The first method is Drawing Mental Models and the second is Building Physical Models. Drawing Mental Models Alice Sampson's students draw molecules, Michael Wayne's students draw cells, Tim Carter's students draw waves, and Gretchen Bourdeau's students draw planets. Although Alice, Michael, Tim, and Gretchen teach different science disciplines, they have at least two things in common. This method opens windows into students' minds, allowing teachers to examine students' mental models of science concepts. Drawing to Learn Science Drawing is a natural way to help students build mental models of key concepts.
Drawing is inherently constructive in nature and students find it intrinsically motivating.
They never seem to lose interest when they're drawing what's in their minds. Drawing is effective even when the number of students in a class is large, time is short, and concepts are complex. Drawing mental models shouldn't be confused with other methods such as concept mapping in which students write the names of subconcepts, connect them, and label their relations. Students' Mental Models Drawing mental models can benefit students in all science disciplines because it helps students to consolidate their thinking about a concept and identify any misconceptions they might have. These students all had common misconceptions that were cleared up by discussing their drawings with them, comparing their drawings to valid models, teaching them more about the concepts in question, and helping them to understand the conceptual features that were confusing.