Teaching Metaphor
If I had to pick a teaching metaphor, I would say that teaching is like playing Scrabble. When a player or players begins to start a game of scrabble, he/she must first set up all of their pieces. These pieces would symbolize student’s previous knowledge. They must then determine the rules of playing, which in Scrabble and teaching, revolve around the ultimate achievement. This achievement may be defined by the players in a variety of ways as there are various ways to play Scrabble. While most players designate receiving the most points as winning, other ways of playing included coming up with the most creative words or being the fastest to play all of their pieces for the most points. In Scrabble, the basic rules are to use the pieces you have each turn to spell a word. As each person gets a turn, they build on that word. Eventually an entire network of words is created with each player vying for the winning characteristic.
In this metaphor, the teacher would serve as the master Scrabble player, someone who has experience in achieving success and thrives on it and the student as a beginning Scrabble player (someone who has never played Scrabble before). Lastly, the Scrabble board symbolizes the school building, or the starting point for the game, the foundation for all that is to come. At this point in team Scrabble, players begin to form teams and alliances to properly prepare themselves for the game, in order that by using their letters efficiently, they may achieve the highest scoring words and eventually the highest score overall. In teaching, students receive these team placements when they form partnerships with their parents, other students, teachers, and other educational aides to help them to complete the work. During this process, a teacher begins to determine areas that might need improvement and help students to pair with someone who can help in their weaknesses. These partnerships can greatly determine whether they can end up forming words or in this case learning the curriculum.
When players receive pieces, they would set them up on the board after randomly choosing from a pool of letters. In this way, Scrabble is like teaching in that the “pieces” are the skills and knowledge the students come in with as beginning Scrabble players. A teacher has no control over the previous knowledge of their students. Teachers then must help their student as an experienced expert Scrabble player to eventually find success by spelling a word, or in this case learning the material. Also, if the pieces are helpful, then the teacher has an easy time but if the pieces are incomplete or unhelpful then the teacher has to get creative to try to help students succeed. Working with various scrabble pieces is also like teaching because many times the teacher has no control over what kind of children get placed in their room and the difficulties and advantages they might possess. They can either try new creative strategies in helping someone to succeed or throw up their hands and say “I’m just going to lose”. As well, some people come into Scrabble with better core knowledge and skills just as all the students entering the classroom will not have the exact same abilities and skills.
Another way that teaching is like Scrabble, is the fact that players have to know the rules to play the game well. This is similar to teaching because teachers have to figure out how to win and succeed according to the rules of the school they are in. A set of Scrabble rules often functions in the same way that a syllabus would in a classroom. These rules dictate what behavior is unacceptable and what is required to achieve success and set the tone for the room. Each class is different but many key concepts stay the same regardless of the group. Everyone verbally agrees to follow the rules so that playing, or in the case of a classroom learning, is fair and reasonable. In this way, players and students both know what is expected and how to reach those expectations. Teachers establish strategies in a classroom just as they would in a game of Scrabble so that the end result is achievement and winning the goal. In the game of Scrabble, this is the most points. In a classroom, it might be the most learned material or having prepared students for the next grade. At this point, master Scrabble players also begin to establish a plan for achieving that goal. Sometimes reaching that goal means focusing on the big letters (or subjects) first to allow players to get to the more complex goals later.
Now it comes time to play. When playing, players find out that some people come in with the advantages, such as a huge vocabulary, that helps their success while others work to develop those abilities or skills. Some students will need to reread the instructions and possibly need a little more instruction so they can properly play the game and form words. In this way, it’s important to note that each person’s prior knowledge is going to affect both his/her outcome and his/her teammates because as each person gets a turn he/she builds upon each other’s gained knowledge just as in Scrabble players build upon each other’s words.
Along the way, players also try to hit benchmark goals like triple words or in the case of a classroom, achieve a good score on a unit test. If the words are adding up well then a good grade goes down in the grade book or many points are added to the score sheet. If players realize their time is almost up for their turn then they must work to transition to the next word or idea quickly. The progress made on this goal helps the master Scrabble player to determine if things are working and if not change things up. Everyone must constantly be prepared for change as a teacher or Scrabble player because someone’s next decision might completely change the game.
