Exploring application of analogical thinking in teaching of building environment and energy application engineering major

The building environment and energy application engineering (BEEAE) major is a highly comprehensive major that has increased the emphasis on abstract theoretical concepts in professional curricula, challenging students’ ability to acquire and apply professional knowledge. This paper proposes enhancing the use of analogical thinking in the teaching of BEEAE major to visualize abstract concepts, simplify the expression of complex problems through analogy and association, stimulate students’ interest in learning, assist in memorizing key concepts, and achieve the teaching goal of learning through examples and hands-on experiences. This paper summarizes strategies for applying analogical thinking in the teaching of BEEAE major based on the research from classic domestic and international textbooks and case studies, and describes the characteristics and examples of three application strategies (the analogy and association method, the comparative reasoning method, and the expanding and inspiring method) based on different professional curricula. Additionally, it analyses the implementation pathways for these strategies to provide valuable references for improving the effectiveness of these professional curricula.