Columbus and Crew: Making Analogical Reflection Public

We think about what we do when we teach. As teacher educators we sometimes share this professional thinking with students in the hope that, by privileging them with access to our reflection, we and they might learn. This is achieved in two ways: first, by providing role-modelling of reflective practice; and second, by revealing our ideas about practices so that they might be scrutinized and adapted. The privilege is also extended to us, as exposing our thinking to ourselves makes it known and more accessible to us. It can become subject to our own scrutiny and, thereby, we learn. This chapter discusses my attempt to reveal my thinking about my teaching to my students using analogies. The experience and analysis of data raises questions about the use of analogy and the role of public reflection including: How does the use of metaphor in reflection influence teacher educator and student professional learning? What reflection should be made public? Why should this be made public? How does making reflection public influence the reflection and teacher educator thinking? The chapter addresses these questions in two parts. In the first, the use of analogy for reflection, its influence on student teacher interaction, and implications for professional learning are discussed (this part of the chapter is based on a conference paper by Aubusson, 2004). The second part discusses the implications of making reflection public. It addresses questions raised by teacher educator colleagues, but left unanswered, during and after the presentation of the Aubusson (2004) paper.