Watson, G., Butterfield, J., Curran, R., & Craig, C. (2010). Do dynamic work instructions provide an advantage over static instructions in a small scale assembly task? Learning and Instruction, 20(1), 84-93.

Watson, G.; Butterfield, J.; Curran, R.; Craig, C.

2010

Watson, G., Butterfield, J., Curran, R., & Craig, C. (2010). Do dynamic work instructions provide an advantage over static instructions in a small scale assembly task? Learning and Instruction, 20(1), 84-93.

Recent studies exploring the effects of instructional animations on learning compared to static graphics have yielded mixed results. Few studies have explored their effectiveness in portraying procedural-motor information. Opportunities exist within an applied (manufacturing) context for instructional animations to be used to facilitate build performance on an assembly line. The present study compares build time performance across successive builds when using animation, static diagrams or text instructions to convey an assembly sequence for a handheld device. Although an immediate facilitating effect of animation was found, yielding a significantly faster build time for Build 1, this advantage had disappeared by Build 3.

Findings of the present study revealed that when animation was used to portray instructional information required for assembling an abstract and novel device, an immediate beneficial effect was observed over a text-only equivalent at Build 1. At Build 2, both depictive groups (Animation and Diagram groups) yielded significantly faster times than the text. Surprisingly, no significant differences between static diagrams and animation were revealed for any build.

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