Ski lifts, bowling balls, pipe system or waterfall? Lower secondary students’ understanding of analogies for electric circuits.
Electric circuits are challenging for students to understand, and a wide range of analogies are developed in order to support their learning. This article investigates how lower secondary students understand four analogies presented in teaching material for science for Norwegian schools. The analogi...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Danish |
| Published: |
University of Oslo
2020-02-01
|
| Series: | Nordina: Nordic Studies in Science Education |
| Online Access: | https://journals.uio.no/nordina/article/view/6882 |
| _version_ | 1811276575236161536 |
|---|---|
| author | Erik Mogstad Berit Bungum |
| author_facet | Erik Mogstad Berit Bungum |
| author_sort | Erik Mogstad |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Electric circuits are challenging for students to understand, and a wide range of analogies are developed in order to support their learning. This article investigates how lower secondary students understand four analogies presented in teaching material for science for Norwegian schools. The analogies compare electric circuits to a ski lift, a water pipe system, a waterfall and moving bowling balls, respectively. Data in the study consist of group interviews with 12 students in lower secondary school, about how they understand the analogies. Results show that students are able to reason about continuity and the concept of current in circuits based on all the analogies, but that the concept of voltage remains a challenge. It seems from the results that analogies relating voltage to energy transfer as an effect of height difference in a gravitational field are constructive, despite the need for the more abstract concept of field. In addition, the results demonstrate that weaknesses in how the analogies are presented may cause major problems for students in building a fruitful understanding. This kind of weaknesses are prevalent in the teaching material studied. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T00:00:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-53eeec0c741d4046850599db506d384e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1504-4556 1894-1257 |
| language | Danish |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T00:00:06Z |
| publishDate | 2020-02-01 |
| publisher | University of Oslo |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nordina: Nordic Studies in Science Education |
| spelling | doaj.art-53eeec0c741d4046850599db506d384e2022-12-22T03:11:23ZdanUniversity of OsloNordina: Nordic Studies in Science Education1504-45561894-12572020-02-0116110.5617/nordina.6882Ski lifts, bowling balls, pipe system or waterfall? Lower secondary students’ understanding of analogies for electric circuits.Erik Mogstad0Berit Bungum1NTNUNTNUElectric circuits are challenging for students to understand, and a wide range of analogies are developed in order to support their learning. This article investigates how lower secondary students understand four analogies presented in teaching material for science for Norwegian schools. The analogies compare electric circuits to a ski lift, a water pipe system, a waterfall and moving bowling balls, respectively. Data in the study consist of group interviews with 12 students in lower secondary school, about how they understand the analogies. Results show that students are able to reason about continuity and the concept of current in circuits based on all the analogies, but that the concept of voltage remains a challenge. It seems from the results that analogies relating voltage to energy transfer as an effect of height difference in a gravitational field are constructive, despite the need for the more abstract concept of field. In addition, the results demonstrate that weaknesses in how the analogies are presented may cause major problems for students in building a fruitful understanding. This kind of weaknesses are prevalent in the teaching material studied.https://journals.uio.no/nordina/article/view/6882 |
| spellingShingle | Erik Mogstad Berit Bungum Ski lifts, bowling balls, pipe system or waterfall? Lower secondary students’ understanding of analogies for electric circuits. Nordina: Nordic Studies in Science Education |
| title | Ski lifts, bowling balls, pipe system or waterfall? Lower secondary students’ understanding of analogies for electric circuits. |
| title_full | Ski lifts, bowling balls, pipe system or waterfall? Lower secondary students’ understanding of analogies for electric circuits. |
| title_fullStr | Ski lifts, bowling balls, pipe system or waterfall? Lower secondary students’ understanding of analogies for electric circuits. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ski lifts, bowling balls, pipe system or waterfall? Lower secondary students’ understanding of analogies for electric circuits. |
| title_short | Ski lifts, bowling balls, pipe system or waterfall? Lower secondary students’ understanding of analogies for electric circuits. |
| title_sort | ski lifts bowling balls pipe system or waterfall lower secondary students understanding of analogies for electric circuits |
| url | https://journals.uio.no/nordina/article/view/6882 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT erikmogstad skiliftsbowlingballspipesystemorwaterfalllowersecondarystudentsunderstandingofanalogiesforelectriccircuits AT beritbungum skiliftsbowlingballspipesystemorwaterfalllowersecondarystudentsunderstandingofanalogiesforelectriccircuits |