Therefore, teachers must work with what they’ve got and eventually improve their teaching abilities, so that after years of teaching, they can help their students improve to become more than a first time Scrabble player with the knowledge they have gained over the years in school. Players can learn to get good at the game, but it will take practice and creativity and sometimes just hard work. Also, master Scrabble players may need other strategies to use because often times their first strategy might not work just as in Scrabble, they have to recalculate their plan as things change.
As well, sometimes teams work way better than just one person, so always be thinking outside of the box and using the available resources. In Scrabble, a player at an obvious disadvantage, such as never playing before might be paired with a more experienced players. In this way, the “stronger” player can help the “weaker” player so that both members may achieve victory. In this way, it is helpful for someone’s background knowledge to help someone less experienced. Just as someone with a different perspective and vocabulary set might be able to help a player in Scrabble, someone with a different teaching plan might help a teacher to reevaluate their current method of doing things. Likewise in a classroom, a peer that can “student teach” another might be instrumental in explaining things in a brand new light that the teacher might never have considered.
In this part of the metaphor, parents can be a part of a student’s success. Many times parents can be an extremely helpful part of the game. Therefore, the master Scrabble player can encourage two people to work as a team. This encouragement can benefit both the child, who does better, and the parent, who feels validated as a resource for their child. Many times administrators can fulfill this role as well. If administrators are seen as a helpful part of the equation in helping students to achieve success, they can be a vital tool instead of merely being the “authoritative” figure at the school. Obviously then, teams can be instrumental in changing the outcome of the game whether it be Scrabble or education.
The metaphor is not perfect because obviously children are not inanimate objects being placed as pieces on a board and their learning cannot occur as quickly as setting pieces on a board could. As well, there must be times in which a teacher struggles to maintain classroom management which unfortunately does not come into play in this metaphor since the master Scrabble player typically is not the rule maker. The last breakdown of the metaphor, and perhaps the most important, is that education is not a game. However, I do think that the metaphor that Teaching is like Scrabble holds true in the largest sense because teachers must be prepared for change, optimistic for the future, and open to new ideas because they never know what will happen the next turn and they never know what might happen the next day in the classroom. So be prepared: become a Scrabble master!
In this metaphor, the teacher would serve as the master Scrabble player, someone who has experience in achieving success and thrives on it and the student as a beginning Scrabble player (someone who has never played Scrabble before). Lastly, the Scrabble board symbolizes the school building, or the starting point for the game, the foundation for all that is to come. At this point in team Scrabble, players begin to form teams and alliances to properly prepare themselves for the game, in order that by using their letters efficiently, they may achieve the highest scoring words and eventually the highest score overall. In teaching, students receive these team placements when they form partnerships with their parents, other students, teachers, and other educational aides to help them to complete the work. During this process, a teacher begins to determine areas that might need improvement and help students to pair with someone who can help in their weaknesses. These partnerships can greatly determine whether they can end up forming words or in this case learning the curriculum.
When players receive pieces, they would set them up on the board after randomly choosing from a pool of letters. In this way, Scrabble is like teaching in that the “pieces” are the skills and knowledge the students come in with as beginning Scrabble players. A teacher has no control over the previous knowledge of their students. Teachers then must help their student as an experienced expert Scrabble player to eventually find success by spelling a word, or in this case learning the material. Also, if the pieces are helpful, then the teacher has an easy time but if the pieces are incomplete or unhelpful then the teacher has to get creative to try to help students succeed. Working with various scrabble pieces is also like teaching because many times the teacher has no control over what kind of children get placed in their room and the difficulties and advantages they might possess. They can either try new creative strategies in helping someone to succeed or throw up their hands and say “I’m just going to lose”. As well, some people come into Scrabble with better core knowledge and skills just as all the students entering the classroom will not have the exact same abilities and skills.
