Metaphor for teaching

1. “Being a teacher is like
being a cook…”
- Natalie Bower

2. When cooking you need to use different tools
to achieve different results.
It is the same in teaching as different
learners require different techniques and
resources to help them achieve success.
“resources are a critical element in the
interactions that occur between teachers and
students in classrooms.”
(Marsh, 2008, p.193)

3. Any good cook will
recognise the beautiful
tastes that come from
exploring the culinary
delights from cultures
around the world.
In the same way a great
teacher will embrace the
cultural differences of their
students and encourage
children to bring their
cultural capital into the
classroom.

4. When cooking it is
always fascinating to
see how ingredients
which may be
completely different,
can complement
each other. You can
put together various
spices and herbs
and they enhance
each others
tastiness, and make
the end creation
even more delicious!

5. In teaching it is the
same as children who
have very different
learning styles and
abilities can work well
together. It is
beneficial to the
learners who can
relate to one another
and explain new ways
to look at problems
that they may not have
thought of.

6. Recipe:
The key to
success in
the kitchen
is to
following a
well tested
recipe that
has been
developed
It is fun for
cooks to add
their own
personal
touch!

7. I think that this is mirrored in teaching as
it is important to be guided by the New
Zealand Curriculum and the goals that it
sets, but at the same time I think it is
important to bring your own personality
and add your own flavour to your

8. There are many different
tastes in cooking, people
may prefer their food to be
sweeter or more savoury.

9. This is reflected
in teaching as
different
students like
different things,
some students
like drawing,
others like
running around
and playing,
other children
love to read and
some love
animals.

10. Howard Gardner put this into his theory of multiple
intelligences. He suggests that every person can be
intelligent in areas such as…
• Linguistic
• Logico-mathematical
• Musical
• Spatial
• Bodily-Kinaesthetic
• Naturalist
• Interpersonal
• Intrapersonal
These different strengths are what makes children
different and will influence their like and dislikes.
(Berk, 2009, p. 241)

11. As a teacher it is our job to
add a pinch of salt or a
sprinkle of sugar and try to
engage the passion and
tastes of our students by
adding what they love to
our classroom.

12. Using PowerPoint To Express My Metaphor.
Strengths:
• I think that having the slides visible down the left hand side of
the page was excellent as it helped me keep my ideas in
sequence as I worked through explaining my metaphor.
• I think that PowerPoint was easy to use as it has a similar
format to Microsoft Word and Publisher. This meant that it was
easy to insert pictures and edit text.
• Another positive was being able to preview the slide show that
I was creating, this was good as it gave me perspective about
the format I was using.
Challenges:
• A challenge I faced while using PowerPoint was when trying to
change the font in some of my slides.
• Another challenge was organising the layers created by
multiple text boxes on slides.
• Also I found when adding effects to my slides the icon that is
next to the action that the effect will have was not clear. This
meant each one had to be selected to see if it was what I
wanted.

13. References
•
All pictures sourced from:
http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/
•
Berk, L. (2009). Exploring Lifespan Development. Pearson
Education. Boston; MA, United States of America.
•
Marsh, C. (2008). Becoming a teacher; knowledge, skills and
issues. Pearson Education Australia. NSW; Australia.