I do not think one metaphor can be smarter than another without a context. Here’s a half-baked explanation. Along the lines of what Ana and I have posted about functional relationships, I think of metaphor to be a set of functional (semantic) relationships in the ecology of teaching and learning. Metaphor’s utility is in the transformation of meaning potential into actualized meaning, bridging the unknown into the known with some other known. One can think of it developmentally (and ironically) as a stepping-stone, a temporary foothold, a scaffold that may be tossed away when the momentary work of learning has been accomplished. Like stepping stones, footholds, and scaffolds, successful use of metaphor is to get from one place to another, but not in space, rather, semantically – from one set of meaning relationships to another. The fact that the engineer expressed fault with the metaphor is the smoking gun (!) that he might participate with a set of functional (semanti!
c) rela
tionships beyond the metaphor of the scaffold. He was not in the semantic “place” assumed by the metaphor. His experience with the textuality of engineering holds a different set of meaning relations with the term: staying outside the building and being dismantled, for example.
I think Zopeds and Scaffolds are in the same genre of semantic artifacts as the Bohr theory of the atom. They serve to transform one set of functional relationships to another. Teaching the Bohr theory of the atom works for beginning students of atomic theory, but for those who have progressed beyond, Bohr’s theory is in disagreement with other aspects of physical theory. There is far more to the atom than in Bohr’s theory: Electrons don’t spiral into the nucleus as predicted by other elements of physics. Electrons sometimes act like waves rather than orbiting particles. Using that as my stepping-stone, I think there is far more to learning, teaching, and development than in zopeds and scaffolds, but these metaphors serve a useful purpose, especially for those who can move into new meanings with them.
IMHO
-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "Carol Macdonald" <carolmacdon@gmail.com>
> Hi Colleages
> Last year when I was teaching scaffolding, one of the students who is an
> engineer said that my metaphoric use of scaffolding was inappropriate. I
> taught that in a dyad the more competent other goes in and out in the
> interaction as the need dictates. He said that the scaffolding aways stays
> outside and when the building is finished it is dismantled. There is no
> going in and out here.
>
> Perhaps others use other metaphors that are smarter than mine: I would like
> to hear from you.
> Carol
>
>
>
> On 5/30/06, Phil Chappell <philchappell@mac.com> wrote:
> >
> > I know we're all busy and this is an indulgence, but one of the
> > scaffolding stories from the building website caught my fancy. I
> > recall a conference in Japan a couple of years ago when the presenter
> > took a dictionary definition of scaffolding (the building kind) and
> > then applied it rather haphazardly to language learning. I have
> > replaced all uses of "scaffolding" in the following newspaper report
> > with the term "assisted performance" to see how potentially tricky
> > and confusing metaphors can be. Of course, this has the potential of
> > being a big flop.
> >
> > ["This is a great scaffolding activity", said the busy teacher.]
> >
> > I'm also re-reading Chaiklin's chapter in the hope of responding to
> > Althea in a much more mature way than this.
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Phil
> >
> > {Skip this if you're busy...}
> >
> > Fury over assisted performance bungle
> > From:
> > http://www.eveningstar.co.uk/content/eveningstar/news/story.aspx?
> > brand=ESTOnline&category=News&tBrand=ESTOnline&tCategory=zNews&itemid=IP
> > ED23%20May%202006%2012%3A26%3A15%3A660
> >
> >
> > IT was not quite a scene from Romeo and Juliet, but an assisted
> > performance bungle left Karen Miller stranded upstairs while her
> > husband, Brian was stuck downstairs.
> >
> > Today, Mrs Miller is still trying to contain her anger after she
> > claimed she felt like a "prisoner in her own home" after temporary
> > assisted performance prevented her (from leaving her) Ipswich flat.
> >
> > When Karen Miller looked out of the door of her first floor flat on
> > Halton Crescent she realised the outside stairs leading from the door
> > to the ground were blocked because some assisted performance had been
> > provided.
> >
> > And her husband, Brian, who had left the house before the assisted
> > performance was available, was stuck at the bottom.
> >
> > Mrs Miller, 33, said: "I couldn't get to work and I couldn't leave
> > the house.
> >
> > "They put up a rickety step ladder but I didn't feel safe getting
> > down it or squeezing though the hole when they lifted up some of the
> > boards on the assisted performance and suggested I got out that way.
> >
> > "I kept thinking; what would happen if there was a fire because my
> > only escape was blocked. I felt like a prisoner in my own home."
> >
> > The assisted performance had been provided at about 9am on Monday in
> > order to repair the rending on property which had blown away.
> >
> > The work was carried out by Ipswich-based OBO Assisted Performance
> > Company on behalf of Ipswich Borough Council, but although the
> > couple's neighbours were informed the work was taking place Mr
> > Miller, 37, said he had no idea.
> >
> > He said: "We didn't hear anyone knock on the door and we didn't get a
> > letter.
> >
> > "We know the work has to be done but we should have known about it in
> > advance.
> >
> > "I am petrified of heights and always have been so there was no way I
> > was going up the ladder so I have been stuck downstairs.
> >
> > "Surely they could have found a way to do the work without blocking
> > the entrance and exit to the house."
> >
> > Councillor Steven Wells, Ipswich Borough Council's Housing portfolio-
> > holder said: "We would like to say sorry to the tenants for this
> > breakdown in communication.
> >
> > "Our normal procedure is to always talk to tenants first but in this
> > case we can only apologise for the inconvenience caused.
> >
> > "We are looking at our procedures to ensure this does not happen
> > again."_______________________________________________
> > xmca mailing list
> > xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
> > http://dss.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/xmca
> >
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