The Role of Analogy in Learning Spatial Concepts in Geoscience

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The Role of Analogy in Learning Spatial Concepts
in Geoscience
Benjamin Jee, Northwestern University David
Uttal, Northwestern University Dedre Gentner,
Northwestern University Cathy Manduca, Carleton
College Thomas Shipley, Temple University Brad
Sageman, Northwestern University Carol Ormand,
Carleton College Basil Tikoff, UW-Madison
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Analogy in science learning

• Consider the Earths history as the old measure
  of the English yard, the distance from the king's
  nose to the tip of his outstretched hand. One
  stroke of a nail file erases human history.
• - McPhee (1981), Basin and Range

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Two ways that people can learn from analogy

• 1. Comparing a less familiar example to a more
  familiar example

Gentner, 1983 Gentner Markman, 1997
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Analogy highlights common relational structure

• Mapping favors relational structure over object
  matches
• Analogy supports novel inferences

Gentner, 1983 Gentner Markman, 1997
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Two ways that people can learn from analogy

• 1. Comparing a less familiar example to a more
  familiar example
• 2. Comparing two partially understood examples

Bryce MacMillan, 2005 Clement, 1993 Gentner,
Loewenstein, Hung, 2007
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Comparing two partially understood examples
Structural abstraction

• Common relational structure is highlighted
• Supports abstraction of common structure

Gentner, 1983, 1989, 2003 Gentner Markman,
1997 Gick Holyoak, 1983
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Comparing two partially understood examples
Alignable difference

• Common relational structure is highlighted
• Supports abstraction of common structure
• Highlights alignable differences (readily
  comparable features that differ between the items)

Gentner Markman, 1995, 1997 Markman Gentner,
2000
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Alignable differences are highly salient
Alignable
Nonalignable
Gentner Sagi, 2006
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Comparing two partially understood examples
Progressive alignment

• If the corresponding objects are similar,
  alignment is easier
• Progressive alignment transition from more to
  less similar examples

Gentner, Loewenstein, Hung, 2007
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Applying analogy to perceptual learning of
spatial concepts in geoscience
A fault is a fracture that shows evidence of
movement
Students are typically presented with multiple
examples in sequence, but identifying faults in
these real-world images may be difficult
Marshak, 2005 USGS.gov Wikepedia.org
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Applying analogy to fault learning
We designed a fault identification task using two
principles of analogical learning 1
Comparisons involving highly similar items
facilitates the noticing of alignable
differences. Comparing a fault with a highly
similar contrast case may highlight cues that can
help with identifying a fault
Fault
X
Gentner Markman, 1995, 1997 Markman Gentner,
2000
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Applying analogy to fault learning
We designed a fault identification task using two
principles of analogical learning 1
Comparisons involving highly similar items
facilitates the noticing of alignable
differences. Comparing a fault with a highly
similar contrast case may highlight cues that can
help with identifying a fault 2 Over the course
of learning, progressive alignment from similar
to less similar pairs helps novice learners
abstract the perceptual concept fault
Gentner, Loewenstein, Hung, 2007
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Applying analogy to fault learning

• Learning to identify faults may be facilitated by
  comparisons that are
• (a) highly similar, where one image contains a
  fault and the other does not, and (b) presented
  in a sequence from high to low similarity
• Because of the spatial nature of fault
  identification, we examine the contribution of
  spatial skill
• Because some participants may have geology course
  experience, we also examine the contribution of
  background geology experience

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Materials

• Two images clipped from a larger photo, one
  containing fault, the other not

Fault
No fault
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Method

• 64 Intro Psych students
• 10 similar 10 dissimilar pairs (No feedback on
  responses)

Progressive alignment
Dissimilar first
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Method

• Spatial ability test Water level
• Geo experience questionnaire (10 Qs)
• Previous courses in geology?
• Interested in geology and other Earth sciences?
• etc

http//viz.bd.psu.edu/viz/ Liben, 1991 Vasta
Liben, 1995
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Results Effects of condition
Does progressive alignment lead to higher
performance?
May depend on background experience
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Results Spatial skills
Do spatial skills predict performance?
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Results Geoscience experience

• What knowledge led to higher performance?
• 17 participants explained the information they
  used to search for and identify faults in images
• 2 main types of information present in responses
  use of cracks/fractures, and use of
  movement/displacement of layers

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Ongoing research

• More initial instruction that explicitly
  distinguishes faults from fractures may be
  especially beneficial for novices
• e.g., diagrams, photos, or simulations of faults

Fault
Fracture, No fault

• Examine eye movements to observe processing
  (search and
• comparison) in more detail (with T. Shipley
  and colleagues at Temple)
• - Does people compare the similar images more
  often?
• - Does comparison relate to higher performance?

• Using sketched materials to maximize alignability
  of pairs