Stereotypes, written by Alec Bodzin and Mike Gehringer. A study was conducted and students were asked to draw a picture of what they thought scientists looked like as a way to get a better understanding of what they thought scientist looked like. The results were that many students view scientists as white males with stereotypical items such as a lab coat and eyeglasses. The class that participated in this study was then visited by a variety of scientists who did not fit the students original perception of what a scientist was. After he visit, many of the students drawing changed! Some students drew pictures of female scientists and included other images that were less stereotypical than the original drawings. It was concluded that the interaction between the students and the scientists influenced students and their perceptions of what they thought scientists looked like. Seeing scientists face to face helped to break many of the stereotypes that students originally had in their minds. The researchers concluded that there needs to be a way that scientists can be more involved with elementary school students so that students can be engaged and get a better understanding of what scientists are!
I thought this was an excellent article because it was a great study that was conducted about the perception of what students think scientists are. I think it was an awesome idea that real life scientists were brought into the classroom to meet the students. It is great to give students a time to interact with real scientists and give them the opportunity to meet and see that they are just like us. This can also inspire students to realize that that can be them one day!
We participated in this stereotype breakthrough the first day of science methods with Dr. Smirnova. She gave us each a a piece of paper and asked us to draw a picture of a scientist and give them a name. Even as college students, we all had a stereotypical scientist drawing. We walked around the classroom and looked at each other's drawing. Most of the scientists were, in fact, males with glasses just like the study concluded in the article!
I think it is extremely important to break stereotypes within the classroom at any level. I chose this article to write about because I wanted to see how the stereotypes were researched and broken within this study. I think having the scientist come in was one great way of breaking through the stereotypes and if it is possible to have real life appearances, it can break many other stereotypes. As a teacher, you also have to be willing to talk about the stereotypes and then show students those are not always true.
Bodzin, A., & Gehringer, M. (2001, January). Breaking Science Stereotypes. Science and Children, 36-41.
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