Learning Abstract Concepts: The Use of Analogies as a Mediational Strategy

This paper examines the differences between concrete and abstract concepts and the implications of those differences for instructional design and teaching. The use of analogies is suggested as an instructional tool in abstract concept learning. Using the published literature on concept learning and analogies, the authors examine how specific concepts are stored in and retrieved from memory, the particular problems presented in learning abstract concepts, and how analogies mediate between the vague, intangible attributes of abstract concepts and those of a more concrete nature. Finally, they present a possible instructional strategy for teaching abstract concepts.