Student 9: Yes there are good examples, so it’s not something totally weird, which you
cannot relate to.
Student 7: And it’s good when he takes“familiar”examples such as Zlatans nose. Yes, we
all know how it looks like.The teachers’way of providing meaningful metaphors and analogies that are con-
nected to everyday life seemed to be an important aspect that made difference for the
students’learning of science. The students also stressed the importance of providing
examples that were relevant for them as learners. According to them, too often
teachers try to give examples that they think connects to students’everyday but
instead the examples are grown out of the“world of adults”(student 7). All three
groups highlighted that this particular teacher was well aware of them, both as
individuals and as learners, and in such way he most often managed to connect the
examples to their interests and previous knowledge. The way he used his knowledge
of the students both as learners (i.e. students’preconceptions and learning difficul-
ties) and as individuals (i.e. their interests outside school) provides evidence of how
his knowledge of students’understanding was integrated in his classroom practice.
Student 9: He makes it so simple; he is really committed and takes examples from our lives
that we all can relate to. That makes sense.
Student 4: It’s difficult if you just get the facts, and no examples...and to know how
everything is interrelated.
Student 5: Well the teacher may present the main points and just when he takes those
examples he tends to build on the examples and go a little bit further. If we understand
some aspect that are not really connected to science and then pull these ideas into the
natural sciences as an example, it is easier to understand how it is connected.Most importantly, students expressed that the teacher helped them see how science
connects to their everyday life, which stretched beyond the traditional notion that
science is merely a subject in school.
Student 5: Yes, he normally manages to highlight the most important aspects within the
content and when he brings in the different examples from the real world we understand
much better. If we understand the context outside the science area and then takes the
science into our already perceived understanding, it is easier to get a connection. Yes, he
normally manages to do all these things.The students also highlighted how they experienced the way the teacher brought up
examples from his own personal life as engaging. For example, when he talked
about his own child and how she had inherited his characteristics they expressed
that they could better relate to the scientific concept.
Student 7: When he takes a personal example you can see that he feels confident as a
teacher.
Student 4: It is difficult to understand if we just get the facts and no concrete examples.
Then it is so much more difficult to understand how everything is connected to the real
world.760 P. Nilsson