Animation Formats for Year One Science Learning

HRMARS - Young learners often hold misconceptions about living and non-living things, especially when they rely on visible movement rather than biological characteristics. This study compared two-dimensional and three-dimensional animation videos as visual learning supports for Year One science learning and examined their effects on science achievement and higher-order thinking skills. A quasi-experimental pre-test-post-test design was conducted with 58 pupils from two Malaysian primary schools. School A used two-dimensional animation (n = 30), whereas School B used three-dimensional animation (n = 28) over eight weeks. Data were collected using a 40-item achievement test and a 30-item age-appropriate higher-order thinking skills test and analyzed using paired-samples t-tests and analysis of covariance. Both groups improved significantly from pre-test to post-test. After controlling for pre-test scores, the three-dimensional group achieved significantly higher science achievement than the two-dimensional group, F(1,57) = 22.362, p < .001, partial eta squared = .282. However, no significant difference was found for higher-order thinking skills, F(1,55) = 0.160, p = .690. The findings suggest that three-dimensional animation can strengthen early science understanding, while higher-order thinking requires guided questioning, discussion, and reasoning tasks beyond visual format alone.