The explanatory role of spontaneously generated analogies in reasoning about physiological concepts

Analogical reasoning is increasingly recognized as an important instrument for promoting conceptual change in science learning. This study characterized students' and physicians' spontaneous use of analogies in reasoning about concepts related to the mechanical properties of cardiovascular physiology. The analogies were made in response to questions at different levels of abstraction from basic physiology to clinical problems. The results indicate that analogies generated by subjects facilitated explanations in a number of ways. These include creating coherent representations in novel situations, bridging gaps in understanding, and triggering associations which result in modified explanations. Subjects at different levels of expertise used analogies differently. The more expert subjects used analogies to facilitate articulation and communication; that is, to illustrate and expand on their explanations. Novices and advanced medical students used more between‐domain analogies to explain all categories of questions. This is less evident in physicians' responses to pathophysiological and clinical problems. The paper discusses ways in which analogies can be used productively, and identifies factors that can lead to a counter‐productive use of analogies resulting in misconceptions and erroneous explanations.     

Book reviews

Post‐Secondary Distance Education in Canada: Policies, Practices, and Priorities. Edited by Robert Sweet. (Edmonton, Alberta: Athabasca University and the Canadian Society for Studies in Education, 1989, 272 pp., $15.95 Canadian.)

The Computer Revolution in Education: New Technologies for Distance Teaching. Edited by Ann Jones, Eileen Scanlon and Tim O'Shea. (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1987. 282 pp. $37.50)     

Making Critical Connections Between Social Studies Teaching and Student Achievement Using NAEP Data Explorer

In this analysis of promising practice, we demonstrate how social studies methods instructors can incorporate data analysis of the 2010 United States History National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP–USH) to facilitate pedagogical aims, engage teacher candidates in critical discourse, and investigate the contexts of teaching and learning. The NAEP data explorer application is a valuable tool for examining social studies theory and practice in relation to student learning outcomes. Our assessment of teacher candidates' responses to the activity leads to the recommendation that NAEP data analysis and results encourage self-evaluation of instructional practices while simultaneously supporting critical interpretations of the NAEP exam.     

Complicity and control in the workplace: a critical case study of TQM,learning, and the management of knowledge

This article analyses how a Total Quality Management process with an embedded workplace literacy programme was implemented in an industrial manufacturing plant. Designed as an insider/outsider team research project, data were collected through interviews with management personnel, education and training providers, and hourly workers. Findings reveal that the Total Quality Management process and the literacy programme were implemented under the guise of providing education and training for workers, but were driven by corporate policy to reduce labour costs. The study also examines the way in which adult education was complicit in controlling workplace knowledge.