Analogies and “modeling analogies” in teaching: Some examples in basic electricity

Dupin, Jean‐Jacques; Johsua, Samuel

doi:10.1002/sce.3730730207

Cited by 99 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Studies aimed at improving scientific text design have considered: (a) coherence textual changes, (e.g., Kintsch, & Yarbrough, 1982;McNamara, Kintsch, Songer, & Kintsch, 1996); linking textual changes, (e.g., Vosniadou, & Schommer, 1988;Dupin, & Joshua, 1989); and, (c) the two kinds of textual changes simultaneously, (e.g., Beck et al, 1991; Britton, & Gü lgöz, 1991). However an exhaustive literature search does not reveal any study on the combination of the two kinds of textual changes separately and in tandem to test the effect of each possible element and of their combination on different levels of comprehension.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Levels of comprehension of scientific prose: the role of text variables

Vidal‐Abarca¹,

López²

1998

Learning and Instruction

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This research investigates the role played on shallow and deep levels of comprehension by textual changes that are aimed at: (a) improving the relationships within text ideas, and (b) producing better links between text ideas and the reader's knowledge. Four versions of a long physics passage were elaborated combining both kinds of textual changes. Four groups of tenth graders were each given one of the four versions. Different measures representative of these levels of comprehension were taken: getting main ideas, recall, and problem solving. The results indicated that: (a) main idea performance was affected by improving the relationships within text ideas, (b) both textual changes contributed separately to recall, and (c) problem solving increased only when the two changes were presented together. © 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved Scientific texts are an important tool for learning and their improvement is a relevant educational issue. Since the 1980's, many studies have been developed to test the efficacy of certain textual changes. These changes may be classified into two groups: (a) changes aimed at improving the relationships within text ideas without adding new content facts to the original text, and (b) changes aimed at producing better links between text ideas and the reader's previous knowledge by adding new content facts to the text. We may call the former coherence textual changes, and the latter linking textual changes.Coherence textual changes refer to changes which, firstly, improve global coherence by explicitly including topical expressions such as headings, topic sentences, or summaries, (van Dijk, & Kintsch, 1983;Kieras, 1985), and secondly, increase connections from one idea to the next in the text. In the former, topical expressions facilitate the processes of macrostructure formation (Meyer, Brandt, & Bluth, 1980;Britton, Glynn, Meyer, & Penland, 1982). These processes are especially demanding in scientific texts given that readers generally have little previous knowledge of their content (Britton, Glynn, & Smith, 1985). In the latter, the *Departamento de Psicologia Evolutiva y de la Educacion [Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology], University of Valencia, P.O. Box 22045, 46071 Valencia, Spain. E-mail: Eduardo.Vidal-abarca@uv.es 215 increase in connections within an existing text can be accomplished in two ways: by re-stating textual ideas, and by making explicit certain implicit relationships presented in the original text.In general, a re-statement of textual ideas refreshes the memory and aids the reader in her textual understanding (Kintsch, & van Dijk, 1978;Britton, Van Dusen, Glynn, & Hemphill, 1990). In particular, scientific texts frequently present a series of premises and then a long chain of reasoning from which the reader must ultimately understand a given conclusion. However the novice reader may have difficulty following that chain of reasoning, especially if the premises were cited so long ago that the information needed to process t...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Traditionally, analogies are one type of imagery employed with success, (Vosniadou, & Schommer, 1988;Dupin, & Joshua, 1989;Halpern, Hansen, & Riefer, 1990;Duit, 1991).…”

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confidence: 99%

Levels of comprehension of scientific prose: the role of text variables

Vidal‐Abarca¹,

López²

1998

Learning and Instruction

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“…High school textbooks, for instance, typically rely on analogies (usually the water analogy) rather than on building a physical model of electricity. However, the water analogy has been shown to be ineffective for teaching electricity (Duit, 1991;Dupin & Johsua, 1989;Tenney & Gentner, 1984). An alternative analogy to this is Steinberg's (1993b) air pressure analogy used within his CASTLE curriculum, in which the changes in voltages (electrical pressure) and current are made the subject of inquiry through the use of circuits containing large capacitors.…”

