Exploring a hydrological concept through children's drawings

Young children enjoy drawing, but it is an underused method of probing their understanding of scientific concepts. This paper investigates children's drawings of a river basin, a concept linked to the water-cycle. The drawings of 306 children aged 9-11 from five schools are analysed and categorized into model types corresponding to five levels of understanding. Exemplars of each type are reproduced and discussed. An analysis of orientation reveals that a significant majority of children draw rivers which flow from left to right, or down the page. It is proposed that the preferred orientations are explained by research into stroke patterns, directionality and sequencing. A content analysis suggests that the fluvial environment is largely perceived in a rural setting, a finding supported by previous research. An agenda for further research into the ways children's drawings could be used to explore scientific concepts is suggested.