Metaphor, computing systems, and active learning

Abstract

Recent discussion has resolved the question of how prior knowledge organizes new learning into the technical definition and study of `metaphor'. Some theorists have adopted an `operational' approach, focusing on the manifest effects of suggesting metaphoric comparisons to learners. Some have resolved the question formally into a `structural' definition of metaphor. However, structural and operation approaches typically ignore the goal-directed learner-initiated learning process through which metaphors become relevant and effective in learning. Taking this process seriously affords an analysis of metaphor that explains why metaphors are intrinsically open-ended and how their open-endedness stimulates the construction of mental models.