Metaphors We Teach By:

1
Metaphors We Teach By

• Understanding ourselves as
• Teachers and Learners

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• What is a metaphor?
• The power of metaphor
• Sampling of teaching metaphors
• Limitations of these kinds of metaphors
• Conclusion

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• What is a metaphor?
• In this essay metaphor is to be understood as a
  global term meaning a comparison between two
  unlike things which serves to enhance our
  understanding.

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• The Power of Metaphor
• We use Metaphors in our daily lives without
  knowing that we are using them and because we
  unconsciously use metaphors we do not fully
  comprehend how powerful they really are.
• Metaphor can work negatively or inaccurately
  which can distort information or cause us to make
  false generalization which can confuse our
  perception. When we use metaphors we can choose
  to either use it for a positive impact or a
  negative impact on the information we share with
  others.

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• A sampling of Teaching Metaphors
• Many educational metaphors already exist and most
  educators choose one of these metaphors to teach
  by. Because of these metaphor, most educators
  already have a pre-conceive notion of teaching.

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• For example, Mary Ann Bowman, Western Michigan
  University says thatPerhaps the most basic,
  traditional and common metaphor of teaching is
  simply to say that teaching is telling.

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• Many college and University faculty appear to
  have this as their primary operating metaphor.
• According to the metaphor teaching is telling,
  all a teacher has to do is to stand up in front
  of the class room and talk to the students about
  the subject and that is teaching.
• Many of the large lecture classes at UMBC use
  this type of teaching metaphor.

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• The limitations of these kinds of metaphors are
• They see the teaching/learning process as a one
  way communication with the teacher knowing
  everything and have total control over the
  student.

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• They see student has brain less individual with
  nothing to contribute to the teaching/learning
  process.

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• Other metaphors see the teaching/learning process
  differently.
• For example, if teaching is seeing as gardening
  then a different attitude toward
  teaching/learning is accepted.
• With this metaphor teachers see the student as
  plants that needs to be neutered, nourish, and
  weeded in order to produce a loving/learning
  environment so that the students can learn and
  grow.

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• Conclusion
• Our society has a lot of teaching metaphor that
  can either help or hinder the teaching/learning
  process.
• The metaphor an educator chooses can see the
  students has mere empty vessels that needs to be
  filled with knowledge or see the
  teaching/learning process as a joint venture
  where both teacher and student can learn from
  each other.

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• Educators must ask them selves the following
  question.
• Do we see ourselves as the sole authority, or do
  we view learning as a shared process?
• Do we want to give up some power so that
  students can learn cooperatively, or do we want
  to retain control?