Previous research suggests that the use of metaphors in science education have both possibilities and challenges. In this study, we analyse the role of metaphors in meaning-making in the upper primary science classroom. We investigate the potential of metaphors about nutrient uptake occurring in classrooms in which an animation was used. To…

This study compares students' explanations of the oxidation-reduction reaction between silver nitrate and copper metal after viewing a chemical demonstration and one of four different particulate-level computer animations. The animations differed in the way the ionic charges were depicted (shown or omitted) and the way the transferred electrons…

In recent years, student-generated stop-motion animations (SMAs) have been employed to support sharing, constructing, and representing knowledge in different science domains and across age groups from pre-school to university students. The purpose of this review is to give an overview of research in this field and to synthesize the findings. For…

Background: Animations of scientific concepts may improve comprehension by explaining and visualizing the steps of complex processes, but unless they engage student interest in meaningful ways, their effectiveness as teaching tools is limited. We achieve this through a novel approach to animation design that includes the target audience…

Biochemistry education relies heavily on students' ability to visualize abstract cellular and molecular processes, mechanisms, and components. As such, biochemistry educators often turn to external representations to provide tangible, working models from which students' internal representations (mental models) can be constructed, evaluated, and…