Παιδαγωγική και διδακτική αξιοποίηση των κινουμένων σχεδίων στη διδασκαλία των φυσικών επιστημών

Abstract

Cartoons represent a form of art that has been promoted into an important visual language, which influences the human sentiments and transmits messages using symbols and pictures. They contain messages and, when they are selected carefully, they can easily provide information via the symbols and the exaggeration. Moreover, they use familiar pictures and objects from daily life. It is a universal language as cartoons have the ability to make a point without the semantic ambiguities inherent in the written words. Extensive bibliographic research demonstrated that, in the recent years, cartoons have been used, at all the educational levels in order to promote different educational operations. Researchers such as Keogh and Naylor have pointed out that cartoons can help and facilitate the learning process. The present research was designed in order to study the contribution of cartoons in teaching science regarding students of elementary education. In particular, the contribution of cartoons in the conceptual development and the way that concepts -which are normally difficult to comprehend and often cause misconceptions to students- connect with their prior knowledge were investigated. For this purpose cartoons were developed, in form of film, which serve specific instructive aims and are considered a development of concept cartoons. Teaching science with cartoons is applied and evaluated for the first time in Greek elementary education. Following an additional study of bibliographic reports with regard to the design of multimedia applications and the way that means such as narration and animation, combined with graphics contribute to the learning process, the present cartoons’ multimedia applications were developed. A research followed in various elementary schools in order to evaluate the students’ performance when using the cartoons. To this end, two multimedia applications with cartoons titled "Properties of materials" and "Solutions", were developed. Both applications were addressed to 5th grade students. The texts and the narrations were based on the official text, "Natural Science" of 5th grade, “Search and Discover”, student book and Exercise manual. With regard to the existing curriculum, the thematic units “Properties of Materials” (mass, volume, density) and “Solutions” (preparation of solutions, the temperature factor on solubility) were selected.