Arab Educational Information Network

Scientific concepts in science textbooks are often complex and not intuitive; therefore, the strategy of teaching analogies plays an important role in the learning process. So, it is important to determine how to organize teaching analogies in science textbooks. This study aims to scrutinize the types of teaching analogies used in science textbooks (6 textbooks) in Saudi intermediate schools. All teaching analogies used in these six science textbooks have been examined using the descriptive analysis method. As a result of the analysis, 47 analogies were identified. These teaching analogies were classified based on a scheme developed by Curtis and Reigeluth in 1984. This classification system includes six categories: analogical relationship, content condition, presentational format, position in text, level of enrichment and pre-topic orientation. It was determined that most of these teaching analogies were about biology. As shown in most of these teaching analogies, the structural relationship feature was clear; however, the percentage of analogies with the structural-functional feature was very little. Also, most of the teaching analogies used were verbal. It was also found that most of the teaching analogies are concrete/abstract. Furthermore, the majority of these teaching analogies were simple analogies, while the percentage of enrichment analogies was very little. In light of these findings, the study presented some recommendations and suggestions. (Published abstract)