Analogies
Techniques in the Teaching-With-Analogy Model
1.Introduce target concept
2.Cue retrieval of analog concept
3.Identify relevant features of target and analog
4.Map similarities
5.Indicate where analogy breaks down
6.Draw conclusions
Science Analogy Links
Detailed Analogies
Simple Analogies
- Bacterial chromosomes are like spaghetti.
- Blood vessels are like highways.
- Bohr's model of the atom is like a bookcase.
- The camera is like the eye.
- A cell is like a factory.
- DNA is like a spiral staircase.
- A nuclear reaction is like falling dominoes.
- Electricity is like flowing water.
- The immune system is like the police force.
- Layers of the earth are like a peach.
- Building a protein is like building a house.
Analogy collage: Draw a typical plant or animal cell on a small (6" X 8") piece of drawing paper. Paste the drawing in the center of a large sheet of construction paper. Pointers from the cell structures lead to pictures cut from magazines or newspapers and a functional analogy expressed in the your own words.
MAT: Miller Analogies Test (MAT). The MAT is a high-level mental ability test requiring the solution of problems stated as analogies. It consists of
100 partial analogies that are completed in 50 minutes.
Glynn, S. M. (1991). Explaining science concepts: A Teaching-with-Analogies
Model. In S. M. Glynn, R. H. Yeany, & B. K.Britton (Eds.), The psychology
of learning science (pp. 219- 240). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Harrison, A. G., & Treagust, D. F. (1993). Teaching with analogies:
A case study in grade-10 optics. Journal of Research in
Science Teaching, 30, 1291-1307.
Harrison, A. G., & Treagust, D. F. (1994). Science analogies. The
Science Teacher, 61, 40-43.
Thiele, R. B., & Treagust, D. F. (1994). An interpretive examination
of high school chemistry teachers' analogical explanations.
Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 31, 227-242.
Treagust, D. F., Duit, R., Joslin, P., & Lindauer, I. (1992). Science
teachers' use of analogies: Observations from classroom
practice. International Journal of Science Education, 14, 413-422.