Conceptual Metaphor and the Study of Conceptual Change: Research synthesis and future directions

Many of the goals of research on conceptual metaphor in science education overlap with the goals of research on conceptual change. The relevance of a conceptual metaphor perspective to the study of conceptual change has already been discussed. However, a substantial body of literature on conceptual metaphor in science education has now emerged. This work has not yet been synthesized or related explicitly to the goals of conceptual change research. This paper first presents a broad sketch of the study of conceptual change, characterizing the goals of this body of work, its contributions to date, and identifying open questions. Next, the literature on conceptual metaphor in science education is reviewed against this background. The review clarifies the natural theoretical connections between the conceptual metaphor perspective and the phenomenon of conceptual change. It then examines the contributions made by the literature on conceptual metaphor in science education to the goals of research on conceptual change—namely, characterizing student conceptions, identifying obstacles to learning, understanding the process of conceptual change, and designing productive pedagogical strategies that could achieve conceptual change. The paper concludes with a discussion of further avenues for research into conceptual change, suggested by adopting a conceptual metaphor perspective.