Drawing-to-assess: validating methods for drawing analysis

The National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate Education awarded Michigan State University $398,264 on October 1, 2026, under the STEM Education program (CFDA 47.076) to validate drawing-analysis methods for assessing student learning in undergraduate STEM courses.

The project will evaluate the validity and reliability of five drawing assessment approaches—rubric scoring, semiotic analysis, manual grouping, factor analysis, and artificial intelligence analysis—to establish whether drawings function as effective alternatives to traditional scale-based assessment methods. The work addresses gaps in undergraduate learning assessment by generating evidence and guidance for educators and researchers on using visual representations to measure student understanding and identify learning barriers.

Performance runs through September 30, 2029, at Michigan State University's East Lansing, Michigan campus. The project is a Level 1 Engaged Student Learning initiative designed to contribute to exemplary undergraduate science education by establishing drawings as a usable, regular practice for classroom and research assessment in STEM contexts.

Abstract

This project aims to serve the national interest by building evidence for using drawings as tools to measure student ideas and feelings. This level 1 engaged student learning project addresses gaps in approaches to assessing student learning, potentially offering a novel approach to measure learning in stem undergraduate courses. This project intends to contribute to the development of exemplary undergraduate science education through encouraging new modes of student assessment. Ultimately, drawings provide a mechanism for evaluating constructs not as easily measured through other means. As learning and assessment activities, drawings can help students recognize their own misunderstandings and emotional barriers to learning, as well as provide a visual record of student learning across time. This project will provide researchers and educators with evidence and guidance needed for drawings to become a more usable and regular practice for classroom and research assessment. This project recognizes the unique place visualizations have in science, and the fundamental role visual communication of ideas plays in scientists? Ability to communicate complex ideas. The primary goal of this project is to establish validity and reliability of drawing analysis as a means for assessing student learning. The project plans to provide a foundation for drawings to be an effective alternative measure to more traditional scale approaches for assessing student outcomes. In the context of undergraduate stem education, the project will evaluate the validity and reliability of five different drawing assessment methods: rubric score, semiotic analysis, manual grouping, factor analysis, and artificial intelligence analysis. This will allow a comparison of validity and reliability evidence and determine conditions under which each approach is effective or ineffective as well as provide evidence-based guidance for utilizing drawings for assessment in undergraduate classrooms and for research. The NSF iuse: EDU program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of stem education for all students. Through the engaged student learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.