The Power of Metaphor: Learning Space and Faculty Development

Abstract

Background: Education in the health sciences is transitioning to a student-centered approach that has impacted all components of educational institutions: classroom design, faculty training, selection of learners and faculty. Activity: Using metaphor analyses, this study investigates the effects on instructor beliefs and values about teaching by having a series of professional development workshops in either a traditional lecture hall or in a collaborative/engaged learning-designed classroom. At the conclusion of the series, both sets of participants were invited to make a free-hand drawing of their “conception” of teaching and label the drawing that represents the conception. Drawings and metaphors were analyzed by non-study raters, and all metaphors were categorized into one of three domains: teacher-centered, learner-centered, learner-driven. Results: Faculty who completed the series inside a collaborative learning classroom perceived their roles primarily in the learner-centered domains 37 (59.67%), whereas those that completed it in the lecture hall perceived their roles as primarily teacher-centered 62 (84.93%). Discussion: The authors discuss the implications for faculty development during this transition.