The teaching metaphor that best aligns with my teaching philosophy is a shepherd watching over her flock, which I also see as the “guide on the side” metaphor. It will be my duty to lead my students towards deeper learning and guide them in a general direction. However, they will not need to all arrive there in the same way or at the exact same time. The flock moves towards the same goals but can attain them in different ways. As the shepherd it will be my job to guide them in the correct direction and provide necessary assistance and feedback.
The students need some guidance and some pushing to know which way to go and what needs to be learned. You do not want your students scattered throughout the classroom without any sense of direction or purpose. The flock is not meant, in any way, to convey a sense of everyone is doing exactly the same thing. There can be differentiation and uniqueness in how students move within the flock towards the big learning goals.
The teacher, or shepherd, is supposed to guide her flock. The students will take a cue from the teacher as to how to begin, but will move towards their goals in their own way. The teacher will never be too far away to offer support.
Students can learn a great deal in this metaphor because they are given a general direction and the necessary supervision to get the task done. Students need to be able to take a direction and go with it and explore on their own, but with a framework that provides help and guidance.
Overall, the shepherd watching over her flock seems appealing to me as a teaching metaphor because it seems a nice mix of goal-directed learning and teacher support and also allows room for students to wander and discover, as long as they are not straying off too far. And when it is necessary, a shepherd can gather her flock all together.
