Suggests the use of the "tribal" metaphor to foster team building and collaborative learning in college classes. Offers examples of how linking students in the classroom in tribes builds identification and interdependence through such activities as creating a group myth and participating in membership rituals. The tribal metaphor has also led to…

Describes efforts by students in a social foundations course to integrate their own personal metaphor of teaching with the metaphor employed by the institution in its conceptual framework. The assignment was based on research that noted the role of the metaphor in the construction of identity for professional teachers. Examples of student…

Argues for more blurring of the roles of teachers, students, and researchers. Examines models and metaphors in process instruction (specifically the Jazz Metaphor), and shows how new "blurred" roles for teachers and acceptance of a range of methods can be applied in working with future teachers. (KEH)

In the current climate of empowerment models, critical research, and deconstructed theory, this discussion raises some questions regarding the concept of "empowerment" and its use as a rubric for course and program design in teacher education. From the review of literature several usages of the term empowerment emerge. Each one is…

Explores the conceptual basis of teaching in China through the metaphor of teacher as virtuoso performer, with teaching considered an art. Field research results on teacher preparation and elementary and secondary teaching practice are shared. Shortcomings of this teaching model and implications for educational reform are considered. (IAH)

Much of what teachers know about how to teach and how to conceptualize specific academic content is learned from their undergraduate professors. In 1990, California State University, Fullerton, received a grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), Project Teach, to improve the quality of instruction which…