Student teachers’ use of analogies in science instruction

As part of their general guidance on explaining science principles to pupils, student teachers are often exhorted to employ analogies. In this study, 55 science students enrolled on a pre‐service Postgraduate Certificate of Education programme were surveyed to ascertain the extent of their analogy use while on school assignment. Information was also obtained on the origin, nature, presentation and perceived effectiveness of these analogies. It was found that, for the most part, students devised their own analogies or they adapted ideas from other teachers or textbooks. In this process, great care was taken to select contexts which would appeal to the pupils and relate to their everyday lives. On the other hand, the student teachers tended to view analogies as relatively unproblematic and they overlooked many important issues associated with their use.