Analogical Reasoning in the Engineering Design Process and Technology Education Applications

Introduction This synthesis paper discusses the research exploring analogical reasoning, the role of analogies in the engineering design process, and educational applications for analogical reasoning. Researchers have discovered that analogical reasoning is often a fundamental cognitive tool in design problem solving. Regarding the possible role of analogical reasoning in the context of technology education; analogies may be a useful tool to develop student’s design skills, teach abstract or complex concepts, and build students’ analogical reasoning skills for general problem solving. The positive and negative educational implications of analogical reasoning being explored by researchers are also discussed. With the development of the Standards for Technological Literacy: Content for the Study of Technology (ITEA, 2000) and a focus on the integration of engineering design, the profession has attempted to standardize, validate a need for technology education, and most importantly increase students’ technological literacy. Technological literacy has been defined as the “ability to use, manage, assess, and understand technology” (ITEA, 2000, p. 9). The National Academy of Engineering and the National Research Council, in a joint report (2002), pointed to three interdependent dimensions of technological literacy: (a) knowledge, (b) ways of thinking and acting, and (c) capabilities. Engineering, with its emphasis on design, has been proposed to help bring about technological literacy and improve these cognitive skills (Dearing & Daugherty, 2004). The emphasis on cognition within technology education has led to an increased focus on cognitive science research, which has sought to understand how people think and learn. These efforts have been used to better develop