The Effects of Animation-based Instruction using "Magic School Bus" on Elementary Students' Level of Understanding and Interests on Plant's Structure and Function

'신기한 스쿨버스' 만화영화 도입이 식물의 구조와 기능에 대한 초등학생의 개념 이해와 흥미에 미치는 영향

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of animation-based instruction on elementary students' level of understanding and interest on a plant's structure and function, using "Magic School Bus(Joanna Cole, Bruce Degen, 1986)". The understanding and interest measurements were administered to 99 fifth grade students at a elementary school located in Seoul. The study examined the changes in understanding and interest through pre-test and post-test of the two groups. Intensive interviews were conducted to find factors that enhance understanding and interest. Three key findings were revealed from the results. First, the animation-based instruction enhanced the level of understanding in the experimental group compared to the control group. Second, animation-based instruction made high-achieving students enhance their interest in topic component and attitude component. And, animation-based instruction did not led low-achieving students to increase their interest in the topic component and attitude component. We suggest that animation-based instruction positively influences students' understanding, but its effects on students' interest are dependent on their conceptual understanding of the topic.