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The Power of Metaphor: Learning Space and Faculty Development

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Abstract

Background

Education in the health sciences is transitioning to a student-centered approach that has impacted all components of educational institutions: classroom design, faculty training, selection of learners and faculty.

Activity

Using metaphor analyses, this study investigates the effects on instructor beliefs and values about teaching by having a series of professional development workshops in either a traditional lecture hall or in a collaborative/engaged learning-designed classroom. At the conclusion of the series, both sets of participants were invited to make a free-hand drawing of their “conception” of teaching and label the drawing that represents the conception. Drawings and metaphors were analyzed by non-study raters, and all metaphors were categorized into one of three domains: teacher-centered, learner-centered, learner-driven.

Results

Faculty who completed the series inside a collaborative learning classroom perceived their roles primarily in the learner-centered domains 37 (59.67%), whereas those that completed it in the lecture hall perceived their roles as primarily teacher-centered 62 (84.93%).

Discussion

The authors discuss the implications for faculty development during this transition.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge all participants for their contribution.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Education, School of Medicine, Health Professions Education Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Maryam Alizadeh

  2. Medical Education, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, Psychiatry & Pediatrics, Dayton, OH, USA

    Dean Parmelee

  3. Medical Case Centre, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden

    Jonas Nordquist

Authors
  1. Maryam Alizadeh
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  2. Dean Parmelee
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  3. Jonas Nordquist
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maryam Alizadeh.

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Ethical Considerations

Tehran University of Medical Sciences, School of Medicine Ethics Committee, approved the study. Participation was voluntary and anonymous. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Dr. Jonas Nordquist, Ph.D., is the Director of the Medical Case Centre at Karolinska Institutet and the associate DIO, his research focuses on educational leadership and the impact of physical space on learning.

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Alizadeh, M., Parmelee, D. & Nordquist, J. The Power of Metaphor: Learning Space and Faculty Development. Med.Sci.Educ. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-024-02024-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-024-02024-w

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