Abstract
Previous research suggests that magic tricks can be employed within an educational context to enhance attention, engagement, critical thinking and recall. This study builds on this work by examining the impact of incorporating magic tricks into an online educational video. Adult participants (N = 198) completed a need for cognition scale and then watched a video containing either several bespoke card tricks that had been specially devised to help tell the story of the Apollo Moon landings (Magic Video), or an almost identical video that did not contain any magic tricks (Control Video). All participants rated their levels of engagement, absorption and recall. Compared to the Control Video, the Magic Video was rated as significantly more interesting, informative and absorbing. There was no difference between the groups for recall. There was a positive correlation between participants’ need for cognition scores, and the degree to which they found the Magic Video interesting, and were willing to share it with others. The theoretical, methodological and practical implications of these results are discussed, along with recommendations for future work.
Highlights
Many educational practitioners have described using magic tricks to help promote attention, engagement, curiosity and critical thinking (Vidler & Levine, 1981; Frith & Walker, 1983; McCormack, 1985, 1990; Broome, 1995). Wiseman & Watt (2020) recently reviewed studies that have assessed the educational potential of magic tricks and concluded that much of the work yielded positive effects
The two of them worked together to produce a video (Magic Video) that consisted of a soundtrack containing key facts about the Moon landings and several magic tricks performed with a playing cards containing relevant images
This study examined the impact of incorporating magic tricks into an educational video
Summary
Many educational practitioners have described using magic tricks to help promote attention, engagement, curiosity and critical thinking (Vidler & Levine, 1981; Frith & Walker, 1983; McCormack, 1985, 1990; Broome, 1995). Wiseman & Watt (2020) recently reviewed studies that have assessed the educational potential of magic tricks and concluded that much of the work yielded positive effects. Many educational practitioners have described using magic tricks to help promote attention, engagement, curiosity and critical thinking (Vidler & Levine, 1981; Frith & Walker, 1983; McCormack, 1985, 1990; Broome, 1995). Wiseman & Watt (2020) recently reviewed studies that have assessed the educational potential of magic tricks and concluded that much of the work yielded positive effects. Their review noted that it was problematic to draw strong conclusions from the literature because many of the studies suffered from various methodological issues, including a lack of control conditions, small sample sizes and poorly designed interventions. Wiseman and Watt concluded by making recommendations for future work in this area, including urging researchers to incorporate control groups, and to develop and employ bespoke magic-based interventions that are designed in collaboration with experienced magicians.
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