Datorbaserade animationer i geografiundervisningen : En studie om gymnasieelevers lärande i mötet med datorbaserade animationer om bergartscykeln

• Animations are new visualization tools for the teachers to use in their education practice when teaching about complex models in science. The school environment is a social arena where collaborative learning is a recognized teaching method, often used by teachers as it motivates students and enables them to participate and share knowledge with each other. This method is used by teachers when students are working with animations in computer-based instructions. In these environments the spoken language, as well as other forms of body-language such as gestures, becomes the means for communication between the participants. By using a prag-matic/sociocultural perspective on learning, this form of communication is described in terms of actions. The aim of this thesis is to study how learning is constituted in one of these social environments by using action as an analyzing unit. The empirical material consist of video-taped sessions of 61 upper secondary school students divided in 22 groups, working with 6 animations in an interactive web-based software on different geological processes of the rock cycle. The results from the study shows that successful animations, in terms of fulfilling the teaching objectives, enables students to focus their attention on the important events in the animation and form relevant relations between key concepts required for understanding a specific geological process. The result also shows that the groups of students experienced different problems (gaps) in their learning process in their encounter with the animations. Different types of gaps were identified as a result from what the students focused their attention on in the 6 animations. There were four main reasons why gaps occurred, three of them were related to the design, scientific content and new concepts introduced in the animations. The fourth reason was related to situations when students could not relate to previous experience of the rock cycle. The results shows that collaborative learning benefits students in their learning process in the encounter with animations, as some types of gaps were solved with the aid from other students. The results also show that the teacher is very important for students, as they are the only resource in the classroom that has the potential to solve all types of gaps that may occur in the students encounter with animations. Although many of the gaps identified in the study were solved by these two social resources, some other gaps remained unsolved. The research study contributes with new empirical results to the international animation research field, as well as a methodological development which gives researchers new analyzing tools for studying students and teacher’s actions in social environments where animations are used.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Utbildningsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Educational Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Computer based animations

collaborative learning

pragmatism

attention

gaps

rock cycle

Geography

Geografi

Curriculum Studies

Didaktik

Publikations- och innehållstyp

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