Drawing analogies
Initial Publication Date: November 3, 2008
Summary
Students write analogies, describe similarities and differences between analog and target and draw inferences.
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Context
Audience
Undergraduate general education science course
Skills and concepts that students must have mastered
none
How the activity is situated in the course
Students do this exercise at least twice a week with new concepts.
Goals
Content/concepts goals for this activity
The goal is to practice reasoning by analogy.
Higher order thinking skills goals for this activity
This provides students with a framework for developing models.
Other skills goals for this activity
Description of the activity/assignment
Students work in groups during class or while doing online homework. They are encouraged to explore whether or not group members understand their reasoning.
Metacognitive components of the activity
The activity is designed to make the structure of reasoning by analogy apparent.Metacognitive goals for this activity:
The goal is to help students recognize how they reason and learn about new concepts.Assessing students' metacognition
Evidence to date is qualitative.Determining whether students have met the goals
Students practice frequently in class and do homework. Assessment is based on how well they draw and reason by analogy on tests.
More information about assessment tools and techniques.