When Children Draw vs When Children Don’t: Exploring the Effects of Observational Drawing in Science

Jill E. Fox, Joohi Lee

University of Houston, Victoria, Victoria, USA.
University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, USA.

DOI: 10.4236/ce.2013.47A1002                

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate how kindergarten children’s observational drawings impact their information retention. This research was conducted in an urban school in a large metropolitan area in the southwestern United States. Forty-two kindergarten children participated in this study; approximately 97% of them qualified for free and/or reduced lunch. For this study, children’s retention of factual information was compared using a paired t-test of when they drew and when they didn’t. Children scored higher on all 7 items—descriptions of observation, location, action, color, size, shape, and sound—when they drew than when they didn’t. Findings were statistically significant for descriptions of observation (t = 3.08, p = .00) and location (t = 2.36, p = .02).

Keywords

Observation; Observational Drawing; Scientific Drawing

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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