Metaphors, analogies and similes can be helpful in illustrating concepts that are abstract or unfamiliar. By comparing and contrasting these concepts to things more concrete or familiar, learners can better understand them.
This method takes advantage of the human tendency to look for patterns. Learners engage in the metaphor by looking for which comparisons in the metaphor work and which don’t. That sensing can lead to opportunities for discussion as learners examine the metaphor to see if it is apt.
It’s important that the “familiar” concept actually aids in understanding. Sometimes teachers may select a concept for comparison that is actually less familiar than the concept to be learned. There is also a risk of a teacher working so hard to come up with an apt metaphor that the comparisons are not easily apparent to learners and the teacher has to explain in detail why concept A is like concept B.
Application: One of the major elements of the Working Out Loud (WOL) process is the growth mindset. In short, it is important that WOL participants believe they can get better at anything, if they practice. As a facilitator, I connect the growth mindset to resilience and grit. If participants believe they can improve with practice, they are more likely to stick with the process.
To illustrate this to participants, we use the metaphor of “touching the treadmill.” This metaphor helps participants better understand the growth mindset and the theory that small steps lead to long-term behavior change. If you want to start running 5 miles a week, you should not start by getting on the treadmill and trying to run 5 miles, or even a mile. If you fail, which is likely, it will be really hard to try again. Instead you should start by touching the treadmill. Just touch the treadmill every day until it becomes automatic. We are trying to program a process, a habit, in our brains. Once touching the treadmill is automatic, start standing on the treadmill, not running, just standing. Do that every day until it becomes automatic. Next turn on the treadmill and walk. The story goes on from there. You slowly build up to running 5 miles a week by establishing habits in small steps.
We use this concept to help participants better understand working toward the goals of Working Out Loud. The idea of sharing your work as a way of connecting with others is unfamiliar to many participants, but trying to exercise more is much more familiar. The “touching the treadmill” metaphor often becomes a touchpoint in the WOL experience. During weekly check-ins, participants will often say they didn’t make a lot of progress; they just “touched the treadmill.” Sometimes when a participant says they didn’t accomplish anything this week, another participant will say something like, “That’s OK. You’re here with us, so you are touching the treadmill.”
Assessment: Assessment for Learning (Boaler and Confer)
Assessment for Learning is a formative assessment designed to encourage a growth mindset. The basis if the assessment is for students to “become knowledgeable about what they know, what they need to know and ways to close the gap between the two places.”
In WOL, this assessment would be entirely created by the participant with facilitator guidance only if necessary. Participants would be encouraged to periodically consider Boaler and Confer’s questions:
References
Boaler, Jo and Confer, Amanda. Assessment for a Growth Mindset. Retrieved from https://bhi61nm2cr3mkdgk1dtaov18-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/1439422682-AssessmentPaper.pdf on May 3, 2018.
Tate, M. L. (2012). “Sit and Get” won’t grow dendrites: 20 professional learning strategies that engage the adult brain. (2nd Ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.