Students’ difficulties in learning from dynamic visualisations and how they may be overcome

We investigated whether students’ understanding of line graphs can be improved by means of dynamic visualisations. The visualisations were designed to help students relate motion phenomena and line graphs to one another. In an initial study three groups were formed: the first group learned on the basis of simulated motion phenomena and dynamic line graphs; the second group additionally had dynamic iconic representations available to them; the third group was also presented with dynamic stamp diagrams. Contrary to our expectations, students were not able to make use of the visualisations in order to improve their understanding of line graphs. We hypothesised that students did not receive sufficient support in comprehending the visualisations. In a second study two groups were investigated. While the first group learned on the basis of simulated motion phenomena and dynamic line graphs, the second group additionally had dynamic iconic representations as well as dynamic stamp diagrams available to them. It was possible for the students in both groups to ask questions and to receive assistance from a teacher as well as from peers while learning from the visualisations. The results demonstrate that the pedagogical measures enabled the students to successfully make use of dynamic visualisations.