaction on the environment	Abiotic items drawn with obvious deliberate emphasis placed on interaction with one or more factors and the influence of that interaction on the environment through the use of special indicators such as conceptual labels and/or arrows
Human-built or designed	Drawing does not contain pictures of human-built factors	Human-built or designed items (e.g., buildings, automobiles, and bridges) drawn without any apparent interaction with other factors	Human-built items drawn interacting with other human built items and/or another factor (e.g., smokestack emitting smoke into the air), but without special emphasis placed on the influence of the interaction on the environment	Obvious deliberate emphasis placed on one human-built item interacting with one or more factors and the influence of that interaction on the environment through the use of special indicators such as conceptual labels and/or arrows
				Total possible points: 12 Total points:

© Perrotta, B., Moseley, C., & Cantu, L. (2008)

Directions: Assign points for each Factor – Human, Living, Abiotic, Built – based on whether the factor is merely present in the drawing (1 point), interacting with other Factors in the drawing (2 points), or interacting with special additional emphasis placed on the influence of the interaction on the environment (3 points). Factors that are not drawn do not receive points (0 points). Factors must be drawn to be scored. Implied relationships do not receive a score. For example, if a subject draws a house but there are no drawn humans, it cannot be assumed the subject infers humans in the drawing. Diagrams without drawings of factors receive a score of “0.”

Conceptual Label

A label that depicts interactions between one or more factors and an influence of that interaction on the environment is considered a conceptual label. For example, smog indicates interactions between abiotic, human, and built factors. A cloud labeled as water cycle instead of just cloud indicates interaction between abiotic and living factors. Trash and garbage indicates interaction between human and abiotic factors and the influence of that by-product on the environment.

Identification Label

Identification labels are different from conceptual labels in that they merely identify the object (tree, dog, house, etc.).