An Analysis of Analogies Used in Secondary School Biology Textbooks: Case of Turkey

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Küçük Resim

Tarih

2010

Dergi Başlığı

Dergi ISSN

Cilt Başlığı

Yayıncı

Anı Yayıncılık

Erişim Hakkı

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Özet

Problem Statement: Analogies can help make science concepts meaningful to learners but only when used appropriately. They can visualise abstract concepts and motivate. For this reason, analogies are common in biology textbooks. However, previous studies have suggested that analogies are used randomly and carelessly in science textbooks. This situation can cause students to misunderstand scientific concepts. From this point of view, it is considered that analysing the analogies used in biology textbooks will benefit students and teachers. Purpose of the Study: The aim of this study is to analyse the types of analogies used in secondary school biology textbooks in Turkey and investigate how these analogies are presented. Method: A document examination technique was used in this research. Seven secondary school biology textbooks were investigated. Determined analogies in the textbooks were classified as follows: analogical relationship, presentational format, level of abstraction, position of the analogue relevant to the target, level of enrichment, pre-topic orientation and the limitations of the analogy. Findings and Results: A total of 119 analogies were determined in the biology textbooks. A considerable proportion of those were related to cell structure and function, including cells and organelles such as the factory analogy for cell structure and function and power generator analogy for mitochondria. It was determined that analogies were configured mostly as structural, verbal, concerte-abstract, embedded activator and simple analogies. Most were not configured in accordance with analogy-based teaching models. Therefore students can develop misconceptions. Analogies that only indicate superficial similarities can confuse students, and these must be elaborated and made interesting for students. To prevent misconceptions, it is necessary to indicate the irrelevant features of the target and analogue concepts. Conclusions and Recommendations: When preparing biology textbooks, the principles highlighted by teaching models such as the teaching with analogies model should be taken into consideration.

Açıklama

Anahtar Kelimeler

biology education, analogy, biology textbooks

Kaynak

Eurasian Journal of Educational Research

WoS Q Değeri

N/A

Scopus Q Değeri

Cilt

Sayı

41

Künye

Dikmenli, M., (2010). An Analysis of Analogies Used in Secondary School Biology Textbooks: Case of Turkey. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, (41), 73-90.