Literacy metaphors of pre-service elementary teachers: Do they change after instruction? Which metaphors are stable? How do they connect to Theories?

The purpose of this study was to examine pre-service elementary teachers’ metaphors of “literacy” and “teaching literacy” at the commencement and conclusion of a year-long literacy methods course at a Midwestern American university. Over a 3-year period, a total of 47 participants enrolled in the twosemester literacy methods course with embedded practicum. Data were entered in NVivio 7 and analyzed for qualitative themes. Results identified six themes of teaching literacy, five of which connect to literacy theories. The majority of the pre-service teachers maintained their metaphorical belief after a year-long methods/practicum course. Four metaphors appeared to be stable across time and population. The article provides implications for linking the research reported with contemporary ideas for teaching in teacher preparation programs. LITERACY METAPHORS 2006-2008 2 “To describe the unknown, we must resort to concepts that we know and understand, and that is the essence of a metaphor – an unusual juxtaposition of the familiar with the unfamiliar” (MacCormac, 1990, p. 9). Metaphors determine how we interpret reality (Bowman, 1996-97) and represent a model or explain a theory (Tracey & Morrow, 2006). In the field of education, this means that educators use metaphors as they interpret research, life, schooling, childhood, teaching, and even a content area. In essence, metaphors are used in many frames of reference to explain a complex phenomenon. Pioneering research on metaphors grew rapidly several decades ago (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980; Marshall, 1990; Munby, 1986; Munby & Russell, 1990; Provenzo, McCloskey, Kottkamp & Cohn, 1989; Tobin, 1990). Several seminal studies have enabled us to better understand prospective and current educators’ metaphors of teaching (Inbar, 1996; Mahlios & Maxson, 1995, 1998; McGrath, 2006; Saban, Kocbeker, & Saban, 2007). Less common is research conducted on metaphors specific to a content area such as the teaching of reading or writing. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine pre-service elementary teachers’ metaphors of “literacy” and “teaching literacy” as they enrolled in a two-semester literacy methods course at a Midwestern American university. Data were collected over a three-year period, guided by the following questions. 1. What patterns exist among the metaphors pre-service teachers bring to the literacy methods course to describe teaching literacy? 2. What are the pre-service teachers’ metaphors of teaching literacy at the conclusion of the methods courses? To what extent do their metaphors change? 3. What are the sustained metaphors across multiple samples of pre-service teachers? How do the metaphors connect to literacy theories? Massengill Shaw, D., & Mahlios, M. (2011). Literacy metaphors of pre-service elementary teachers: Do they change after instruction? Which metaphors are stable? How do they connect to theories? Journal of Education for Teaching, 37(1), 77-92. Publisher’s official version: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1080/02607476.2011.538274 . Open Access version: http://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/dspace/. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------LITERACY METAPHORS 2006-2008 3