All teachers have some level of metaphor or over-arching understanding of what they are doing when they are teaching and facilitating learning. In the Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paulo Friere (2000) points out that most teachers have a “banking metaphor” for teaching. They imagine that teaching involves placing or “pouring in” information into inert, passive receiving bank accounts. This information transfer metaphor has dangerous implications for learning because the student is imagined as a passive receiver of information. In reality, the student is an active learner who has much to offer and teach the teacher.
We have selected four teacher metaphors that have implications for teaching and learning for all teachers. Enjoy hearing from these gifted educators and listen to student feedback from the classrooms of Lisa Day, Sarah Shannon, Diane Pestolesi, and Carol Thorn.
This lively interview captures Dr. Felver’s wisdom in teaching for different learning styles. Linda Felver has two apt metaphors for her highly interactive and situated coaching style of teaching. 1) The students and teacher will each bring ingredients for learning and mix them in order to “mix soup together.” 2. She views teaching as …
Patricia Benner, R.N., Ph.D., FAAN Copyright August 15, 2019 Metaphors can inspire reflection, exploration, and articulation of approaches to teaching and learning. Paulo Friere (1970; 2000) critiqued the dominant “banking metaphor” for teaching and learning. By banking metaphor, he meant teaching students as if they are passive, empty bank accounts into which the teacher’s goal is to …
Carol Thorn uses ice sculpting as a metaphor, thinking about what the ice and experience of carving it bring to the sculpture as well as what she can offer as a teacher.
Diane Pestolesi’s metaphor is coaching. This opens up possibilities for situated teaching and learning in actual clinical practice. She asks questions, assesses students’ approaches and practical understandings, and offers situated coaching.
Clinical ethics teacher, Sarah Shannon, uses a boat keel as her metaphor. Forming a keel is integral to the formation of a student’s ethical comportment in practice. It keeps them from capriciously changing, veering off into conflicting or multiple directions at once. She teaches by examples, active dialogue, and asking questions, so that students learn to …
Lisa Day’s metaphor of bird watching challenges her to be attentive, engaged and curious. She is comfortable with long pauses, waiting for students to show up. She learns from them rather than only imposing her ideas and information.