Using drawings to investigate the image of mathematics

The use of drawings in education as a measure of students' perceptions of teaching and learning mathematics has been found to be valid, reliable, and useful (e.g. Laine, Ahtee, & Naveri, 2020). Throughout the years, drawings have been widely used to elicit data from students relating to their views about mathematics (Rock & Show, 2000), mathematicians (Hatisaru, in press; Picker & Berry, 2001), mathematics teaching (Hatisaru, under review), perceptions of assessment practices in mathematics classrooms (Remesal, 2009), and the types of work experienced in mathematics lessons (Pehkonen, Ahtee, & Laine, 2016).

The focus of the workshop is the elaboration of the drawing method. In the workshop, I present the Draw a Mathematics Classroom instrument and its associated rubrics and outline the key elements (e.g. content analysis in an inductive or deductive approach, reliability checks), strength s, and limitations of using drawing instruments to explicate individuals' thinking and perceptions. I share data analysis processes and present data from Turkish lower secondary students' (aged 12 to 15 years old) depictions of a mathematics classroom (Hatisaru, 2020). Finally, workshop participants reflect upon ways in which using the drawing approach may be useful in their own research.