Improving University Life Science Instruction with Analogies: Insights from a Course for Graduate Teaching Assistants

Petchey, Sara; Treagust, David F.; Niebert, Kai

doi:10.1187/cbe.22-07-0142

Cited by 1 publication

(2 citation statements)

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“…However, as cautioned by Oppenheimer (1956), all analogies, even if inspirational, must be empirically tested, to find their limits (cf. Petchey et al, 2023). In that sense, the proper scientific methods that cognitive load researchers have used in the development of the theory-randomized, controlled, and replicable experiments (Sweller et al, 2011(Sweller et al, , 2019-should be used in the testing of novel instructional procedures inspired by this analogical approach.…”

Section: Future Research Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless, while these analogies are well-known, they have had limited influence, possibly because evolutionary psychology is a relatively new discipline, with evolutionary educational psychology even more recent (see Geary, 2008Geary, , 2012. The aim of the present theoretical article is to describe further links between some aspects of biological evolution and human cognition, in the understanding that analogies are powerful tools that aid in aligning, comparing, and transforming information between different sources (see Richland and Simms, 2015;Petchey et al, 2023). By fostering connections between these theories, we can expect contributions to research on human cognition.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Biological evolution and human cognition are analogous information processing systems

Castro-Alonso,

Hidalgo,

Sweller

2024

Front. Psychol.

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The mechanisms that govern biological evolution and human cognition are analogous, as both follow the same principles of natural information processing systems. In this article, we describe the following five principles that provide an analogy between biological evolution and human cognition: (a) Randomness as Genesis Principle and (b) Borrowing and Reorganizing Principle, which indicate how natural information processing systems obtain information; (c) Narrow Limits of Change Principle and (d) Information Store Principle, which indicate how information is processed and stored; and (e) Environmental Organizing and Linking Principle, which indicate how stored information is used to generate actions appropriate to an environment. In human cognition, these analogs only apply to cognitive processes associated with biologically secondary knowledge, the knowledge typically taught in educational institutions. Based on these five principles, cognitive load theory researchers have provided diverse prescriptions to optimize instructional activities and materials. We conclude by discussing general instructional implications and future research directions based on this analogy.

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