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“Your observations are to be taken with greatpains and accuracy, to be entered as distinctlyand intel ligently for others as well as yourself,

to comprehend all the elements necessary….”—Letter f rom Thomas Jefferson to Mer iwether Lewis , June 20 , 1803

Reviving the tradition ofthe naturalist’s journal asan effective learning tool

Writing DrawingIN THE

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As we observe the 200th anniversary of the Lewisand Clark expedition, we recall that Jefferson’sinstructions to keep journals of the expedition’sdiscoveries reflected an outlook prevalent sincethe Renaissance: The proper way to learnabout and record our experience of nature wasby integrating science and art. Today’s stu-dents often think of the goals and methods ofscience and art as separate and even opposingdisciplines. However, the mutually reinforc-ing integration of science and art is clearlyseen in the journals and notebooks kept bycreative thinkers and explorers since thetime of Leonardo da Vinci. The naturalist’sjournal is an effective tool for learningabout nature and science and can be an ef-fective teaching strategy.

What is a naturalist’s journal?The naturalist’s journal is a collection ofwritings and sketches that captures selectedthoughts or observations of nature and rep-resents both immediate learning and rawmaterial that is available for more polishedwork. During one course or sometimesover several related courses, our studentswrite and draw in bound, unlined note-books to nurture their powers of observa-tion and encourage constructive thoughtabout their environment. The journalplaces students in the frame of referenceof past centuries of naturalists.

Why revive the naturalist’s journalas a teaching and learning tool? Creat-ing naturalist’s journals helps studentsconnect to and engage with nature, asthey increase their familiarity, under-standing, and positive attitudes re-garding the natural environment.For many students, life in the artifi-

cial environment of climate-controlled schools, malls, andautomobiles makes the natural environment seem periph-eral and irrelevant. In addition, formal learning is increas-ingly based on electronic, prepackaged information trans-fer. Yet science teachers know that direct experience andcreative use of that experience is essential to excite andengage the learner. Furthermore, while creating theirnaturalist’s journals, students learn that science is a processthat requires creativity based on their observations of thenatural world and the questions these observations create.Ownership of their experiences of creating the journal re-inforces active learning.

Finally, much learning theory suggests that authenticlearning happens more often when the full range of humanabilities is integrated. Writing and drawing—the major ele-ments of the naturalist’s journal—use verbal, analytic, andlogical abilities (writing) and also nonverbal, spatial, andsynthetic abilities (drawing). In addition to the seven “intel-ligences” originally identified by Howard Gardner’s pio-neering work on multiple intelligences, he has identified anadditional intelligence: the naturalistic intelligence, which in-cludes the ability to recognize and classify patterns and or-ganisms in the natural environment (Gardner 1999).

General guidelines and suggestionsThe journal can be used in many settings, from nature centersto museums to the classroom. The journals are ideal for fieldtrips, which may be as simple as visits to woods or parks oreven in the schoolyard or campus itself. Journals can be fur-ther developed in the lab, where specimens collected in thefield can be examined and described more easily.

In their journals students should use both written de-scriptions and drawings. Students can experiment withthese modes of thought and expression to discover howthey complement each other in capturing field experi-ences. Students should keep an open mind, but also learnto be selective. At first, they may not know what to ob-serve and record. However, as student abilities improve,they often become overwhelmed by the abundance of pos-sibilities. It is important to help them focus on limited setsof observations selected to fit that day’s learning goals.

The concept of the naturalist’s journal is flexible. Forexample, students could each create a few loose pages ofnotes and drawings and then share their findings to createone group journal. Regardless of the finished product, spe-cific criteria for grading can be established. Criteria mayinclude completeness and clarity (did the students makean effort?), effective use of outside information (were stu-dents able to relate observations to previous knowledge?),observation ability (are there details that indicate studentreally looked?), and synthesis of observations and thoughts(did students think about what they observed?). Studentsare often interested in what others have done, and lookingat the journals of others allows them to share observations,interpretations and style. After discussing what they se-lected and how they presented that in their journals, stu-dents might list new strategies they will use during theirnext field experience. The variations in student sketches ofthe same scene point out that observation is subjective andthat selection of features to include in a sketch may bepersonally and even culturally embedded.

