Abstract:

In 2011, an introductory animation-based course on the subject of electronic devices was taught for the first time at a technological college in Israel. The course was developed in response to a considerable difficulty encountered by teachers when teaching the topic of semiconductor devices – a subject that constitutes the basis for the study of electronics. This difficulty mainly stems from the complexity of such devices. Since animation is effective for dynamic display of complex and difficult to grasp phenomena, processes or systems, we chose to base the course on computer animation.
A previous study showed a significant gap of more than 10 points (out of 100), on average, between the academic achievements of students studying the basics of electronic devices through animation and the achievements of their peers who studied the same topic using static diagrams. The present longitudinal research used quantitative instruments alongside qualitative ones to examine whether this gap is maintained in advanced analog electronics courses.
The research population comprised 41 students who in 2011-2012 were studying towards a practical engineering degree in electronics at a technological college in Israel. These students attended three successive mandatory courses on analog electronics. It is emphasized that the study material in the two advanced courses relied on the material taught in the introductory course. At the onset of the basic course, the students were randomly assigned to two groups: an experimental group of 21 students and a control group of 20 students. Members of each group were examined in an identical preliminary achievement test, which showed no significant difference between the two groups. The experimental group was then taught about the structure and principle of operation of semiconductor devices through animation that was presented by the teacher, whereas the control group learned the same contents, for the same number of hours and by the same teacher, using static diagrams drawn on the blackboard. At the end of the introductory course, members of the two groups took an identical final achievement test. In the following courses, the two groups were united and studied the advanced topics using static diagrams together. At the end of each advanced course, the students took a final achievement test.
The study shows that even a year after the completion of the basic course, the academic achievements of students who studied the subject of electronic devices through animation remained significantly higher than those of their colleagues and the gap is maintained in advanced electronics courses. This gap can be attributed to the findings, which were corroborated by interviews held with students, that indicated that animation promotes understanding since, unlike static diagrams, it presents a dynamic picture of the process being learned. In addition, animation-based learning promotes retention and transfer. During the advanced courses students remembered what they had learned in the basic course through animation. Moreover, physical principles taught during the introductory course were transferred by students to the advanced courses. These results indicate that for the case of electronic devices presented here, animation-based learning has a long-term effect.

Keywords:

Animation-based learning, engineering education, retention.