An analysis of the effectiveness of analogy use in college‐level biochemistry textbooks

Science instructors and textbook authors often use analogies to help their students use information they already understand to develop an understanding of new concepts. This study reports the results of an analysis of the use of analogies in eight biochemistry textbooks, which included textbooks written for one‐semester survey biochemistry courses for non‐majors; two‐semester courses for chemistry or biochemistry majors; and biochemistry courses for medical school students. We present an analysis of how analogies are used and presented in biochemistry textbooks, and we compare the use of analogies in biochemistry textbooks to the use of analogies in other science textbooks. We also compare the use of analogies in biochemistry textbooks with the factors known to promote spontaneous transfer of attributes and relations from analog concept to target concept. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 43: 1040–1060, 2006     

Analysis of Essential Features of Inquiry Found in Articles Published in The Science Teacher, 1998–2007

In order to provide a picture of how inquiry is practiced in everyday science classrooms, the articles published in The Science Teacher from 1998 to 2007 were analyzed for explicit evidence of features of inquiry. Inquiry was operationally defined by the essential features detailed in Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards (NRC 2000). Few articles described full inquiry. Gathering and analyzing evidence were significantly more prominent than the other features of inquiry, which were present in less than 25% of the articles. This pattern may be related to teachers’ viewing inquiry more as a process than as a vehicle for learning science content. Each feature found was also rated for whether it was student- or teacher-directed. Most activities were teacher-directed.     

Understanding Teachers’ Conceptions of Classroom Inquiry With a Teaching Scenario Survey Instrument

A survey instrument using everyday teaching scenarios was developed to measure teacher conceptions of inquiry. Validity of the instrument was established by comparing responses for a group of secondary teachers to narrative writing and group discussion. Participating teachers used only three of the five essential features of inquiry detailed in the standards documents (NRC 2000) when expressing their ideas of classroom inquiry. The features of ‘evaluating explanations in connection with scientific knowledge’ and ‘communicating explanations’ were rarely mentioned. These missing components indicate a gap between the teachers’ conceptions of inquiry and the ideals of the reform movement.