And the Goodenough- Harris Draw-A-Man Test

By: Katelyn Peterson

                                                                 

A Brief HistoryBorn August 6, 1886 in Honesdale, Pennsylvania 1908 graduated from Normal School in Millersville, Pennsylvania degree in Pedagogy1920 graduated from Columbia University in New York with a B.S.Received her PhD from Stanford University in 1924moved to Minneapolis Minnesota where she was appointed an assistant professor of Child Welfare at the University of MinnesotaDied April 4, 1959 in Lakeland, FL while visiting her sister. She died of a stroke

Contributions to Psychology

Published nine books and 26 articles (three of the books written while in retirement due to failing eyesight and hearing)Introduced the Minnesota Scale of Paternal OccupationsContributed to the Stanford-Binet I.Q. test in 1921 Listed as a contributor to Lewis Terman’s book Genetic Study of Genius 1925Served as president of the Society for Research in Child Development from 1946-1947Listed in the Watson directory of Outstanding Contributors to Psychology

Draw-A-Man TestWas first introduced in 1926 in Goodenough’s first book Measurement of Intelligence by DrawingWas the first non-verbal standardized test to decipher the cognitive level of young children.Was created to be administer to 4-10 year olds.Children are given a piece of paper, a pencil and ten minutes to complete the test.A point is given for every characteristic depicted on the man.

The original scale was 51 points

Dale B. Harris

Previous student of GoodenoughRevised the Test in 1963 in his work Children’s Drawings as Measures of Intellectual MaturityExtended the scale to 73 points, wanted to add to the test not change itAdded a draw-a-woman and draw yourself section to the testExtended the age range to adolescence

Key TermsTime Sampling: A study of subjects behavior for a certain period of timeEvent Sampling: observing a certain behavior and counting on how it occursIntelligence Quotient (IQ): a number arrived at my means of intelligence tests, intended to express the degree of intelligence of an individual in relation to the average for the age-group

Terms Continued…Cognitive Development: the process that includes perception, conceptualizing, knowing, judging, and reasoningRaw Score: the number of points each child receives for their drawingStandard Score: The raw score in relation to the age of the child.

Importance of a Draw TestThere is a close relationship between the concept development of drawing and general intelligenceDrawing is a primary language to children rather than a means of creating beautyThe order of development in drawing is consistent through all different social and economic backgroundsChildren draw what they know

Importance of the ManThe man was chosen because it

closely follows the four specifications • It must be something with which all

children are equally familiar• It must present as little variability in

its essential characteristics as possible

• It must be simple enough for a child, yet hard enough for an adult

• It has to be of universal importance

                                                                 

Draw-A-Man Analysis by Harris

Montessori MethodCreated my Maria Montessori (1870-1952)Self-directed activity on the part of the child and clinical observation on the part of the teacherDiscourages traditional measurement of intelligence (such as grades or tests)Research shows that children that attend Montessori schools score significantly lower on standardized tests

My HypothesisThe Draw-A-Man test is unlike any other standardized test in that it is not based on a question-answer format. I believe that because the Draw-A-Man test is so distinct in this way, that the Montessori children will exhibit the same scores, if not higher than the Traditional school children. I also believe, as correlated to the data found by Goodenough and Harris, that the girls will exceed the boys in their score range. I seek to prove that the Montessori children will show similar if not higher cognitive development as the traditional school children.

The SchoolsPeak Preparatory

Opened in 200490% Minority, is a college preparatory school

St. Alcuin Montessori School in Dallas TXFounded 1964 and is one of the largest Montessori schools in the United StatesBegins with a Toddler program and goes to 8th grade

The StudentsThe Montessori students were ages 8 and 9 from 2 different 3rd grade classrooms.

8 boys and 6 girlsThe Peak students were all ages 9 from the 4th grade classrooms (because Peak does not yet have a 3rd grade). One was from 2nd grade.

6 boys and 9 girls

The ProcedureEvery student was given a blank piece of printer paper and a sharpened # 2 pencil. They were all given exactly 10 minutes to complete their drawings.The students were told the same:

I’m doing a school project for a psychology class that I am taking. Can you help me? Please listen carefully. On this paper I want you to draw a man. Make the very best man that you can. Take your time and work very carefully. Be sure to make a whole man and not just the head and shoulders. Try not to talk to your neighbor and work by yourself. Try very hard and see what good pictures you can make.

After the Test the students were asked to write their name, their birthday and their school on the back of the paper. They were thanked and brought back to their classrooms.

The Students Score Averages

Montessori Boys: 37.38

Montessori Girls: 43.7

Traditional Boys: 36.33

Traditional Girls: 34

The Students Standard Score Average

Montessori Boys: 114

Montessori Girls: 123.83

Traditional Boys: 107.5

Traditional Girls: 103.6

The Average Results

Montessori Vs. Peak

St. Alcuin Montessori

Name Age Raw Standard

Zanot 9 50 133

Dylan 9 39 114

Theo 8 41 129

Preston 9 30 99

Ben 9 34 105

Brock 8 38 123

Campbell

9 33 104

Nicholas

9 34 105

Avery 9 44 121

Ilsa 8 45 133Mackenzie

9 38 111

Caroline

9 45 123

Sterling 8 42 127

Georgia 9 48 128

Peak Preparatory Traditional

Name Age Raw Standard

Teabaldo

9 27 89

Johnny 9 35 107

Rafael 9 46 126

Eduardo

9 38 112

Adam 9 37 110

Geraldo

9 35 101

Brianna

9 43 119

Susan 9 37 109

April 9 25 88

Miriam 9 31 98

Cindy 9 31 98

Elyssia 9 31 98

Cecilia 9 26 90

Ana 9 37 109

Daniel 9 45 123

The Best DrawingsBest Boy

Standard Score: 133

Best GirlStandard Score: 133

The Lowest DrawingsLowest Boy

Standard Score: 89

Lowest GirlStandard Score: 88

ConclusionI was right

The Montessori children scored higher overall than the traditional school children did.The girls scored overall higher than the boys (even with an alternated scale.)

Limitations

The children were not in the same grade level, even though they were roughly the same age.Distractions to the studentsThey were not in their actual classroom, like Goodenough would have intendedStudents discussed their drawingsNot a true sample sizePeak is not exactly the most common of traditional schoolsI know that 2/7 of the Montessori Children had learning disabilities, but I don’t know about the Traditional children.

Nature V. Nurture

•Nature

•Nurture

•Goodenough•Harris

•Goodenough and Harris tested the skills of children based on the principle that they draw what they know. This assumes that children will not be taught past their cognitive stage of development

•Montessori

•Locke

•Rousseau

•Montessori believed that children should have self-directed learning with little as little interference as possible. The use of self-correcting tools implies that the children teach themselves as best they can and the teacher is simply an

observer in the process.