Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Foundations of Teaching Metaphor

Earlier this semester, we created a visual metaphor for the foundation on which Luther students develop as teachers, which has five main strands. My metaphor's setting is a baseball game.
The first strand is a liberal arts education. When a I think of a liberal arts education, I think of learning about a large variety of areas. This variety is symbolized in my picture by the various positions that can be played during the game and the various types of players.
The second strand focuses on providing experiences and opportunities to aid in the development of knowledge, abilities, and dispositions needed for quality teaching and learning. This is symbolized by the umpire behind home plate. The umpire represents a great knowledge of the game and is respected.
The third strand emphasizes the skills and dispositions necessary for teaching. This is symbolized by the faces of all the players, coaches, and umpire. They are all smiling. They all want to be there, and they're enjoying what they're doing.
The fourth strand talks about providing experiences with diverse populations. This is represented by all the different types of players. Whether they're short, tall, skinny, fat, average, have dark skin, or have white skin, they are all involved and enjoying themselves.
The fifth strand focuses on developing ethical, reflective, and critical thinking teachers-to-be. This is represented by the coaches on the field. A coach is much like a teacher. He should be ethical, reflective, and think critically. He should teach more than just about the sport. Especially at the high school level, a coach should teach life lessons as well.

1 comment:

Educational Psychology said...

I do think your baseball diamond metaphor represents Luther's Education Departhemt's mission well.