Investigating Perceptions of Teachers and Teaching Using the Draw-a-Teacher Checklist

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine differences in the pictorial representations of what teaching “looks like†for undergraduate students, intern teachers and graduate students enrolled in education classes. This new Draw-a-Teacher Checklist instrument was modeled after the Draw-a-Science-Teacher-Test Checklist (DASTT-C) developed by Thomas, Pedersen, and Finson (2001). A scoring checklist was created using the 150 pictures drawn by each participant. The data showed that the checklist did accurately measure the drawing appearance on the continuum from teacher-centered to student-centered. In addition, the study found that the majority of the undergraduate and graduate participants drew teacher-centered pictures while the interns recognized the importance of teaching with a more balanced approach.