Conceptual metaphor in physics education: Roots of analogy, visual metaphors, and a primary physics course for student teachers

Abstract

We show in what sense macroscopic physical science is a product of figurative (imaginative) structures of the human mind. Conceptual structure in physics is perception based and schematic and uses metaphoric, analogical, and narrative forms to extend direct perception and conception to cases of less directly accessible phenomena. For instance, a theory of the dynamics of heat can be rendered in a form analogous to that of fluids or electricity. We show how tools using visual forms of metaphors employed in macroscopic physical science can be designed and applied, and we briefly outline one application of the principles discussed here: a novel course for kindergarten and primary school student teachers.