A METAPHOR-CENTERED APPROACH: METAPHOR'S ROLE IN GEOSCIENCE EDUCATION, COMMUNICATION, & COGNITION

Scientific language is replete with metaphors. A metaphor is using a known or concrete concept to discuss, teach, and/or formulate a new concept. Like any model, each metaphor functions by making certain aspects of a concept more salient than others. Exactly which characteristics are highlighted, and which are hidden, however, are often difficult to anticipate. To ensure students and the public conceptualize scientific ideas more accurately, it is critical that educators and communicators develop the knowledge and skills necessary to identify, apprehend, and effectively utilize metaphors.

Analyses of texts used for geoscience education and public communication, like undergraduate textbooks and social media posts respectively, reveal the central role of metaphor in representing the many complex concepts in geoscience. For example, we are often unaware of the many scientific concepts commonly discussed through metaphorical language that is either mechanistic or agentive. Also, educators and communicators may select certain scientific metaphors to achieve specific rhetorical and pedagogic goals (ex: presenting the Earth as a spaceship to convey its finitude and frailty) without fully appreciating the many other possible conceptual outcomes (ex: that Earth can be perfectly manipulated and maintained to serve human interests). Often, however, we are bound by the fundamental scientific terminology we inherit (ex: earth's crust, tectonic plates, greenhouse effect, etc.) and their respective metaphorical constructions.

While metaphor theories, analyses, and approaches are diverse and complex, any educator, communicator, or researcher can benefit from adopting a metaphor-centered approach.This involves first, and most importantly, acknowledging the extensive prevalence of metaphors in language and their fundamental role in thought and learning. Metaphors are far more common and fundamental than we tend to realize. Second, it involves thinking carefully about the source concepts, as well as the most salient characteristics students and target audiences are likely to select to formulate new concepts. Taking a metaphor-centered approach can thus help educators and communicators to utilize metaphorical language more strategically to enhance their pedagogic and communicative outcomes.