Analyzing students’ drawings of the greenhouse effect: common features associated to the understanding of the phenomenon

Abstract This paper studies the use of students’ drawings to investigate their conceptualizations of the physical mechanisms underlying the greenhouse effect at various levels of education. As a method of investigation, grids were created to investigate key elements of students’ drawings to understand their mental models. The results show a lack of clear distinction between atmosphere and greenhouse gases in a significant portion of the drawings, highlighting common challenges in conceptualization. It is also noted that students’ representations are influenced by external sources, suggesting that the analysis should be extended to textbooks and online content. This study demonstrates, therefore, how students’ drawings can be used as qualitative tools to explore their mental models of greenhouse effect.