Teaching science concepts in higher education classes with slow motion animation (slowmation)

Clay animation is a form of stop motion animation but is rarely used as a teaching approach in higher education classes because it is too tedious and time consuming. “Slow Motion Animation” (Slowmation) is a simplified form of clay animation that is different in four ways and can be completed in 1-2 hour tutorial or workshop: (i) models of science concepts are made and manipulated in the horizontal plane; (ii) a range of materials can be used; (iii) the animations are played at 2-6 frames per second; and (iv) science concepts are annotated with factual text. This study demonstrates how 30 teacher education students used Slowmation to make a QuickTime animation of the life cycle of a frog in a two-hour tutorial. Slowmation is a teaching approach that is feasible for use in university classes and is a motivation for students to engage in the content knowledge of science.