title: Rapid Learning in a Children's Museum via Analogical Comparison.
abstract: We tested whether analogical training could help children learn a key principle of elementary engineering-namely, the use of a diagonal brace to stabilize a structure. The context for this learning was a construction activity at the Chicago Children's Museum, in which children and their families build a model skyscraper together. The results indicate that even a single brief analogical comparison can confer insight. The results also reveal conditions that support analogical learning.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Northwestern University.
authors.forename: Dedre
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gentner
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Chicago.
authors.forename: Susan C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Loyola University.
authors.forename: Raedy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ping
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago.
authors.forename: Ashley
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Isaia
authors.affiliation: American Institutes for Research.
authors.forename: Sonica
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dhillon
authors.affiliation: Children's Museum of Manhattan.
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bradley
authors.affiliation: SUNY-Binghamton.
authors.forename: Garrett
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Honke
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D004738:Engineering / Q000193:education*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D009144:Museums
keywords: Analogical learning; STEM learning in museums; Spatial learning