The field is often wet and dirty and time is limited, soconsider having students keep two sets of records. Theycan use a pocketsize field notebook for capturing impres-

Joseph M. Dirnberger , Steven McCul lagh , and Tom Howick

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sions under difficult conditions and later transfer the day’srecords to the journal (at least 14 × 12 cm). This systemalso allows them to expand the notes (using their memoryof the day’s experiences) and to consult field guides orother resources to answer questions.

Writing in journalsWriting is an effective way to personalize an experienceand to learn from it. Most thinking and communicatinguses language, and writing requires usto “make sense” of our observationsand experiences. In addition, writingelicits associations with past experi-ence and knowledge, providing op-portunities for synthesis. Importantly,the act of writing is often genera-tive—new insights and questions mayoccur as we write. Here are some sug-gestions on how students should ap-proach writing in their journal.

For each field experience studentsshould answer the classic journalisticquestions: who, what, when, where,why, and how. They identify thestudy site, describe its location rela-tive to other landmarks, describe theenvironmental conditions, and notethe date and time of day. Why- andhow-type questions may be morespeculative as we observe, for ex-ample, relationships between compo-nents of the environment or the

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Representing only part of the radially symmetric anemonecaptures needed information. Perhaps, what is of interestor is relevant is the bird’s foot, so why draw the whole bird?

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Note the scribbling stroke and how the pencil has rarelybeen lifted from the page in parts of the picture. Also notethat the pencil was lifted when drawing finer branches.Though all branches on the tree are connected, it is notnecessary to do this in the drawing.

structures and behaviors that allow organisms to survivein that environment.

Generally, the writing style should be straightfor-ward, simple declarative sentences. Full sentences are

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This cross-sectional view of the beach was not observed directly, but insteadreconstructed after collecting from forest to shoreline.

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best—they force the writer to tell the whole story. Lists(e.g., of organisms observed) or other organizing strate-gies and descriptions of quantitative data-gathering tech-niques that are part of the field study are also appropri-ate. Students should also include relevant nonvisualinformation, such as sounds, smells, and textures.

In addition to using descriptive writing, students canalso record questions that arise from their field observa-tions. These questions can be a rich source for discussionand future studies. Students should leave room in thejournal to respond further to those questions after addi-tional experiences and insights.

Students should practice thinking and communicat-ing using terms that are appropriate for the goals of theexperience. Often part of the learning task is connectingthe most precise language to observations made in thefield. Examples include descriptive terminology appro-

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Detail on veins is only drawn on part of one leaf, yet thedrawing conveys the needed information.

priate to particular habitats or common and scientificnames for organisms. (Students could use a straight un-derline for scientific names of organisms and a wavyunderline for common names and major place names.)

Personal reactions can be useful in engaging studentand recalling experiences later. However, studentsshould try to transform the aesthetic reaction “Great sun-set…” into several descriptive lines (e.g., noting colors,time and duration, and atmospheric conditions), to makethe journal richer and more meaningful.

Students should be flexible and experiment. Depend-ing on the goals of the field experience, it may even beappropriate to capture observations through poetry. Theultimate examples of focused selection and disciplinedexpression may be the poetic forms of Japanese haiku.

Finally, students should leave room in the journal totie things together. Periodically, students should write abrief synthesis from the experiences of that day or week,or in a particular environment. Even for brief field expe-riences, the teacher can ask students “What were yourthree most outstanding observations?”

