Animated illustrations: Finding critical factors for an effective information processing

What are important settings for making learners benefit from animated visuals and illustrations? One interesting method is to use pictures and animations to illustrate phenomena that are not visible with naked eyes. In addition, multimedia can make visualizations interactive and provide possibilities also for combinations with acoustic information. This paper reports about a study with 99 students who worked with a multimedia learning environment. Explained is how infrared motion detectors and infrared thermometers work, and Planck’s law and infrared radiation are made more familiar. Illustrated graphs, animations and thermal imaging were employed. Their information value was assessed. It was distinguished between knowledge that was primarily based on pictorial information or on text based information. The best results provided animations with spoken explanatory text where pictorial imagination is important for understanding. This was significant for all students, but especially fruitful for the not so capable students. Concerning abstract, text based information students with higher abilities profited from written text, while students with lower abilities (median split) gained better results with spoken text

Training and assessment of experimental competencies from a distance: Optical spectrometry via the Internet

Assessment of experimental competencies is not yet well established. We just began an empirical pilot study, too. This study aims to examine if secondary school students may successfully use a predefined remote lab activity to introduce themselves to atomic physics. The analysis of spectra is a fundamental component for the understanding of wave optics and color perception. Hence, every student should have the opportunity to conduct own optical emission experiments. Since spectrometers are expensive and an accurate calibration is necessary to achieve energy distribution spectra of high quality, we developed a remotely controlled laboratory. We evaluated the experimental set-up and the accompanying worksheet with groups of two to four students in a laboratory condition. Additionally, the emerged learning material was brought to school and tested as a homework activity with 9th-graders replacing the regular introduction to atomic physics. The results show that the experiment presented here can be used by ninth grade students and is useful in connection with the created material for the self-regulated introduction to atomic physics in the context of homework

Report and recommendations on multimedia materials for teaching and learning electricity and magnetism

This paper presents the results of a peer review of multimedia materials for teaching and learning electricity and magnetism prepared as a part of the annual activities undertaken by an international group of scientists associated with Multimedia Physics in Teaching and Learning. The work promotes the use of valuable and freely accessible information technology materials for different levels of teaching, mostly higher education. The authors discuss the process of selecting resources and the rubrics used in the rating process. The reviews of high-quality learning resources are presented along with descriptions of valuable didactical feature

Report and recommendations on multimedia materials for teaching and learning quantum physics

An international collaboration of physicists, affiliated with Multimedia Physics for Teaching and Learning (MPTL) and MERLOT, performed a survey and review of multimedia-based learning materials for quantum physics and quantum mechanics. The review process was based on more than a decade of experience with similar topical learning material reviews. A total of approximately 250 items were considered for review and eight were recommended by the reviewers. These are described in this report. Observations about quantum learning resources and multimedia tools are included.Postprin

Roles and Forms of Assessment of Modelling in Secondary Physics Education in School Practice

A learning path on modelling and experimentation with ICT has been developed for lower secondary physics education. To monitor student progress on this learning path, several forms of assessment have been used. In this paper, the advantages and disadvantages of several forms of assessment of modelling are discussed. Modelling offers possibilities for self-correction by students, especially if modelling is combined with animation. We recommend to assess computer modelling and ICTsupported experimentation not only with hands-on tasks but also with pencil-andpaper tasks, whether the purpose is formative or summative

Report and recommendations on available multimedia material for optics and waves

In the tradition of previous MPTL meetings, thispaper reports the findings of a joint evaluation of multimedia educational resources for waves and optics by the European working group “Multimedia in Physics Teaching and Learning” and the MERLOT/Physics Editorial Board. This year, a list of 140 web collections, each with many individual multimedia learning items, was compiled by the MERLOT group, the ComPADRE digital library, and Dr. Robert Wagenbrunn. Each review group distributed the web sites on this list among their members. Each reviewer, using established rubrics, selected high quality items, performed a detailed review, and reported their results for comparison between reviewers. This paper presents a discussion of characteristics of the top rated resources and the suitability of the use of multimedia, comparisons of the findings of different reviewers, and general comments on the current review process and future directions for this effort

Report and recommendations on multimedia materials for teaching and learning quantum physics

An international collaboration of physicists, affiliated with Multimedia Physics for Teaching and Learning (MPTL) and MERLOT, performed a survey and review of multimedia-based learning materials for quantum physics and quantum mechanics. The review process was based on more than a decade of experience with similar topical learning material reviews. A total of approximately 250 items were considered for review and eight were recommended by the reviewers. These are described in this report. Observations about quantum learning resources and multimedia tools are included

Facilitating Diagnostic Competences in Simulations in Higher Education: A Framework and a Research Agenda

Diagnosis is a prerequisite for successful professional problem-solving: A physician identifies an appropriate treatment based on a diagnosis of the patient’s disease, and a teacher selects an appropriate learning task based on an assessment of the student’s prior knowledge. Education in academic professions such as medicine or teaching is often focuses on the acquisition of conceptual knowledge from lectures and books; opportunities for students to engage in practical diagnostic situations are typically rare. However, applying such conceptual knowledge in diagnostic activities is regarded as necessary for developing diagnostic competences. In this article, we focus on simulations in which students can actively engage in practicing diagnostic activities concerning cases from professional practice. We review and link research perspectives on diagnostic competences, their components and their development. This is partly done by exploring the commonalities and differences in research on diagnostic competences in medicine and teaching. Then, we present approaches to simulation, followed by different types of instructional support in such simulations. In particular, we focus on different forms of scaffolding during problem-solving, and on the possibly complementary roles of expository forms of instruction in these kinds of environments. Building on the perspectives reviewed, we propose a framework for fostering diagnostic competences in simulations in higher education and outline an interdisciplinary research approach concerning the instructional design of such simulations