Science Animations
Benefit from utilizing educational animations
Initiative
- Many studies done by The Department of Education in Science and Technology indicate that “there are difficulties associated with learning and teaching the concepts of science as it deals with phenomena that often cannot be seen or touched.” Instances such as the microscopic workings of a cell in the body or the macroscopic process of the movement of planets are examples of concepts that can’t be observed easily.
- It then goes without saying that a teacher’s role, in general and in science particularly, is very crucial to the students’ ability to comprehend these topics. More importantly, the method and tools the teacher uses should convey information to their students in the most thorough way possible. To further explore the possibilities of enhancing the efficiency of student learning in hard to grasp subjects such as science, I aim to propose the benefits of utilizing animations and various visuals in classes to teachers in an effort to persuade them to incorporate the idea in their usual method of teaching.
Evidence from Studies
Tools
Multiple studies were done in the 2011-2012 academic school year. With the aid of data collection tools, Academic Achievement Test (ATT) and Analysis of Covariance Test (ANCOVA), the study was conducted on three different groups which were split into two classes each. One class was the control group who were taught lectures and work out of the textbooks while the other class was the experimental group who were taught with the combined methods of lectures and animated movies. The test were administered before the experimental group was placed in the new teaching environment and also administered after a four week period to conclude if there was improvement, no change, or decline in the students’ ability to grasp the concept and apply that acquired knowledge when tested.
Results
According to the statistics below, the experimental group and the control group averaged about the same scores when they took the pre-test. That indicates they had similar prior knowledge to the subject and were most likely taught the same way in their education. However, taking a look at their post-test scores, it shows that the scores the experimental group earned increased more significantly than the control group’s post-test scores. The difference is more noticeable in the net gain column where the percentages for the experiment group are higher than the ones for the control group. In conclusion, the implementation of animation and computer interactive programs were more successful in increasing the students’ academic achievement than traditional teaching alone, from a statistical standpoint.
The percentages of correct answers
Experimental (N = 435)
- Environmental quality:
Post-70.0
Net Gain-17.0
- Environmental issues:
Post-52.0
Net Gain-20.0
- Water evaporation:
Post-87.0
Net Gain-25.0
- The water cycle in nature:
Post-68.0
Net Gain-38.0
- Oxygen consumption:
Post-49.0
Net Gain-20.0
- Identifying an organism:
Post-54.0
Net Gain-8.0
- The lungs and oxygen:
Post-60.0
Net Gain-30.0
- Fractions in human bones:
Post-70.0
Net Gain-15.0
Control (N = 206)
- Environmental quality:
Post-54.0
Net Gain-0.0
- Environmental issues:
Post-47.0
Net Gain-15.0
- Water evaporation:
Post-71.0
Net Gain-9.0
- The water cycle in nature:
Post-49.0
Net Gain-13.0
- Oxygen consumption:
Post-33.0
Net Gain-12.0
- Identifying an organism:
Post-42.0
Net Gain-3.0
- The lungs and oxygen:
Post-32.0
Net Gain-0.0
- Fractions in human bones:
Post-51.0
Net Gain-11.0
Recommended Websites
- First Website
- Second Website
- Third Website