Drawing in journalsArtists and natural scientists follow remarkably similarpaths in the way they learn to see the world (Dirnberger2004). The first step in the scientific process is observingthe natural world. To develop truly original ideas andinsights, investigators must see things outside their nor-mal context. To draw effectively, artists must do thesame. Betty Edwards writes, “Drawing is not very diffi-cult. Seeing is the problem, or, to be more specific, shift-ing to a particular way of seeing…to see things in a differ-ent way” (1999). Edwards’s book provides numerousexercises to help beginners overcome the belief that theycannot draw. Alternatively, an art teacher may be invitedin to help reluctant students get their pencils moving.(Note: The article by April Hobart, “Sketching in Na-ture,” found in this issue on page 30, provides one artist’sspecific strategies to help students and teachers becomemore confident in their drawing).

Some students will be discouraged with their drawingattempts despite practice, but teachers should remind themthat drawing has purposes other than to produce a master-piece. Drawing enhances observation and retention and re-quires attention to detail and overall composition. In addition,drawing captures large amounts of information. For ex-ample, a simple sketch of topography can easily convey whatotherwise would be difficult to describe in a few words.

Limited time in the field provides both challenges andopportunity. Students must use techniques that lend them-selves to capturing information rapidly; in doing this theylearn to “see things in a different way,” as artists andscientists should. Students must select from what they see,that which conveys important information (Figure 1). Of-ten, drawing only part of an organism or landscape ac-

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complishes this (Figure 1, p. 40). A scribbling stroke is auseful technique for rapid sketches in the field (Figure 2,p. 40). Not every drawing must be “as it is seen.” Obser-vations can be synthesized into conceptual illustrationsthat summarize information (Figure 3, p. 40). Studentsshould take advantage of lighter spaces and lack of de-fined edges. By leaving light space and subtle edges blank,

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Maps can effectively synthesize observations made sequentially over time,such as in this hike upstream.

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Depth is given to the subject by wetting and smearingwater-soluble ink near areas that should be darker.

students save time in the field sketch andoften the sketch appears more “realistic”(Figure 4, p. 41).

Maps are important both for futurereference and because they can conveyan experience or process (Figure 5). Al-though the student map in Figure 5 failsto do this, students must also label thescale of their drawings.

A pencil and easer are sufficient materi-als for the journal activity, though teachersmay wish to encourage other media as well.Colors created from a field watercolor kit orcolor pencil set can add important informa-tion (Figures 1 and 4). Students drawing aquick field sketch with a water-soluble felt-tip pen can add depth later with an equallyquick brush and water touch-up (Figure 6).Students may wish to make partial fieldsketches then add detail upon returning tothe van, camp, classroom, or home. Quicknotes on colors, textures, and detail lightly

penciled in next to partial sketches will make this easier.However, often a quick field sketch alone will suffice inconveying information.

Connecting with natureWe have found that the naturalist’s journal can help stu-dents use their field experiences to change the way theyunderstand nature and science. The journal is a tool fortranslating their experiences into verbal and visual lan-guage through processes that are both analytical and cre-ative. At the same time, it can bring to the surface feelingsabout nature. Most importantly, the naturalist’s journalcan be a vehicle to help students explore the connectionsbetween how they perceive and think about natural phe-nomena and how they value our natural environment. It isour hope that learning to see the natural world in a differ-ent way may lead to thinking, feeling, and acting withmore appreciation and respect for nature. n

Joe Dirnberger (e-mail: jdirnber@kennesaw.edu) is a profes-sor of biology and Steven McCullagh (e-mail: smcculla@kennesaw.edu) is an associate professor of biology, both atKennesaw State University, Department of Biological andPhysical Sciences, 1000 Chastain Road, Kennesaw, GA30144; and Tom Howick (e-mail: thowick@bellsouth.net) isa former professor at Kennesaw State University,387 Wiggins Creek Drive, Sewanee, TN 37375.

References

Dirnberger, J.M. Forthcoming. Drawing on nature. Science Scope.Edwards, B. 1999. The new drawing on the right side of the brain.

New York: Tarcher/Putnam.Gardner, H. 1999. Intelligence reframed: Multiple intelligences for the

21st century. New York: Basic Books.