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  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 1999  > March  >
In the Classroom
The Ubiquitous Metaphors of Chemistry Teaching
Herbert Beall
Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Worcester, MA 01609-2280
Cover
March 1999
Vol. 76 No. 3
p. 366
Abstract
The use of metaphors in the teaching of chemistry is analyzed in terms of their effectiveness and the extent of their use. The contrast in the use of metaphor in literature and science is discussed in terms of the topic to be described, the vehicle chosen to illuminate the topic and the characteristics of the vehicle, and the entailments, some of which will be suitable for the topic and some of which will not. The utility of a metaphor in science can be evaluated by the fraction of the entailments that are suitable; unsuitable entailments can detract from the understanding that the metaphor is intended to transmit. For example, a common chemical metaphor for the electron distribution about an atom is a cloud. Some of the entailments of this metaphor are apt, such as the diffuse nature of a cloud. Others, such as the ability of a cloud to evaporate, are not appropriate. The understanding and the confusion resulting from any scientific metaphor thus have to be considered when it is used. Finally, the frequency of the use of metaphor in chemistry teaching is demonstrated by a number of examples.
More Information
*  Citation
 Beall, Herbert. J. Chem. Educ. 1999 76 366.
*  Keywords
 Chemical Education Research; Introductory / High School Chemistry; General Chemistry; metaphor*; language*
*  History
 Created:
Last Updated:		 June 15, 1999
June 22, 2005
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