Article published in:
Elicited Metaphor Analysis in Educational Discourse
Edited by Wan Wan and Graham Low
[Metaphor in Language, Cognition, and Communication 3] 2015
► pp. 265–288

Beyond “elicit and run” metaphor research

Why conversations within and between levels of participants matter

| Buena Vista University, English Department

This chapter argues that facilitating conversations within and between different levels of participants (e.g., students and teachers) is an important new direction for metaphor research. To illustrate the usefulness of conversations within/between levels, this chapter describes a conversation-based study of the elicited writing metaphors of 140 U.S. university students and their teachers. Students and teachers reported increased rapport with each other, gained new insights into their own and others’ writing processes, and often revised their own views of writing or teaching as a result. The hope is that this chapter will spark additional metaphor research using conversation as a tool for communication and negotiation among participants.

Keywords: college teacher-student relationships, educational research, elicited metaphor, metaphor, writing anxiety
Published online: 02 July 2015
https://doi.org/10.1075/milcc.3.11har
References
Armstrong, S.L
(2008) Using metaphor analysis to uncover learners’ conceptualizations of academic literacies in postsecondary developmental contexts. The International Journal of Learning, 15(9), 211–218.Google Scholar
(2011) Mountains and pit bulls: Students’ metaphors for college transitional reading and writing. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 54(7), 494–503. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bartholomae, D
(2003) Inventing the university. In V. Villanueva (Ed.), Cross-talk in comp theory: A reader (2nd ed.) (pp. 623–654). Urbana, IL: NCTE.Google Scholar
Boice, R
(1990) Professors as writers: A self-help guide to productive writing. Stillwater, MN: New Forums Press.Google Scholar
BouJaoude, S
(2000) Conceptions of science teaching revealed by metaphors and by answers to open-ended questions. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 11(2), 173–186. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bozlk, M
(2002) The college student as learner: Insight gained through metaphor analysis. College Student Journal, 36(1), 142–152.Google Scholar
Briscoe, C
(1991) The dynamic interactions among beliefs, role metaphors, and teaching practices: A case study of teacher change. Science Education, 75(2), 185–199. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bullough, R.V
(1991) Exploring personal teaching metaphors in preservice teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 42(1), 43–51. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Burke, K
(1974) The philosophy of literary form (3rd ed.). Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Cameron, L., & Low, G.D
(1999) Metaphor: Survey article. Language Teaching, 32, 77–96. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chen, D
(2003) A classification system for metaphors about teaching. The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance, 74(2), 24–32. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Clark, K., & Cunningham, D.J
(1999) Metaphors we teach by: An embodied cognitive analysis of No Child Left Behind . Semiotica, 161(1), 265–289.Google Scholar
Cortazzi, M., & Jin, L
(1999) Bridges to learning: Metaphors of teaching, learning and language. In L. Cameron & G.D. Low (Eds.), Researching and applying metaphor (pp. 149–176). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Daiker, D
(1989) Learning to praise. In C.M. Anson (Ed.), Writing and response: Theory, practice, and research (pp. 103–113). Urbana, IL: NCTE.Google Scholar
Dooley, C
(1998) Teaching as a two-way street: Discontinuities among metaphors, images, and classroom realities. Journal of Teacher Education, 49(2), 97–108. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Docan-Morgan, T
(2011) ‘Everything changed’: Relational turning point events in college teacher-student relationships from teachers’ perspectives. Communication Education, 60(1), 20-50. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Docan-Morgan, T., & Manusov, V
(2009) Relational turning point events and their outcomes in college teacher-student relationships from students’ perspectives. Communication Education, 58(2), 155-188. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Elbow, P
(1973) Writing without teachers. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Farrell, T.C
(2006) ‘The teacher is an octopus’: Uncovering preservice English language teachers’ prior beliefs through metaphor analysis. Regional English Language Center Journal, 37(2), 236–248.Google Scholar
Fox, T
(1990) The social uses of writing: Politics and pedagogy. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger.Google Scholar
Gardner, T
(2008) Designing writing assignments. Urbana, IL: NCTE.Google Scholar
Gillis, C., & Johnson, C.J
(2002) Metaphor as renewal: Re-imagining our professional selves. English Journal, 91(6), 37–43. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Guerrero, M.C.M. de, & Villamil, O.S
(2002) Metaphorical conceptualizations of ESL teaching and learning. Language Teaching Research, 6(2), 95–120. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hagstrom, D., Hubbard, R., Hurtig, C., Mortola, P., Ostrow, J., & White, V
(2000) Teaching is like…? Educational Leadership, 57, 24–27.Google Scholar
Hart, G.A
