Science teachers’ use of analogies: observations from classroom practice

Abstract

The study was designed to examine how science teachers used analogies during their regular teaching routines to enable students to comprehend scientific concepts. A total of 40 lessons taught by seven different teachers were observed and analysed using an interpretive research methodology to develop four generalized observations. In this study the science teachers used few analogies, though both simple and enriched types were observed in their teaching. Interviews following classroom observations revealed that the teachers were knowledgeable about some of the beneficial and detrimental aspects of analogy use, and they considered that they used both analogies and examples as a regular part of their teaching, though it was observed that often they did not differentiate between examples and analogies. The research suggests that effective use of analogies in regular classroom science teaching needs to be based on a well‐prepared teaching repertoire of analogies, using specific content in specific contexts and for science teachers to have a view of learners as being responsible for constructing their own knowledge rather than being passive recipients of teacher‐presented knowledge.