Section: Students' Difficulties In Understanding Electricitymentioning

confidence: 97%

Dynamic mental models in learning science: The importance of constructing derivational linkages among models

Frederiksen

White

Gutwill

1999

J. Res. Sci. Teach.

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We present a theory of learning in science based on students deriving conceptual linkages among multiple models which represent physical phenomena at different levels of abstraction. The models vary in the primitive objects and interactions they incorporate and in the reasoning processes that are used in running them. Students derive linkages among models by running a model (embodied in an interactive computer simulation) and reflecting on its emergent behaviors. The emergent properties they identify in turn become the primitive elements of the more abstract, derived model. We describe and illustrate derivational links among three models for basic electricity: a particle model, an aggregate model, and an algebraic model. We then present results of an instructional experiment in which we compared high school students who were exposed to these model derivations with those who were not. In all other respects, both groups of students received identical instruction. The results demonstrate the importance of enabling students to construct derivational linkages among models, both with respect to their understanding of circuit theory and their ability to solve qualitative and quantitative circuit problems. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 36: 806-836, 1999 This article is concerned with how students come to understand abstract scientific models and use them in explaining physical phenomena and solving problems. In a series of studies, we have been evaluating a theory of the development of such understanding which focuses on the linkages among models at different levels in an abstraction hierarchy (Frederiksen & White, 1992; White, 1993a;White & Frederiksen, 1990;White, Frederiksen, & Spoehr, 1993). Lowerlevel models typically are based on a finer grain of analysis, they focus on more concrete phenomena involving objects and their interactions, and they employ causal reasoning about object interactions (cf. White, 1993a). An example is an electrostatic model of the interaction of charged particles. Higher-level models focus on more abstract representations of variables and JOURNAL

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“…Analogical reasoning in learning situations requires considerable guidance". There are many examples of possible teaching models centred on the use of analogy in the literature: Brown's and Clement's (1989) bridging-analogies, Dupin's and Johsua's (1989) analogy teaching model, Glynn"s (1989) Teaching-With-Analogies (TWA) model, and Zeitoun"s (1984) general model of analogy teaching (GMAT).…”

Section: Analogic Reasoning and Constructivist Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

K-means Clustering to Study How Student Reasoning Lines Can Be Modified by a Learning Activity Based on Feynman’s Unifying Approach

Battaglia

Paola

Fazio

2017

EURASIA J MATH SCI T

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Research in Science Education has shown that often students need to learn how to identify differences and similarities between descriptive and explicative models. The development and use of explicative skills in the field of thermal science has always been a difficult objective to reach. A way to develop analogical reasoning is to use in Science Education unifying conceptual frameworks. In this paper we describe a 20-hour workshop focused on Feynman's Unifying Approach and the two-level system. We measure its efficacy in helping undergraduate chemical engineering students explain phenomena by applying an explanatory model. Contexts involve systems for which a process is activated by thermally overcoming a well-defined potential barrier. A questionnaire containing six open-ended questions was administered to the students before instruction. A second one, similar but focused on different physical content was administered after instruction. Responses were analysed using k-means Cluster Analysis and students' inferred lines of reasoning about the analysed phenomena were studied. We conclude that students reasoning lines seem to have clearly evolved to explicative ones and it is reasonable to think that the Feynman Unifying Approach has favoured this change.

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Analogies and “modeling analogies” in teaching: Some examples in basic electricity

Cited by 99 publications

References 13 publications

Levels of comprehension of scientific prose: the role of text variables

Levels of comprehension of scientific prose: the role of text variables

Dynamic mental models in learning science: The importance of constructing derivational linkages among models

K-means Clustering to Study How Student Reasoning Lines Can Be Modified by a Learning Activity Based on Feynman’s Unifying Approach

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