Illustrations in multi-media programs: A way to understand science?

This paper reports on a pilot study within a Swedish Research Council Project called Illustrations making meaning? Young pupils encountering explanatory pictures and models in science and mathematics education in primary school and pre-school. The aim of the pilot study was to give an example of how children may meet science illustrations through encounters with an electronic multi-media program that is quite widely used at pre-school. The pilot study developed on the basis of an inventory of educational illustrations that was carried out at ten preschool departments. This inventory showed that a CD-ROM program called Ants in the pants (Myror i brallan (c)) is frequently used and the pilot study set out to explore its use at one specific preschool site. A variation theory analysis of the software was made. The conclusions were that there is a gap between natural science content and the play content and a clear absence of integrated educational content due mainly to the simplified design of the program. This design mimics assumptions about pre-school teaching and the idea that preschool teachers try to make content more childish by using other words than the official or by letting the content become an educational background whilst fantasy and play are pushed into the foreground. This tends to make key elements of content invisible. The natural science models are also found to be simplified and decontextualized and could be significantly improved by offering opportunities to discern important aspects related to the object of learning.