Overcoming Misconceptions via Analogical Reasoning : Factors Influencing Understanding in a Teaching Experiment / David E. Brown and John Clement.

In most research that investigates factors influencing the success of analogies in instruction, an underlying assumption is that students have little or no knowledge of the target situation. It is interesting to ask what factors influence the success of analogies when students believe they understand the target situation. If this understanding is not normative, instruction must aim at conceptual change rather than simply conceptual growth. Through the analysis of four case studies of tutoring interviews, a preliminary list of factors important for success in overcoming misconceptions via analogical reasoning is proposed. First, there must be a usable anchoring conception. Second, the analogical connection between an anchoring example and the target situation may need to be developed explicitly through processes such as the use of intermediate analogies. Third, it may be necessary to engage the student in a process of analogical reasoning in an interactive teaching environment, rather than simply presenting the analogy in a text or lecture. Finally, the result of this process may need to be the student's construction of a new explanatory model of the target situation. (YP)

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