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Abstract Analogies are used to make abstract topics meaningful and more easily comprehensible to learners. Incorporating simple analogies into STEM classrooms is a fairly common practice, but the analogies are typically generated and explained by the instructor for the learners. We hypothesize that challenging learners to create complex, extended analogies themselves can promote integration of content knowledge and development of critical thinking skills, which are essential for deep learning, but are challenging to teach. In this qualitative study, college biology students (n = 30) were asked to construct a complex analogy about the flow of genetic information using a familiar item. One week later, participants constructed a second analogy about the same topic, but this time using a more challenging item. Twenty participants worked on the challenging analogy in pairs, while the other 10 worked alone. Analysis of the 50 interviews resulted in a novel‐scoring scheme, which measured both content knowledge (understanding of biology terms) and critical thinking (alignment of relationships between elements of the analogy). Most participants improved slightly due to practice, but they improved dramatically when working with a partner. The biggest gains were seen in critical thinking, not content knowledge. Having students construct complex, sophisticated analogies in pairs is a high‐impact practice that can help students develop their critical thinking skills, which are crucial in academic and professional settings. The discussion between partners likely requires students to justify their explanations and critique their partner's explanations, which are characteristics of critical thinking. 

The ability to emotionally or intellectually understand another person’s thoughts and feelings — empathy — can foster critical connections that facilitate learning and collaboration. We present a case study of physics faculty that examines their experiences empathizing with students, both in and outside of the classroom. We expand on frameworks for understanding the empathy process by identifying key mediating factors, and note various barriers that faculty express as preventing them from taking empathetic action. Our analysis unpacks the mechanisms of communication and contextual information, which play key roles in the empathetic process, with implications for programs that rely on empathy to develop more inclusive STEM academic spaces.