Using Stop-Motion to Support Multimodal Learning

For our Educational Technology inquiry, our group explored how simple stop-motion animation can help students express learning in ways that go beyond writing or speaking. We were interested in how students show understanding through making, building, and visual storytelling, rather than only through text.

Our starting point was the artifact box idea from Karen Tompkins, a secondary teacher who uses multimodal approaches in her classroom. Tompkins explains that students communicate on different levels, and that assessing them only through writing or speaking does not always allow them to fully show what they understand. In the artifact box activity, students collect or create objects that represent ideas from a lesson or text and then explain the meaning behind those objects.

We really liked this idea because it values hands-on thinking and symbolic representation. Students are not just repeating information. They are making choices, building connections, and showing meaning through objects. Our project builds on this approach by adding simple stop-motion animation. Instead of placing artifacts only in a box, students animate them to show movement, relationships, and change over time. Using artifact-based stop-motion animation supports multimodal learning, where students communicate through images, movement, sound, and physical materials. This approach can also support Universal Design for Learning because it offers students different ways to express understanding.

This process can work across many subject areas. For example, in a biology class, students could build small DNA models and animate mutation or replication. In an art class, students could animate their creative process or show how different materials are layered. In each case, stop-motion helps students make abstract ideas visible.

In today’s world, literacy includes more than reading and writing. Students communicate through images, sound, movement, and digital media. Stop-motion animation naturally combines many of these forms of communication. Students plan a story, build objects, sequence images, and sometimes add narration or sound.

Several research sources helped us understand why this approach can support learning. Studies suggest that creating multimodal projects is not just creative work. It can support conceptual understanding, communication skills, and meaningful engagement with learning. Sheikh (2024) explains that students often struggle with subjects where important concepts are invisible or abstract, such as electromagnetic fields. In his teaching, simulations, animations, and visual tools helped students build mental models of ideas they could not see directly. This connects closely to our project. When students create small artifacts and animate them, they also turn abstract ideas into something visible and concrete. Research also suggests that when students create digital projects that combine different modes of communication, they develop creativity, organization, audience awareness, and digital literacy skills.

One example we found comes from a physics activity shared on Instructables. In this lesson, students learn the equations of motion and then use stop-motion to animate how an object moves over time. Students calculate positions at different moments and photograph the object in each position. When the photos are combined into a video, the motion becomes visible.

This activity shows that stop-motion can help students see mathematical and scientific ideas in action rather than only solving equations on paper. One reason we chose stop-motion is that it can be done with very simple tools. Students can create a stop-motion animation using:

• Phones, tablets, or computers
• Free apps, such as Stop Motion Studio
• Small objects (clay, toys, paper cut-outs, natural materials, or student-made models)
• Paper and markers for backgrounds
• a stable surface and good lighting

There are many beginner tutorial online like Urban Arts Space (2023) which explains the process simply:

Take a photo. Move the object slightly. Take another photo. Repeat many times. When the photos are played quickly in sequence, the object appears to move.

Students can also add narration, sound effects, or music after filming. Even very short animations can clearly show a process or idea.

Stop-motion animation can increase student engagement because learners are actively building and experimenting rather than only listening or writing. It also supports inclusive learning, especially for students who benefit from visual or hands-on experiences. At the same time, there are challenges. Stop-motion takes time, and students may need guidance with planning and filming. Some students may also have different levels of access to technology. Teachers can manage these challenges by keeping the tools simple and focusing on clear ideas rather than visual perfection. Short animations and simple materials are often enough to communicate understanding.

In our short video, we looked at how students could animate biological structures or physical processes. In art, we explored how animation could show creative techniques and material exploration. We also created our own short stop-motion videos to demonstrate how this approach might work in a classroom.

Creating the DNA structure video helped us understand how students could use this in a science 9 or 10 context. We feel that if students were to create a small animation similar to this, they could more easily remember nitrogenous base pairing (i.e., adenosine pairs with thymine, and cytosine pairs with guanine). Students might also solidify extra details about the number of carbons that exist in each sugar, because they physically had to cut out a pentagon to represent 5 carbons. These details will be retained better if they physically create something and plan an animation, rather than teaching them through worksheets and notes. We know that lack of retention is a huge concern for teachers, and we would use these types of multimedia strategies to solidify student learning, and give kids the opportunity to show their knowledge in a unique way. 

For this project we wanted to explore how creating an informative video could enhance student understanding for lino cut safety. If students could create a short video like the one we made, it would help them internalize important safety rules for art in the classroom. This type of safety video could be done for any project that includes safety considerations, and could also be expanded to creating art technique tutorials.

Making the videos ourselves helped us understand the learning process more clearly. Even simple animations required planning, sequencing, and careful thinking about how to represent an idea visually. This experience reinforced something that appeared often in the research: the learning happens during the making process, not only in the final product. 

Our inquiry began with a simple question: can students show what they know better when they build and animate ideas? Through research and experimentation, we found strong reasons to believe that they can.

Artifact-based stop-motion animation offers students a way to show understanding through making, movement, and storytelling. It supports multimodal literacy, encourages creativity, and helps make abstract ideas more concrete.

If you would like to explore animation and/or artifacts as a learning tool, check out the links below! Let us know in the comments if you have tried animation before, and any tips you might have to integrate it into the classroom.

Additional Tutorials and Resources

Top 5 Free Stop Motion Apps | Reviewing iOS Animation Apps for Beginners
How to Use the Best Free Stop Motion App | Stop Motion Studio Tutorial
Meaning Making with Multiple Representations: a Case Study of a Preservice Teacher Creating a Digital Explanation.