Metaphors We Learn By

Students sometimes struggle because they have made or adopted mixed analogies for the learning process. One way that teachers can sort out these unintelligible conceptions is to show how to think and plan through metaphor.

A CHALLENGE . . .

"I'm studying for this exam, from start to finish, unless I trip over some hurdles along the way"

"My teacher says we're supposed to grow wiser from this lab experiment, but I feel stunted."

"That lecture on volcanoes peaked my interest in geology."

Which of these metaphoric statements is confused? That is, in the game of language where rule #1 is "find words to describe one situation in terms of another," would a teacher-umpire be justified in flagging any of the above student comments, translated below?

If you detected the faulty substitution of a fiery mountain top (peak) and a French imported word for pricked or pierced needle-work (pique), then you can apply for a job as a copy-editor and stop reading this strategy for improving learning by conscious attention to metaphor.

The teacher who masters a few tricks about metaphor possesses some powerful learning-magic.

SOME SUPPORT. . .

You can consult a web page stocked with quotes about the hypothesis that people cannot avoid thinking in metaphors, even if they're ignorant of this dependence. Here's just one tidbit, from the philosopher Colin Turbayne, "If we are aware, we can stop and think. We can choose our metaphors. We are no longer duped citizens of the city-state of Oz but the Wizard of Oz himself."

You can help students to imagine and explore an extended comparison between themselves and a successful educational role. Then they are more likely to assume responsibility for achievement.

A sequence to try:

1. You might start with a crude definition of "metaphor": a bold comparison between two ideas, activities, or places. Examples-- liberal education is one key to success; the library is a bank of wisdom.

2. Identify an important moment in your course and invite people to imagine a sustained metaphor that describes, in several forms, their active engagement.

  • the direct equivalence (a = b), for example, "I am a tortoise when solving a set of math problems."
  • partial resemblance (a is like b) "I make friends in class as easily as a politician shaking hands at a fish fry."

3. Expand the metaphoric comparison by asking for a paragraph modeled on this pattern: My activity in this course, [ ] is like [ ] in the sense that . . .

If you get uncomprehending stares at this point, step back one zone of proximal development and ask your class simply to list the similarities between the metaphor and the activity. Single words that respond to these prompts often connect the abstract request to practical experience: Who does this? How is this activity carried out? What is actually done? And why?

4. Trace the DISsimilarities. In other words, encourage people to write a paragraph or list the ways that the metaphor falls short of the goal, which is to describe one activity in terms of another. Examples of lead sentences:

Unlike a bank's holding and dispensing of cash, an education does not exclusively possess knowledge and dole it out into the mental accounts of students.

The speed at solving math problems is often less important than the conceptual understanding, so a steady tortoise pace may indicate mastery better than a hare-brained rush to produce the answer.

5. A metaphor is a terrible thing to waste, so the last step is to apply the analogy to a realistic situation. A well-developed metaphoric comparison, one that fully articulates resemblances and differences between two activities, will guide you when you're down and out, when you're feeling small...it is a bridge over troubled waters. (Anyone who recognizes Paul Simon's lyric will sense the creative/ productive aspect of metaphor.) A case in point:

If I am analyzing this business decision like a fisherman casting for trout, then shouldn't I figure out where the customers are lurking and consider the kinds of bait that have attracted them in the past?

MORE CHALLENGES. . .

Metaphoric thinking occurs in many familiar forms of social discourse: Popular phrases ("hold your horses"), folk expressions ("lock, stock, and barrel"), clichés ("pretty as a picture").

Metaphors also penetrate professional terminology: "economic depression," "social upheaval," "catalytic conversion."

Metaphors embellish our language in the subtlety, power, and grace of literature. Most poetic expressions are highly metaphoric, not because the authors are hiding ideas or dressing them up in literary disguises but because complexity or potency of thought needs an equally deft or persuasive instrument.

This Teaching Tip was contributed by Tom Derrick of the English Department and first published on September 20, 1999.