Another way that teaching is like Scrabble, is the fact that players have to know the rules to play the game well. This is similar to teaching because teachers have to figure out how to win and succeed according to the rules of the school they are in. A set of Scrabble rules often functions in the same way that a syllabus would in a classroom. These rules dictate what behavior is unacceptable and what is required to achieve success and set the tone for the room. Each class is different but many key concepts stay the same regardless of the group. Everyone verbally agrees to follow the rules so that playing, or in the case of a classroom learning, is fair and reasonable. In this way, players and students both know what is expected and how to reach those expectations. Teachers establish strategies in a classroom just as they would in a game of Scrabble so that the end result is achievement and winning the goal. In the game of Scrabble, this is the most points. In a classroom, it might be the most learned material or having prepared students for the next grade. At this point, master Scrabble players also begin to establish a plan for achieving that goal. Sometimes reaching that goal means focusing on the big letters (or subjects) first to allow players to get to the more complex goals later.
Now it comes time to play. When playing, players find out that some people come in with the advantages, such as a huge vocabulary, that helps their success while others work to develop those abilities or skills. Some students will need to reread the instructions and possibly need a little more instruction so they can properly play the game and form words. In this way, it’s important to note that each person’s prior knowledge is going to affect both his/her outcome and his/her teammates because as each person gets a turn he/she builds upon each other’s gained knowledge just as in Scrabble players build upon each other’s words.
Along the way, players also try to hit benchmark goals like triple words or in the case of a classroom, achieve a good score on a unit test. If the words are adding up well then a good grade goes down in the grade book or many points are added to the score sheet. If players realize their time is almost up for their turn then they must work to transition to the next word or idea quickly. The progress made on this goal helps the master Scrabble player to determine if things are working and if not change things up. Everyone must constantly be prepared for change as a teacher or Scrabble player because someone’s next decision might completely change the game.
Therefore, teachers must work with what they’ve got and eventually improve their teaching abilities, so that after years of teaching, they can help their students improve to become more than a first time Scrabble player with the knowledge they have gained over the years in school. Players can learn to get good at the game, but it will take practice and creativity and sometimes just hard work. Also, master Scrabble players may need other strategies to use because often times their first strategy might not work just as in Scrabble, they have to recalculate their plan as things change.
As well, sometimes teams work way better than just one person, so always be thinking outside of the box and using the available resources. In Scrabble, a player at an obvious disadvantage, such as never playing before might be paired with a more experienced players. In this way, the “stronger” player can help the “weaker” player so that both members may achieve victory. In this way, it is helpful for someone’s background knowledge to help someone less experienced. Just as someone with a different perspective and vocabulary set might be able to help a player in Scrabble, someone with a different teaching plan might help a teacher to reevaluate their current method of doing things. Likewise in a classroom, a peer that can “student teach” another might be instrumental in explaining things in a brand new light that the teacher might never have considered.
In this part of the metaphor, parents can be a part of a student’s success. Many times parents can be an extremely helpful part of the game. Therefore, the master Scrabble player can encourage two people to work as a team. This encouragement can benefit both the child, who does better, and the parent, who feels validated as a resource for their child. Many times administrators can fulfill this role as well. If administrators are seen as a helpful part of the equation in helping students to achieve success, they can be a vital tool instead of merely being the “authoritative” figure at the school. Obviously then, teams can be instrumental in changing the outcome of the game whether it be Scrabble or education.
The metaphor is not perfect because obviously children are not inanimate objects being placed as pieces on a board and their learning cannot occur as quickly as setting pieces on a board could. As well, there must be times in which a teacher struggles to maintain classroom management which unfortunately does not come into play in this metaphor since the master Scrabble player typically is not the rule maker. The last breakdown of the metaphor, and perhaps the most important, is that education is not a game. However, I do think that the metaphor that Teaching is like Scrabble holds true in the largest sense because teachers must be prepared for change, optimistic for the future, and open to new ideas because they never know what will happen the next turn and they never know what might happen the next day in the classroom. So be prepared: become a Scrabble master!