More than poetic examination: Metaphors that structure online instructor views

The problem. The practical problem addressed by this study was the possible effect of educators basing their views of online teaching on a subconscious metaphorical thought process formed largely by personal experience and beliefs about traditional education and the extent to which that process expresses itself in their willingness to participate in that form of online teaching. Understanding what informs thought and action will aid formation of a systematic portrait of the way in which educators view online teaching. This conceptualization is important because what cannot be articulated will go on without critical notice.;Method. Through The English Council of California Two-Year Colleges (ECCTYC), a population frame of English instructors who teach online in the 111 community colleges in California was obtained. For initial data collection, respondents were asked to complete an electronic survey and the written responses were analyzed for metaphor. In continued, sequential data collection a purposive sample of participants who indicated a willingness to be called for a telephone interview was contacted. These data were coded and included in the systematic metaphor analysis and discourse analysis.;Results. Eleven linguistic metaphors were generated in response to the central question, What are the linguistic metaphors that express online instructor views of online teaching for online English instructors in California community colleges? The data from each instructor were analyzed for a linguistic metaphor unique to that instructor. A list of vehicle terms in context, related to the topic of traditional teaching, addressed the first subquestion, To what extent do the linguistic metaphors reveal a semantic connection to elements of traditional teaching? A list of vehicle terms in context, related to the topic of embodied experience in the physical world, addressed the second subquestion, To what extent to the linguistic metaphors reveal a semantic connection to elements of embodied experience in the physical world? A comparison of the metaphoric conceptions in the survey data, to the systematic metaphors generated from that data addressed the third subquestion, To what extent do the linguistic metaphors in interview discourse data align with the metaphors in the survey data?...