The Effect of Animation on the Instruction of the Principles of ANOVA.

This study examined the effects of using static graphics and animated graphics to introduce statistical concepts associated with analysis of variance (ANOVA) to a group of college students. The demonstrations led the learner from the concrete to the abstract by use of dynamically adjustable variables paired with immediate feedback. Participants in this pilot study were inexperienced in statistical methods. Those in one group were exposed to static graphics, a program in which they could view before and after conditions. Those in the second group were exposed to animated graphics dynamically displaying the movement of a piston corresponding to increases in pressure or temperature. Graphs depicting the relationships were dynamically constructed on the screen. The goal of the pilot study was not to establish statistical significance, but to observe the effects of graphic presentation. Those receiving content with static graphics scored better than those receiving animated graphics, but these graphic presentations alone were not enough to add to the participants' knowledge of statistical concepts. (Contains 21 references.) (SLD)