Representing Earth Science Concepts through Slowmation: Influences on Conceptual Change

• Main Authors: Reece Mills, Louisa Tomas Engel, Brian Lewthwaite
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: James Cook University 2015-04-01
• Series: eTropic: electronic journal of studies in the tropics
• Subjects: science education; earth science education; slowmation; photographs; animation; narration; conceptual change; alternative conception; misconception
• Online Access: https://journals.jcu.edu.au/etropic/article/view/3360/3300

It is well known that students arrive in science classrooms with pre-instructional ideas about science phenomena, and that often students’ ideas are not scientifically accurate representations of these phenomena. This research project will engage Year 9 Science students in the creation of a slowmation to represent an Earth Science concept that has been misrepresented in popular culture, in an effort to support their conceptual change towards an accepted scientific understanding. A slowmation representation is a form of stop-motion animation. During the process of creating a slowmation representation, students will manipulate and photograph a range of materials to represent an Earth Science concept, and display the photographs in quick succession to create an animation. Students will then add their own narration that explains the concept. This research aims to determine: (1) Does the process of creating a slowmation representation have a significant effect on students’ conceptual development in Earth Science? (2) How does the process of creating a slowmation representation influence students’ conceptual development? and (3) To what extent does students’ interest generated by the project influence their conceptual development? The project responds to calls for more in-depth research into the value of student-generated animation in science education (Hoban, Loughran, & Nielsen, 2011; Hoban & Nielsen, 2012), and contributes to the few studies that investigate the relationship between interest and conceptual change (Sinatra & Mason, 2013; Treagust & Duit, 2008).