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Home » Informing software design with learning science » Chapter 3: Metaphor and analogy

3.1 Metaphor/Analogy principles illustration

Submitted by Kathy on Sun, 2010-06-13 12:49

A few illustrated examples:

  1. Source metaphor => shared structure => new application situations.
  2. Philosophy: economics, biology
  3. Math: engineer, social science
  4. Cognitive structure: by analogical, by hierarchy
  5. Reasoning by model: reasoning by story 1, reasoning by story 2
  6. Template structure:source application, new application
  7. Learning science + communication + marketing: in family, in school, in workplace

1. Source metaphor => shared structure => new application situations.

Relationships:

1. Shared structure is on the top level, and source metaphor and the new situation on the bottom level

2. When reasoning with a metaphor, we need to figure out the source metaphor, then abstract the shard structure, and finally apply this structure in the new situation.

 2. Philosophy: economics, biology

Philosophy is the science of sciences. From the perspective of philosophy, any subject field is about three things:

1. The components of the field

2. The relationships between these components

3. For each components, repeat the operations of 1 & 2.

 3. Math: engineer, social science

Math has been applied in engineer widely.

How about social science? Can math be widely applied here?

The answer depends on how we view math: math can be used to address well-structured data problems; moreover, math can also be used to build models for ill-structured and semi-structured.

If we see math in this way, math should be able to inform social science greatly.

4. Cognitive structure: by analogical, by hierarchy

How knowledge is structured in our mind?

When we learn something, which is the way of changing the structure?

By hierarchy or by analogy?

Can you make a guess according to your daily thinking and learning.

5. Reasoning by model: reasoning by story 1, reasoning by story 2

Experts reason by models; Just-plain-folks reason by stories.

The models are usually created from stories.

6. Template structure:source application, new application

Step 1: create or find a source applicatiion

Step 2: abstract the template structure

Step 3: apply the template in a new application situation.

7. Learning science + communication + marketing: in family, in school, in workplace

These three subjects  should

--be taught explicitly and systematically from very young (maybe with the spiral curriculum)

--be taught explicitly and embedded in learning any subjects

UNFORTUNATELY, the reality is the inadequacy in every aspect.

 

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