 which might lead to their ideas being developed further. Typical examples of the concept cartoons which were generated are shown in Figures 1 and 2 (Keogh and Naylor, 1996).
A positive response from the students concerned led to the decision to research the use of these concept cartoons systematically. The concept cartoons appeared to provide an innovative and effective approach to teaching and learning in science, with considerable potential value for teachers. They also appeared to address some of the issues mentioned above, raising the possibility of offering an approach to teaching and learning in science which took account of the central principles of constructivist perspectives and which was firmly based on typical classroom practice.
Research literature provided a ready source of possible alternative viewpoints which could be presented in a cartoon-style format. Driver et al (1985), SPACE Research Reports (1990-2) and Driver et al (1994) were particularly useful as sources of alternative conceptions. Other sources of inspiration were our own teaching experience, suggestions from colleagues and everyday life experience.
There are some limited references to cartoons and annotated drawings in the science education literature. They have been used for eliciting the learner's ideas (White and Gunstone, 1992; Hayes et al, 1994), for illustrating scientific ideas (Gonick and Huffman, 1990) and as a stimulus to reflection on attitudes in science (Lock, 1991). However the approaches described in the literature do not attempt to explore the use of cartoon-style drawings as a teaching and learning approach in science in a systematic way.
In contrast to much educational research, which is sometimes criticised on the grounds that it is frequently of little practical benefit to teachers (Hopkins, 1987; Day, 1995; Hargreaves, 1996), we believed that the concept cartoons could have a direct and immediate impact in the classroom. They also seemed to promote a purposeful approach to practical work - a "hands-on, minds-on" approach (Lorsbach and Tobin, 1992) - rather than the more mechanical approach to practical work which is sometimes adopted (Woolnough and Allsop, 1985; Hodson, 1990).
An evaluation of the use of concept cartoons was carried out by teachers and researchers working in a variety of educational settings. These included school teachers covering the 5-18 age range, college lecturers, teachers working with children with special educational needs, teachers of English as a second language and in-service providers. These teacher-researchers were invited to use the cartoons and to evaluate them critically.
Data was collected by a combination of participant and non-participant observation, tape recordings, questionnaires completed by the researchers, oral and written feedback from the learners involved, interviews with some of the researchers and interviews with some of the learners. The groups observed have included primary and secondary pupils, higher education students, parents and teachers. In many cases authentication of the data was possible using a combination of investigator and methodological triangulation (Denzin 1970).
Action research with our own teaching groups allowed us to discuss alternative formats for the concept cartoons with students and teachers as well as providing further evaluation data. This led to a number of developments in the format of the concept cartoons. These include a shift from negatively-worded to positively-worded statements, a shift from statements to questions and a shift from single alternatives to multiple alternatives.
The concept cartoons have also been presented to a variety of audiences at local, regional, national and international Conferences. This has been helpful in gauging the views of a larger cross-section of the teaching population, since our main sample of about 80 teacher-researchers consisted of volunteers who were interested in using the concept cartoons.
Evaluating the use of the concept cartoons
The concept cartoons were intended to stimulate discussion and to make t