Scientific Articles

• Höffler, T. N., & Leutner, D. (2007). Instructional animation versus static pictures: A meta-analysis. Learning and Instruction, 17(6), 722–738. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2007.09.013
• McElhaney, K. W., Chang, H.-Y., Chiu, J. L., & Linn, M. C. (2015). Evidence for effective uses of dynamic visualisations in science curriculum materials. Studies in Science Education, 51(1), 49–85. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057267.2014.984506
• O’Day, D. H. (2006). Animated Cell Biology: A Quick and Easy Method for Making Effective, High-Quality Teaching Animations. CBE— Life Sciences Education, 5(3), 255–263. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.05-11-0122

Explanation of the Post

Animated images, or “dynamic visualizations”, have the potential to improve conceptual understanding of complex topics. Particularly, they are well-suited to equip learners with knowledge of continuous changes such as light propagation, locomotion, and heat flow (Imhof et al., 2012; McElhaney et al., 2015). Understanding continuous motion is important to many scientific processes and phenomena in everyday life (McElhaney et al., 2015), and students from all areas of society can benefit from their use.

Animations that are representational in nature (i.e., explicitly depict the topic to be learned) are superior to decorational animations (those that serve to motivate the learner) (Höffler & Leutner, 2007). In addition, animations tend to be more effective when they are presented several times over a long duration (O’Day, 2006). This provides students with greater opportunities to sort out the material and reflect on its contents (McElhaney et al., 2015).

Other sources

• Imhof, B., Scheiter, K., Edelmann, J., & Gerjets, P. (2012). How temporal and spatial aspects of presenting visualizations affect learning about locomotion patterns. Learning and Instruction, 22(3), 193–205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2011.10.006