Scientific Thinking Is in the Mind's Eye.

N

11

Analogy; Concept Formation; Epistemology; Imagination; Metaphors; Perception; Science Instruction; Scientific Literacy; Secondary Education; Thinking Skills; Visualization

It is important to incorporate visual thinking into science instruction. Imagination and perception play vital roles in scientific inquiry. Metaphors, like perceptions, are drawn from common experiences and are a means to anchor scientists' thought processes in generating a pattern that bridges the gap between the seen and the unseen. Metaphors (visual and verbal) that relate to the emotional, aesthetic, and social forces of scientific inquiry are instrumental for teaching the epistemology of science. While metaphors compare implicitly, analogies compare explicitly the structure of two domains. Analogies can aid students in constructing new conscious models. A qualitative study in which 12 different analogies were used by six teachers engaged in teaching high school science, shows considerable success in learning by analogy. Instructional implications from one recent study on the use of analogies in high school chemistry include the need to develop a personal repertoire of useful analogies; the necessity of using analogies that students relate to; and the importance of explicitly mapping the attributes between the source and the target. Research has shown that without direction and training, students are not likely to use any of the general methods of visualization. (AEF)

1996

ED391504