Pedagogy through the pearl metaphor: teaching as a process of ongoing refinement

Abstract

Using the analytical tools of broadening, burrowing and storying and restorying, this narrative inquiry examines a middle school teachers’ knowledge of her pedagogical practices through the strand of pearls’ metaphor that she employs to explain her teaching to herself, a beginning teacher whom she mentors and ourselves as researchers. Throughout the discussion, careful attention is paid to the pearl metaphor’s emergent, novel qualities and how the metaphor is held and expressed in the teacher’s unfurling practice. In the final analysis, four significant themes are unpacked: (1) the image of teacher as curriculum maker; (2) the idea of pearls, non-pearls and yellowed pearls; and (3) the concept of metaphors and the nature of metaphorical truth. Finally, a discussion of the veracity of the strand of pearls as way to understand teaching practice concludes the article.

Keywords:

• Teacher as curriculum maker
• pedagogy
• metaphors of teaching
• narrative inquiry
• teacher development
• Physical Education

Acknowledgements

Special thanks are extended to Dr Xiao Han who served as a research assistant on this project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Cheryl J. Craig

Cheryl J. Craig is a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education, University of Houston, Texas, USA; e-mail: [email protected]. Her research focuses on teachers as curriculum makers and examines how context shapes their knowledge, communities of knowing, and being.

JeongAe You

JeongAe You is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Education, College of Education, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Korea; e-mail: [email protected]. Her research interests include curriculum development and teacher education in Physical Education.

Suhak Oh

Suhak Oh is Professor in the Department of Physical Education, College of Education, Inha University, Incheon, Korea; e-mail: [email protected]. His specialty areas are curriculum evaluation and experience in teaching assessments in Physical Education.