Undergraduate Research as Generative Metaphor: A Provocation

Authors

  • John Tagg Professor Emeritus, Palomar College

Keywords:

generative metaphor, undergraduate research, framing, re-framing

Abstract

Students who engage in research as undergraduates appear to achieve many benefits compared to those who do not. But scaling up undergraduate research is challenging and faces inherent limits. Are there ways to achieve some of the benefits for students not directly involved in faculty research? Generative metaphors help us to view problems in a different frame, thus setting the problem differently and inviting different kinds of solutions. This article proposes using research as a generative metaphor for classroom learning and invites readers to rethink teaching and learning in light of what seems to work for undergraduate research.

References

Alberts, B. (2000). Some thoughts of a scientist on inquiry. Retrieved November 10, 2018, from https://brucealberts.ucsf.edu/publications/albertsoninquiry.pdf

Lopatto, D. (March 2003). The essential features of undergraduate research. Council on Undergraduate Research Quarterly, 139-142.

Seymour, E., Hunter, A-B, Laursen, S. L., & Deantoni, T. (July 2004). Establishing the benefits of research experiences for undergraduates: First findings from a three-year study. Science Education, 88, 493-594.

Schön, D. A. (1980). Generative metaphor: A perspective on problem-setting in social policy. In Andrew Ortony (Ed.), Metaphor and Thought. (pp. 254-283). New York: Cambridge UP.

Wieman, C. (September/October 2007). Why not try a scientific approach to science education? Change, 9-15.

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Published

2019-04-25

Issue

Vol. 5 No. 2 (2018): Special Issue on Transformative Learning and Undergraduate Research

Section

Senior Editor

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