Analogy, Learning, and the ABCs
Note: Over the next several months, we will be exploring different concepts from the “ABC’s of How We Learn” by Daniel Schwartz, Jessica Tsang, and Kristen Blair. Each concept, organized by a letter of the alphabet, explores current and emerging teaching methodologies and concepts that are used in education today.
Analogy. The word conjures up memories of old SAT exams and primary school exercises. It also evokes long-held understandings of how to teach and learn. We all know the structure, “If ‘A’ is to ‘Apple’, then ‘B’ is to ‘Banana’”. In many cases, analogy is a simple method to express concepts in a way that is relatable to the student, known as positive transfer. However, they could also end up muddling ideas and not encouraging a student to actually understand what they are answering, known as negative transfer.
The SAT removed analogies from the exam in 2005. Samantha Lindsay writes that they were removed because they were not relevant “to success in a college or work environment” and that they actually did not accomplish the goal of assessing the knowledge of a student. Furthermore, the questions and answers were found to be largely “biased towards certain socioeconomic groups,” disadvantaging any student not belonging to the advantaged group. This all falls under the concept of negative transfer, which transmits the wrong information and concepts and ends up further confusing the students.
Another problem facing analogies is that they can encourage superficial learning as opposed to deep structural learning. If an educator doesn’t use analogy as a springboard opportunity, then it could arguably lead a student down the wrong path. To return to the analogy I introduced earlier, “A is for Apple, B is for Banana” works not only to introduce how the alphabet works but also that apples and bananas belong to a shared group. However, it doesn’t tell us at all why apples and bananas can be grouped together nor anything much else about them. This is the type of superficial understanding that can occur if analogy is not used properly.
On the other hand, positive transfer can be an excellent way to introduce novel information in a digestible manner. When learning about anatomy, for example, arteries and blood vessels could be introduced as the body’s highways. Or, another example, the neural system can be analogized to a city’s electrical network. The possibilities are endless, when novel concepts are brought into the classroom and then related to something familiar.
Analogy is a long-held and easily understood method of teaching new ideas to students. It allows you to open the door to knowledge by making new notions approachable. But be careful. Make sure your analogies speak to deep structural comparisons rather than superficial qualities. Analogies should encourage thinking that drives the thirst for knowledge. If not, you risk a lesson with no nutritional value, so to speak, or worse: confusion.
