Analogical Transfer: Sequence and Connection

The issue of connection between entities has a lengthy history in educational research, especially since it provides the necessary bridge between base and target in analogical transfer. Recently, the connection has been viewed through the application of technology to bridge between sequences in order to be cognitively useful. This study reports the effect of sequence type (AT vs. TA) and connection type (fading vs. popping) on the achievement and analogical transfer in a multimedia application. In the current research, 10th -grade and 11th -grade biology students in Korea were randomly assigned to five groups to test the effects of presentation sequence and entity connection type on analogical transfer. Consistent with previous studies, sequence type has a significant effect: analogical transfer performance was better when base representations were presented first followed by target representations rather than the reverse order. This is probably because presenting a familiar base first helps in understanding a less familiar target. However, no fully significant differences were found with the entity connection types (fading vs. popping) in analogical transfer. According to the Markman and Gentner's (2005) spatial model, analogy in a space is influenced only by the differences between concepts, not by distance in space. Thus connection types fail on the basis of this spatial model in analogical transfer test. The findings and their implications for sequence and connection research and practice are discussed. Leveraging on the analogical learning process, specific implications for scaffolding learning processes and the development of adaptive expertise are drawn.