Ethnogeology is the scientific study of human relationships with the Earth as a system, typically conducted within the context of a specific culture. Indigenous or historically resident people may perceive local places differently from outside observers trained in the Western tradition. Ethnogeologic knowledge includes traditional indigenous…

Many geoscience phenomena cannot be perceived at human temporal or spatial scales. As a consequence, we can only understand many processes that drive geological phenomena through analogical reasoning. Building deep conceptual understanding requires instruction that activates the appropriate source analogs and allows students to build useful…

This is a description of the conceptual foundations used for designing a novel learning environment for mechanics implemented as an "Industrial Educational Laboratory"--called Fisica in Moto (FiM)--at the Ducati Foundation in Bologna. In this paper, we will describe the motivation for and design of the conceptual approach to mechanics…

Narrative in science learning has become an important field of inquiry. Most applications of narrative are extrinsic to science--such as when they are used for creating affect and context. Where they are intrinsic, they are often limited to special cases and uses. To extend the reach of narrative in science, a hypothesis of narrative framing of…

At present, quality earth science education in grade school is rare, increasing the importance of post-secondary courses. Observations of post-secondary geoscience indicate students often maintain errant ideas about the earth, even after direct instruction. This qualitative case study documents model-building activities of students as they…

Energy is an abstract science concept, so the ways that we think and talk about energy rely heavily on ontological metaphors: metaphors for what kind of thing energy is. Two commonly used ontological metaphors for energy are "energy as a substance" and "energy as a vertical location." Our previous work has demonstrated that…

Utilizing an energy-as-substance conceptual metaphor as a central feature of the introductory physics curriculum affords students a wealth of conceptual resources for reasoning about energy conservation, storage, and transfer. This paper first establishes the utility and function of a conceptual metaphor in developing student understanding of…

Our objective is to contribute to the teaching of Classical Darwinian "Evolution" by means of a study of analogies and metaphors. Throughout the history of knowledge about "Evolution" and in Science teaching, tree structures have been used an analogs to refer to "Evolution," such as by Darwin in the "Tree of Life" passage contained in "On The…

Challenges the contention of science that scientific language eliminates figurative language and, instead, demonstrates the relationship of metaphor, models, and analogy to scientific concepts. (AM)

This paper describes the conceptualizations, or mental models, of the nature of the bonding and structure of metals of a group of U.K. college students. It is suggested that these mental models may be understood in terms of the students' prior learning about covalent and ionic bonding, and the prevalence of a common alternative conceptual…