“This sucks!” I said the quiet part out loud. My 7th graders were a mixed bag of shocked, delighted, and confused. But one thing they were not – disengaged. I “had them” at that moment of honest transparency. I was also with them. My shocking declaration came at the end of a long week, a long day, and a long lesson. I was bored of it, and I’ve never seen an engaged student sitting in a room with a bored teacher (unless they were on YouTube or their phone).
We’ve all been there, mindlessly going through the motions, “covering” content, completing lessons, and checking boxes only to feel the life draining from our classes, students, and ourselves.
How did I get here? How did the guy who prides himself on being “different” end up on the irrelevant and boring pile for that day? How would this day be the day that changed me and my teaching forever?
As a science teacher with almost three decades under my (slightly larger now) belt, I have always loved being an accidental innovator. Stumbling on new, fun, and engaging tricks of the trade. Because of my own boredom and desire to learn, I still love trying new technology, pedagogy, projects, STEM challenges, or anything else that I think might make learning more personal, engaging, or meaningful to kids. In short, make it suck less. Put more hopefully, I want to lead a shift of positive change in education that returns the joy, dignity, and purpose to the profession and the students.
Of all the pilots and programs that I have undertaken, few have been as positive for both the students and teachers as animation. Now, as a STEM Instructional Coach, I’ve seen the universal power in all grades and disciplines. It’s remarkable, and science backs it up. Learning becomes personal, creative, and visual through animated content, and for those reasons it engages and empowers, as well as sticks, in ways traditional instruction simply does not.
The Science Behind Animation’s Success
If I asked you to guess how much information from your best lesson kids retain after a three-day weekend, what would you guess? Even the most pessimistic educators I have talked to guess somewhere around half or higher. But estimates put our upper limit of retention at about 20%! By simply adding visuals, that number jumps to as high as 65%. It seems our brains are wired for pictures more than words.
Think back to the typical lessons in your class. What do your activities, slides, texts, quizzes, homework papers look like? If they look like mine did, they were text-heavy and visual-light. However, if designed with brain science in mind (see what I did there), they’d be much more visual. When we design for retrieval practice, we have to include visuals. But designing for recall is still a shallow endeavor with limited effectiveness. We also need to be designing for EMOTION!
What happens in the brain of a student if the visuals you use are boring, impersonal, and hard to understand? They probably aren’t as effective as we hope. We know that it can’t be as simple as adding a picture and magically shifting from Forrest Gump to Einstein. What does your gut tell you would happen in that same brain if the visuals were interesting, moving, personal, funny, and… yours? It doesn’t take a doctor of neurobiology to tell us that those images would be far more engaging, and therefore easier for us to encode, store, and retrieve. The simple reason is that we WANT to. With that emotional and personal anchor in storage, we can tie a navy of information to it for later recall and use. Learning needs a hook, and the more personal and holistic we can make it, the stickier it becomes.
The human brain processes visual information 60,000 times faster than text, with 90% of information transmitted to our brains being visual. This aligns perfectly with the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning, which explains how our minds process information through dual channels – visual and auditory.
When students animate concepts, they engage multiple cognitive pathways simultaneously through:
- Visual processing through image creation
- Auditory processing through internal narration and rehearsal
- Kinesthetic learning through the creation process
The Self-Determination Theory Connection
Learning isn’t just about storage and retrieval. It’s about engagement, motivation, and emotional attachments. We remember things that made us feel something. This is exactly where traditional education is failing, and where animation is so powerful. Animation naturally incorporates the three pillars of Self-Determination Theory:
Autonomy: Students have creative control over their animations, choosing how to represent concepts visually.
Competence: The iterative nature of animation almost compels students to refine their work through showcase, feedback, and continual drafting. They don’t even consider “one and done” because they CARE!
Relatedness: Sharing animations with peers and teachers creates meaningful connections that are virtually swimming in self-esteem and shared experience.
Real-World Impact
The effectiveness of animation in education isn’t just theoretical. Studies show that 66% of teachers report increased student motivation with animated educational content, and video animations consistently show positive effects on knowledge retention.
A Call to Fellow Educators
If you’re an educator looking to incorporate animation into your teaching, start small:
- Choose one complex concept in your subject area
- Have students storyboard their understanding
- Use simple animation tools to bring their ideas to life
- Share and celebrate their creative interpretations
Looking Forward
We are at a crossroads in education. A “heart check,” if you will. I believe the future of education lies in breaking down traditional silos between subjects and returning to a holistic human-centered model. Animation naturally bridges science, technology, art, and communication – embodying a true STREAM educational approach.
What are your thoughts on using animation in education? Have you tried incorporating student-created animations in your classroom? Share your experiences and let’s continue the conversation.
Remember: Every student has the capacity to be creative – sometimes they just need the right tools to express their understanding. For help in getting started, you can reach out with the contact form above or find my YouTube tutorials.
Sources
[1] The effectiveness of video animations in the education of healthcare … https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9743876/
[2] Overview of Cognitive Science – Rollins School of Public Health https://sph.emory.edu/rollins-tlc/teach-learn-principles/cognitive-science/index.html
[3] Applying the neuroscience of creativity to creativity training – Frontiers https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/human-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00656/full
[4] The Benefits of Using Animation for Learning and Development https://boldcontentvideo.com/2021/06/29/the-benefits-of-using-animation-for-learning-and-development/
[5] Mayer’s 12 Principles of Multimedia Learning | DLI https://www.digitallearninginstitute.com/blog/mayers-principles-multimedia-learning
[6] Applying the neuroscience of creativity to creativity training – PMC https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3797545/
[7] Pros and Cons of Animation in Education (Based on Science) https://flearningstudio.com/pros-and-cons-of-animated-educational-videos/
[8] Animation Principles in Multimedia Learning (Chapter 22) https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/cambridge-handbook-of-multimedia-learning/animation-principles-in-multimedia-learning/C32045ACB824BFD657DA6A702E8255DC
[9] What Cognitive Neuroscience Tells Us About Creativity Education https://ger.mercy.edu/index.php/ger/article/download/367/313
[10] Animating education: a teaching tool that brings learning to life https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/animating-education-teaching-tool-brings-learning-life