Thinking Metaphorically About Teaching

• In Event: Roundtable Session 19
  In Roundtable Session: Philosophical Perspectives on Teaching

Abstract

This paper puts forth the idea that metaphorical thinking is especially productive when trying to make sense of teaching. As an activity that aims at transforming the quality of the experience of those involved in it, teaching lends itself to be expressed by way of metaphors, rather than by quantitative descriptors that fail to catch its essence. The presentation will initially offer some reflections on the value and use of metaphors in general and in specific applied to teaching, to then move to examples from a teacher education classroom and to considerations about the pedagogical implications of the use of metaphors with novice and expert teachers.

Author

• Cristina Cammarano, Salisbury University