When Children Draw Versus When Children Don’t: Exploring the Effects of Observational Drawings

• In Event: Advancing Teachers Through Research

Abstract

The purpose of this study is 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 qualify 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).

Authors

• Jill Fox, University of Houston - Victoria

• Joohi Lee, The University of Texas - Arlington