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Analogies are often used in science, but students may not appreciate their significance, and so the analogies can be misunderstood or discounted. For this reason, educationalists often express concern about the use of analogies in teaching. Given the important place of analogies in the discourse of science, it is necessary that students are explicitly shown how they work, perhaps based on the structure-mapping theory we outline here. When using an analogy, the teacher should very clearly specify both its components and its limitations. Great care is required in developing an analogy to ensure that it is understood as intended and that misconceptions are minimized. This approach models the behavior of a scientist, which helps to develop student understanding of the practice of science.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	anaologies, science teaching, misconception
Research Division:	Biological Sciences
Research Group:	Biochemistry and cell biology
Research Field:	Analytical biochemistry
Objective Division:	Education and Training
Objective Group:	Learner and learning
Objective Field:	Learner and learning not elsewhere classified
UTAS Author:	Brown, SC (Dr Simon Brown)
UTAS Author:	Salter, S (Mrs Susan Salter)
ID Code:	73947
Year Published:	2010
Web of Science® Times Cited:	15
Deposited By:	Health Sciences A
Deposited On:	2011-11-02
Last Modified:	2014-12-19
Downloads:	3 View Download Statistics