Multiple Metaphors for Learning
Gary Woodill,
Brandon Hall,
Jun 11, 2008
Blog post linking to an article , Learning and organizations: towards cross-metaphor conversations, (apparently freely available for now) by Jacob Vakkayil in the academic journal Learning Inquiry. Vakkayil sketches a set of metaphors used to describe learning. The value of the article, I think, is that it clearly identifies these descriptions as metaphors. It's a good list, and the metaphors will certainly be familiar to readers of this newsletter. Vakkayil then looks at "the idea of disruptive devices... as aids to the effort of shattering the comfort zones of our preferred metaphors." These are, specifically: action orientation, sensitivity to discordance, and purposeful provocation (the 'edupunk' flutter comes to mind here). I think the idea of these metaphors is worth exploring more fully - and I think it's worth asking how much of the metaphorical language is literally descriptive (and not merely metaphor) of learning.
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