Subjects ranging in age from 7 to 12 years selected correct story completion alternatives significantly more often when these alternatives were similes than when they were semantically equivalent metaphors, and when alternatives specifically denoted the referent of the metaphorical comparison than when the identity of the referent had to be…

Describes the use of the proverb "a watched pot never boils" to help students make the relationship between literal statements and the reader's own experience. (MKM)

Reviews theory and research on the use and effectiveness of metaphors, analogies, and models as instructional tools. Concludes that the use of metaphors and other figurative devices promotes the acquisition of new knowledge. Suggests possible design and use of instructional metaphors. (FMW)

In a study of beliefs and construction of knowledge, undergraduate and graduate education students responded to open- ended statements and a list of similes describing what teachers, students, and classrooms were like. Results suggests that the simile list responses were valid reflections of the subjects' personal metaphors. (32 references)…

Analyzes parents' use of indirect requests and other types of figurative language (metaphor and idiom) addressed to their children. Finds that indirect requests occurred most frequently but that parents also used other nonliteral forms as well. Shows that parents were using the range of nonliteral forms primarily to achieve the single goal of…

Discusses using comics in high school and college writing and English classes to teach figurative language and other literary terms and techniques such as style and descriptive writing. Describes several activities and notes benefits of using comics in this way. (SR)

Aims for students to explore spontaneous ways of finding material for their poems by suppressing control over their subject matter and letting their unconscious minds do the work. Uses a poem of William Carlos Williams, "Red Wheelbarrow," both with K-2 students and adults in a poetry workshop. Illustrates class procedures and activities…

Traces the history of Western theories of metaphor and discusses misperceptions that have arisen concerning the nature and function of metaphors that restrict their educational use. Shows that their extensive use in conventional speech can be used by educators to help students enrich and extend their thought and language. (DSK)

This paper explores the use of metaphor in public policy and learning as a context for a reflective discussion of a nationally funded initiative focusing on the dissemination of good practice in education for sustainable development in the UK's post-16 sector. "Learning to Last" was the first, and so far only, project of its kind. Its…

In this paper a framework is proposed for analyzing the deliberate actions taken by a teacher to participate in or influence the discourse in mathematics classrooms, and such actions are referred to as the teacher's discourse moves. This work synthesizes elements of several other discourse frameworks, including those of Richards, Sfard, Cobb, and…

To flourish means to grow luxuriantly, to thrive, to attain success, and to prosper. Both plants and humans flourish, and seminal thinkers have drawn connections between human and floral flourishing. Homer, Plato, and William James use floral imagery to describe their highest aspirations for human blossoming. In Aldous Huxley's dystopia,…

Mathematics is commonly seen as a discipline with no place for linguistic ambiguity. In this paper, the treatment of ambiguity in two data extracts is critically examined. Analysis draws on two contrasting models of the nature of mathematics and mathematical language. The formal model sees meaning as fixed and relating to language relatively…

Alexander and her colleagues proposed "teaching as persuasion" as a guiding metaphor for conceptual change pedagogy (Alexander, Fives, Buehl, & Mulhern, 2002). However, there is reason to suspect that the term persuasion can have negative connotations for some individuals ( Dole & Sinatra, 1999; Murphy, 2001). Therefore, we examined 182 primarily…

Critics and teachers tend to pay attention to genre and ignore mode as an area of consideration. This study examines three novels for young readers that are comparable in terms of their entwining opposing modes (irony and romance, comedy and tragedy) as a successful crossover strategy for appeal to readers young and old. I share implications for…

Who are we as teachers and what constitutes a desirable educational experience? Two teachers, one Chinese and the other a white Canadian, tell "a single story [of teaching], integrated by our sense of ourselves" (Crites, 1971, p. 303). Our storytelling is enabled by metaphors and images that serve as tools for reflecting on our actions…