If there were a written exam in this course, I might propose this.
Consider the merits and limitations of each of the following metaphors for teaching and learning:
Chemistry (catalyst, structural transformation...)
Music (repetition, variation, improvisation...)
Farming or gardening (nurturance, growth...)
Cave (captivity, illumination...)
Muscles (exercise, development...)
Computer (programming, data processing...)
Medicine (diagnosing, curing...)
Military (discipline, hierarchy...)
Container (emptying, filling...)
Clay (shaping, molding...)
Extra credit: supply some additional metaphors, and discuss the different sorts of learning and teaching that they might lead to.
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11 comments:
(Bridges) connections, mediation, facilitation, progress, interrelatedness...
Bicycling (balance, self-propelling...)
Why would this be a good final exam?
Fair question. It occurs to me that the question of HOW we teach, learn, or organize schools depends heavily on two prior questions: 1) WHY we do these things (with what general personal or cultural aim, etc.), and 2) what our governing metaphors are for the process. Typically, we stumble into our metaphorical frames without giving them, or their implications, much thought. One task of philosophy is to make such habitual framing overt, so we can make conscious choices about it.
Rethorst's essay is instructive:
http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/EPS/PES-yearbook/97_docs/rethorst.html
Drumming (breathing, fulcrum, movement...)
Kindergarten
Nice to hear from you, Kyle. Do you mean a garten for kinder to play in, or one in which the kinder are the crops?
I think the word implies both. Gardens seem like a very good setting for education, especially for younger students. Gardens are a place for exploration, care, connection to nature, observation of beauty (all educational activities).
Kindergarten is also a place where students are the crops. The processes are very similar; they are about care and growth.
The teacher and farmer both need to recognize and respond to individual needs. The farmer ought to provide a balance of nutrients, like the teacher ought to provide a balanced curriculum. Both students and crops must acclimate to thrive.
The analogies go on..
Consider the effects of factory farming and mass education. Or consider hormones and "learning aids" (i.e. Ritalin).
Think of the reciprocity in both processes. A good farmer will find a lot inspiration in her crops, much like the teacher will find in her students. I've heard both professions referred to as "the good life," for the reason that they allow one to find self-identity and purpose in life.
And not in the least, students and crops are invaluable sustenance for the future. Without both types of gardens, society would probably take the primitive hunter-gather form.
So Kindergarten is less a metaphor for teaching and learning and more a prime example of a metaphor's direct implementation?
I like the fact that you consider these metaphors, Matt. If there's been one unifying idea between all my classes this semester, it's that NARRATIVE is everything. Metaphors are an important part of our literary arsenal, and there is a deep connective element to metaphors that similes and other imagery don't have (thank you for that realization, Matt!)
The story that we tell ourselves is probably the strangest novel ever written, but understanding it can give us amazing insights into our perceptions, thoughts, and feelings.
Math, Physics, Farming, Testing...
Math-calculation, logic, abstraction, critical thought...
Physics-calculation, logic, application, abstract relationships...
Farming-Instinct, survival, social-economic relationships...
Testing-cheating, self-analysis, evaluation...
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