The use of analogies in science communication: Effectiveness of an activity in initial primary science teacher education

This article presents a study focused on analysing the effectiveness of an activity about the use of analogies in science communication. The activity consisted of reading two science articles published in a prestigious digital newspaper about the first image of a black hole. The purpose was (i) to i...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: García Carmona, Antonio
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repositorio:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:idus.us.es:11441/156710
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/156710
https://doi.org/0000-0001-5952-0340
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Analogy
Digital press
Prospective primary teachers
Science communication
Science teaching
Descripción
Sumario:This article presents a study focused on analysing the effectiveness of an activity about the use of analogies in science communication. The activity consisted of reading two science articles published in a prestigious digital newspaper about the first image of a black hole. The purpose was (i) to identify and analyse the analogies used in the news articles, and (ii) to assess the advantages and possible limitations of their use in communicating scientific ideas. The activity was performed with prospective primary education teachers (PPTs) who were receiving instruction in science teaching. Their responses were analysed descriptively with a rubric developed in accordance with methods of qualitative content analysis. The results indicate that the PPTs achieved a moderate progression in their conceptions of the use of analogies in science communication and, overall, it can be said that the activity had a positive educative effect. Finally, a discussion of the implications and limitations of the study for PPTs’ training in the use of analogies is presented.