This book brings together powerful ideas and new developments from internationally recognised scholars and classroom practitioners to provide theoretical and practical knowledge to inform progress in science education. This is achieved through a series of related chapters reporting research on analogy and metaphor in science education. Throughout the book, contributors not only highlight successful applications of analogies and metaphors, but also foreshadow exciting developments for research and practice. Themes include metaphor and analogy: best practice, as reasoning; for learning; applications in teacher development; in science education research; philosophical and theoretical foundations. Accordingly, the book is likely to appeal to a wide audience of science educators –classroom practitioners, student teachers, teacher educators and researchers.

Years ago a primary teacher told me about a great series of lessons she had just had. The class had visited rock pools on the seashore, and when she asked them about their observations they talked about: it was like a factory, it was like a church, it was like a garden, it was like our kitchen at breakfast time, etc. Each student’s analogy could be elaborated, and these analogies provided her with strongly engaged students and a great platform from which to develop their learning about biological diversity and interdependence. In everyday life we learn so many things by comparing and contrasting. The use of analogies and metaphors is important in science itself and their use in teaching science seems a natural extension, but textbooks with their own sparse logic, do not help teachers or students. David Ausubel in the 1960s had advocated the use of ‘advance organisers’ to introduce the teaching of conceptual material in the sciences, and some of these had an analogical character. However, research on the value of this idea was cumbersome and indecisive, and it ceased after just a few studies. In the 1980s research into children’s conceptions of scientific phenomena and concepts really burgeoned, and it was soon followed by an exploration of a new set of pedagogical strategies that recognised a student in a science class is much more than a tabula rasa.

Years ago a primary teacher told me about a great series of lessons she had just had. The class had visited rock pools on the seashore, and when she asked them about their observations they talked about: it was like a factory, it was like a church, it was like a garden, it was like our kitchen at breakfast time, etc. Each student’s analogy could be elaborated, and these analogies provided her with strongly engaged students and a great platform from which to develop their learning about biological diversity and interdependence. In everyday life we learn so many things by comparing and contrasting. The use of analogies and metaphors is important in science itself and their use in teaching science seems a natural extension, but textbooks with their own sparse logic, do not help teachers or students. David Ausubel in the 1960s had advocated the use of ‘advance organisers’ to introduce the teaching of conceptual material in the sciences, and some of these had an analogical character. However, research on the value of this idea was cumbersome and indecisive, and it ceased after just a few studies. In the 1980s research into children’s conceptions of scientific phenomena and concepts really burgeoned, and it was soon followed by an exploration of a new set of pedagogical strategies that recognised a student in a science class is much more than a tabula rasa.

Metaphors show students how to make connections between the concrete and the abstract, prior knowledge and unfamiliar concepts, and language and image. But teachers must learn how to use metaphors and analogies strategically and for specific purposes, helping students discover and deconstruct effective comparisons. Metaphors & Analogies is filled with provocative illustrations of metaphors in action and practical tips.

Human beings rely equally on narrative (or storytelling) and metaphor (or analogy) for making sense of the world. Narrative and Metaphor in Education integrates the two perspectives of narrative and metaphor in educational theory and practice at every level from pre-school to lifelong civic education. Bringing together outstanding educational researchers, the book interweaves for the first time the rich strand of current research about how narrative may be used productively in education with more fragmentary research on the role of metaphor in education and invites readers to ‘look both ways.’ The book consists of research by 40 academics from many countries and disciplines, describing and analysing the intricate connections between narrative and metaphor as they manifest themselves in many fields of education, including: concepts of education, teacher identity and reflective practice, teaching across cultures, teaching science and history, using digital and visual media in teaching, fostering reconciliation in a postcolonial context, special needs education, civic and social education and educational policy-making. It is unique in combining study of the narrative perspective and the metaphor perspective, and in exploring such a comprehensive range of topics in education. Narrative and Metaphor in Education will be of great interest to academics and researchers in the fields of education and educational policy, as well as teacher educators, practising and future teachers. It will also appeal to psychologists, sociologists, applied linguists and communications specialists.

When analogies are effective, they readily engage students' interest and clarify difficult and abstract ideas. But not all analogies are created equal, and developing them is not always intuitive. Drawing from an extensive research base on the use of analogies in the classroom, Allan Harrison, Richard K. Coll, and a team of science experts come to the rescue with more than 40 teacher-friendly, ready-to-use analogies for biology, earth and space studies, chemistry, and physics. The rich material shows teachers how and when to select analogies for instruction, why certain analogies work or break down, how to gauge their effectiveness, and how to improve them. Designed to enhance teachers' presentation and interpretation of analogies through focus, action, and reflection (FAR), this guidebook includes: Key science concepts explained through effective models and analogies, Research findings on the use of analogies and their motivational impact, Guidelines that allow teachers and students to develop their own analogies, Numerous visual aids, science vignettes, and anecdotes to support the use of analogies. Linked to NSTA standards, Using Analogies in Middle and Secondary Science Classrooms will become a much-used resource by teachers who want to enrich inquiry-based science instruction. Book jacket.

Covering a range of metaphors from a diverse field of sciences, from cell and molecular biology to evolution, ecology, and biomedicine, Understanding Metaphors in the Life Sciences explores the positive and negative implications of the widespread use of metaphors in the biological and life sciences. From genetic codes, programs, and blueprints, to cell factories, survival of the fittest, the tree of life, selfish genes, and ecological niches, to genome editing with CRISPR's molecular scissors, metaphors are ubiquitous and vital components of the modern life sciences. But how exactly do metaphors help scientists to understand the objects they study? How can they mislead both scientists and laypeople alike? And what should we all understand about the implications of science's reliance on metaphorical speech and thought for objective knowledge and adequate public policy informed by science? This book will literally help you to better understand the metaphorical dimensions of science.