The use of analogies and models in teaching and learning physics in secondary schools

Abstract

Teachers can use different resources to explain abstract concepts during Physics lessons. One way of doing this is to use analogies and models and as Harrison and Coll (2008) state, 'analogies and models are thinking tools' (p. 1). In fact, I used this to my advantage by trying to find ways how these resources could be included in the teaching and learning of Physics. So I designed a lesson plan about the basic concepts in the Physics topic of 'Electricity'; 'current', 'resistance' and 'voltage' that included the use of an analogy and a model. I asked three research questions. The first question was to check whether students understood Physics concepts better with the use of analogies and models while the second one was to find if students get more motivated with the use of such resources. The final question was to check whether analogies and models are useful in teaching and learning Physics. Therefore, to answer these three research questions, eight classroom observations were carried out with Form 4 students in four schools, two Secondary schools and two Junior Lyceum ones. Moreover, two schools were boys' schools while another two were girls' schools. Following the observations, focus group sessions were done with the students while one-to-one interviews were carried out with the eight teachers. Results from this study indicated that students understood abstract concepts better and were motivated more when such resources were used. In addition, both analogy and model can be considered as useful resources when teaching and learning Physics.