Children's stereotypes about scientists have been postulated to affect student science identity and interest in science. Findings from prior studies using "Draw a Scientist Test" methods suggest that students see scientists as largely white, often unattractive, men; one consequence may be that girls and minority students feel a science career is "not like me". However, a major shortcoming in prior research is that scholars have asked children to draw only scientists, thus making interpretations of earlier research findings ambiguous. We added other professionals to compare how 616 drawings of teachers, scientists, and veterinarians by 206 elementary school children varied by student gender, ethnicity, and grade. Students made clear distinctions: drawing teachers as most attractive and largely female, and scientists as most often male and least attractive. Aspects of the drawings suggest that scientists do have an "image problem" among children. However, large sex differences in the drawings and often-unrecognizable gender figures in boys' pictures lead us to question use of the "Draw a Scientist Test" as a projective test among young children.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether and how elementary teachers' thinking and instruction changed as a result of a teacher research experience. Each teacher worked with a scientist conducting research for a period of six weeks. Data in the form of classroom observations and interviews was collected before and after the research experience. Also, document analysis of journals kept during the research experience was conducted. Case studies for three elementary teachers describe the specific changes to thinking and instruction that resulted from the research experience and how such changes differed between beginning and experienced elementary teachers.

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