(2009) Composing metaphors: Metaphors for writing in the composition classroom. Unpublished PhD dissertation, Ohio University, Ohio.
Hutton, J.G
(2005) The feel-good society: How the ‘customer’ metaphor is undermining American education, religion, media, and healthcare. West Patterson, NJ: Pentagram Publishing.Google Scholar
Inbar, D.E
(1996) The free metaphorical prison: Metaphors and images. Educational Research, 38(1), 77–92. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M
(1980/2003) Metaphors we live by. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Lamott, A
(1995) Bird by bird: Some instructions on writing and life. New York: Anchor.Google Scholar
Low, G.D
(1999) Validating metaphor research projects. In L. Cameron & G.D. Low (Eds.), Researching and applying metaphor (pp. 48–65). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Macrorie, K
(1976) Telling writing (2nd ed.). Rochelle Park, NJ: Hayden Book Company.Google Scholar
Marchant, G.J
(1992) “A teacher is like a…”: Using simile lists to explore personal metaphors. Language and Education, 6(1), 33–45. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Marshall, H.H
(1990) Metaphor as an instructional tool in encouraging student-teacher reflection. Theory into Practice, 29(2), 128–132. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Martinez, C., Kock, N., & Cass, J
(2011) Pain and pleasure in short essay writing: Factors predicting university students’ writing anxiety and writing self-efficacy. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 54(5), 351–360. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
McDonald, J.C
(1992) Student metaphors for themselves as writers. The English Journal, 81(4), 60–64. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Murray, D
(1984) Writing and teaching for surprise. College English, 46(1), 1–7. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Murray, D.S
(2014) Navigating toward andragogy: Coordination and management of student-professor conversations. Western Journal of Communication, 78(3), 310–336. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Oxford, R., Tomlinson, S., Barcelos, A., Harrington, C., Lavine, R.Z., Saleh, A., & Longhini, A
(1998) Clashing metaphors about classroom teachers: Toward a systematic typology for the language teaching field. System, 26(1), 3–50. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rose, M
(2003) The language of exclusion; Writing instruction at the university. In V. Villanueva (Ed.), Cross-talk in comp theory: A reader (2nd ed.) (pp. 547–570). Urbana, IL: NCTE.Google Scholar
Schön, D.A
(1993) Generative metaphor: A perspective on problem-setting as social policy. In A. Ortony (Ed.), Metaphor and thought (2nd ed.) (pp. 137–163). New York: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sfard, A
(1998) On two metaphors for learning and the dangers of choosing just one. Educational Researcher, 27(2), 4–13. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Shaw, D., & Mahlios, M
(2011) Literacy metaphors of pre-service teachers: Do they change after instruction? Which metaphors are stable? How do they connect to theories? Journal of Education for Teaching, 37(1), 77–92. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Seferoğlu, G., Korkmazgil, S., & Ölçü, Z
(2009) Gaining insights into teachers’ ways of thinking via metaphors. Educational Studies, 35(3), 323–335. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Steen, G.J
(2007) Finding metaphor in grammar and usage. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Stenberg, S
(2002) Learning to change: The development of a (basic) writer and her teacher. Journal of Basic Writing, 21(2), 37–55.Google Scholar
Tobin, K
(1990) Changing metaphors and beliefs: A master switch for teaching? Theory into Practice, 29(2), 122–127. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tobin, L
(1989) Bridging gaps: Analyzing our students’ metaphors for composing. College Composition and Communication, 40(4), 444–458. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Thornbury, S
(1991) Metaphors we work by: EFL and its metaphors. EFL Journal, 45(3), 193–200.Google Scholar
Wallace, S
(2001) Guardian angels and teachers from hell: Using metaphors as a measure of schools’ experiences and expectations of general national vocational qualifications. Qualitative Studies in Education, 14(6), 727–739. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wan, W
(2011) An examination of the validity of metaphor analysis studies: Problems with metaphor elicitation techniques. Metaphor and the Social World, 1(2), 261–288. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wan, W., Low, G.D., & Li, M
(2011) From students’ and teachers’ perspectives: Metaphor analysis of beliefs about EFL teachers’ roles. System, 39(3), 403–415. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
White, B., & Smith, M.W
(1994) Metaphors in education: Putting things in perspective. English Education, 26(3), 157–176.Google Scholar
Whitney, A
(2008) Teacher transformation in the National Writing Project. Research in the Teaching of English, 43(2), 144–187.Google Scholar
Woodrow, L
(2011) College English writing affect: Self-efficacy and anxiety. System, 39(4), 510–522. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 1 other publications

Wan, Wan & Sarah Turner
2018. Applying metaphor analysis to academic literacy research. Metaphor and the Social World 8:2 ► pp. 286 ff. Crossref logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 08 january 2023. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.