Metaphor for Teaching/Learning
I think that a good metaphor for learning would be creating a work of art, like a painting. The goal of teaching is to facilitate learning, and so like a painting it starts with a collection of raw materials. For a painting, these raw materials would include wood or canvas, paint, and brushes. There are many different ways to combine these materials, and an endless number of creations that can come from them. In this metaphor the raw materials used for painting represent a collection of practical knowledge and skills introduced in a classroom setting to facilitate learning, and there are an endless number of ways to teach and combine these skills to build knowledge. Learning fuses these elements together to transform into knowledge.
A painting begins with choosing a subject and applying paint in a repetition of motion. Learning begins with choosing a subject as well, or idea to focus on, and repetition in painting is the practice required to develop any skill. Learning requires repetitive practice and application, which in this case is represented by the repetitive brush strokes in building up the application of paint. Learning in art is also a hands-on process, just like painting.
Just like patiently building up a painting, time is needed for creativity and learning. The more time put into it the deeper the understanding will be, just like the more successful the painting will be. It takes time for a painting to dry and for the paint to mature, just as it takes time for understanding to deepen and mature in learning. Potential and applications of what is being taught begin to clarify as the painting nears completion, as you begin to see the image take shape.
Learning does not come in a solid form. It happens in many different forms, and fills many different spaces. Like paint it is liquid and malleable; it spreads, spills, runs, and fills in gaps and holes. It takes time to dry and mature. It can also be mixed to form new ideas, just like how paint can be mixed to form new colors. This can represent ideas coming together from different students, merging their points of view to create a bigger picture.
There are many ways that the process of learning relates to the process of painting, and learning is like paint itself. Painting is often a long process, with many different approaches and techniques that can come together to create a final product. Understanding of painting skills can be assessed by the success of the painting, just as understanding of a taught principle can be assessed by the application of skills to create a final product, no matter what form it takes. It seems fitting as an art educator to think of learning in my class like painting. And just like in painting my vision for education in my class may not always turn out exactly how I pictured, but if I am patient in the process I know I can achieve a beautiful and successful product.
A painting begins with choosing a subject and applying paint in a repetition of motion. Learning begins with choosing a subject as well, or idea to focus on, and repetition in painting is the practice required to develop any skill. Learning requires repetitive practice and application, which in this case is represented by the repetitive brush strokes in building up the application of paint. Learning in art is also a hands-on process, just like painting.
Just like patiently building up a painting, time is needed for creativity and learning. The more time put into it the deeper the understanding will be, just like the more successful the painting will be. It takes time for a painting to dry and for the paint to mature, just as it takes time for understanding to deepen and mature in learning. Potential and applications of what is being taught begin to clarify as the painting nears completion, as you begin to see the image take shape.
Learning does not come in a solid form. It happens in many different forms, and fills many different spaces. Like paint it is liquid and malleable; it spreads, spills, runs, and fills in gaps and holes. It takes time to dry and mature. It can also be mixed to form new ideas, just like how paint can be mixed to form new colors. This can represent ideas coming together from different students, merging their points of view to create a bigger picture.
There are many ways that the process of learning relates to the process of painting, and learning is like paint itself. Painting is often a long process, with many different approaches and techniques that can come together to create a final product. Understanding of painting skills can be assessed by the success of the painting, just as understanding of a taught principle can be assessed by the application of skills to create a final product, no matter what form it takes. It seems fitting as an art educator to think of learning in my class like painting. And just like in painting my vision for education in my class may not always turn out exactly how I pictured, but if I am patient in the process I know I can achieve a beautiful and successful product.
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