Analogical comparison principle
Contents
Brief statement of principle
Analogical comparison can facilitate schema abstraction and transfer of that knowledge to new problem. By comparing the commonalities between two examples, students can focus on the causal structure and improve their learning about the concept.
Description of principle
Operational definition
Examples
Experimental support
Laboratory experiment support
Analogical comparison has also been shown to improve learning even when both examples are not initially well understood (Kurtz, Miao, & Gentner, 2001; Gentner Lowenstein, & Thompson, 2003). By comparing the commonalities between two examples, students could focus on the causal structure and improve their learning about the concept. Kurtz et al. (2001) showed that students who were learning about the concept of heat transfer learned more when comparing examples than when studying each example separately.
In vivo experiment support
Theoretical rationale
Comparing and contrasting problems can facilitate [analogical comparison]. (These entries should link to one or more learning processes.)
