Beyond Transference: The Pedagogical Benefits of Metaphoric Critique and Construction

Abstract

Studies show that metaphors are a useful way to help people understand new or difficult concepts. The research is largely silent, however, when it comes to the question of whether it is beneficial to ask students to go “beyond transference” by engaging in metaphoric critique and construction. This paper explores how critique and construction exercises can be incorporated into the Political Science classroom. More importantly, it examines the results of a study designed to assess whether these approaches are beneficial from a pedagogical perspective.

Keywords:

• construction
• critique
• metaphor
• transference

Notes

^a “Do you feel that critiquing this metaphor helped you understand … better than yuou did before you were asked to critique it?” Yes (Beneficial), No (Not Beneficial).

^b “Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: Being asked to critique … improved my understanding of … ?” Agree (Beneficial), Disagree (Not Beneficial).

^c “Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: My understanding of this concept did NOT improve when I was asked to CRITIQUE the metaphor?” Agree (Beneficial), Disagree (Not Beneficial).”

^d Asked only of Introductory Students: “Do you think that the process of critiquing a metaphor helps you understand the concept better?” Yes (Beneficial), No (Not Beneficial).

^a “Do you feel this [constructing a new metaphor] helped you understand … ” Yes (Beneficial), No (Not Beneficial).

^b “Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: Being asked to construct a new metaphor improved my understand of … ?” Agree (Beneficial), Disagree (Not Beneficial).

^c Asked only of Introductory Students: “Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: My understanding of this concept did increase when I was asked to CONSTRUCT a new metaphor?” Agree (Beneficial), Disagree (Not Beneficial).

^d Asked only Introductory Students: “Do you think the process of developing a new metaphor helps you understand this concept better?” Yes (Beneficial), No (Not Beneficial).

^e Asked only of Advanced Students: “Did your understanding of … increase when you were asked to CONSTRUCT a new metaphor?” Yes (Beneficial), No (Not Beneficial).

^f Percentages may not add up to 100 because “Dont't know/No answer” responses have been excluded.

^a “You have been asked to: (a) critique the metaphor … [and] (b) construct a new metaphor. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: The process of constructing a metaphor helped me understand … better than I would if I was just asked to critique the metephor … ?” Agree (construction more beneficial), Disagree (critique more beneficial).

^b “You have been asked to: (a) critique the metaphor … [and] (b) construct a new metaphor. This question asks you to think about which process (critique or construction) was more useful in helping you learn about … I learned more about … when I was asked to ________________ [critique the metaphor … OR construct a new metaphor].”

^c Percentages may not add up to 100 because respondents who answered “both practices are equally beneficial” responses have been excluded.

There are a number of disagreements regarding how to define “metaphor.” Among the most popular definitions are those offered by Aristotle (2004), Lakoff and Johnson (1980). For a definition specific to metaphors in the classroom see Garner (2005). For purposes of this essay, metaphors are defined in the broadest possible terms to refer to instances “in which a word (say, spend) which is defined with respect to one thing (in this case, money) is used in context with a completely different kind of thing (say, time, as in I spent two hours on that report)” or an instance in which we “use words that are defined with respect to one frame in talking about concepts and words defined with respect to another” (Lawler 1999). This definition is broad enough to include allegory, simile, analogy, and most other literary devices or figures of speech that allow for comparisons. For literature addressing the technical differences between these devices see “Section 2 – Metaphors” (2005). See also, Aristotle (2004); Lakoff and Johnson (1980, 5); Lakoff (1993); Gozzi (1999/2000, 380–398); “Conceptual Blending” (2005).

Herbert Asher (2004, 78) relies on this in his popular Polling and the Public: “To perform a blood test a medical technician need only draw a drop or two of blood from the patient. This very small sample of the total amount of blood in the patient's body is sufficient to produce accurate results because any one drop has properties identical to those of the remaining blood. Similarly, Pamela Alreck and Robert Settle (1985, 89) rely on the soup testing version to help readers understand why the size of a sample is not related to the size of the population. “This fact,” they write, “may be difficult for a novice to accept, but … a simple analogy can be used to make this fact intuitively understandable.”

While longer, I have also found that Lawler's (1999) essay on metaphors and computing is equally accessible to introductory students.

Depending on the makeup of the class, I have also experimented with having them complete the assignment independently as well.

For purposes of this study, students in the introductory class were asked to engage in both critique and construction exercises.

Students in the advanced class were asked three questions regarding the benefits of critique, while students in the introductory course were asked five questions. After the assessment was complete one of the five questions asked of the introductory students was withdrawn because it was problematic. Specifically, this question contained improper wording in the form of a double-negative making the results suspect.