Abstract

This paper reports on a study that examined the reasoning students across a wide range of age followed
in order to make predictions in situations they had not considered before being asked about. Here, a
cross-age comparison of the reasoning followed and whether the predictions made were compatible with
the scientific account is presented. The data reported were drawn from focus groups and a questionnaire
that Greek students from primary and secondary education were asked to fill in. The findings indicated
the importance of analogies in students’ prediction-making which, however, in most of the cases led them
to prediction incompatible with the scientific account.