Metaphors as seeds for conceptual change and the improvement of science teaching

Examining EFL Teacher Candidates’ Conceptions of English Language Teachers through Metaphors

“…Teacher education could benefit from metaphor research which are important in revealing teachers' implicit concepts about teaching (Greves, 2005;Inbar, 1996;McGrath, 2006;Yob, 2003). Metaphors also reveal certain preferences of teachers about their classroom practices as explained by Tobin & Tippins (1996). Teacher who see themselves as the captain in the classroom tend to exercise strict control over the classroom, on the other hand teachers who use the entertainer metaphor tend to have enjoyable classes.…”

Contributions from the Philosophy of Science to the Education of Science Teachers

“…For Tobin and Tippins (1996), metaphors may be regarded as a source of reflection, and as 'seeds' that 'will germinate' into new ideas and knowledge. Metaphors have a major affective component since teachers construct them on the basis of personal experience.…”

“…Metaphors have a major affective component since teachers construct them on the basis of personal experience. When the teacher analysed in Tobin and Tippins (1996) says that his class is a 'hell', he is expressing not just an academic assessment, but something that affects his feelings and that will mark his attitude towards the class for the remainder of the course if he is unaware of what the metaphor signifies and of the negative consequences that it could have. An important aspect of educational change that is supported by many studies of science teachers (Tobin et al 1994;McRobbie and Tobin 1995;Martı´nez et al 2001) is that these teachers make changes in their conceptions and educational practices when they are able to construct new roles by way of a process of critical reflection at the same time as adopting or constructing new metaphors that are compatible with the changes.…”

Tacitní znalosti v metaforách studentky učitelství

“…Metafory mohou být nositelem tacitních znalostí, jež mohou přímo ovlivňovat například učitelovo myšlení a rozhodování, aniž si to uvědomuje. Jedním ze slibných způsobů, jak zpří-stupnit skryté obsahy, je zkoumat metaforické obrazy ve vyjádření zkoumaného respondenta (viz Nonaka, 1991(viz Nonaka, , 1994Tobin & Tippins, 1996;Moser, 2000). Výše uvedení autoři však přesněji nedefinují, jakým způsobem jsou tacitní znalosti přítomny v metaforách.…”