Applied Linguistics and Language Teacher Education by Nat Bartels

80 CONSTRUCTING THEORETICAL NOTIONSwhen participants of all ages and levels–and not just children and adults, or novices andexperts–collaborate in understanding a concept or solving a problem (Wells, 1999, p.331). This enlarged notion of the ZPD suggests that teachers, both in practice and intraining, can develop an understanding of teaching through reflective practice andcollaboration with other teachers. Furthermore, as Wells (1999) put it, an enlargednotion of the ZPD implies that mediation is not limited to assistance by other humanbeings but may come in the form of socially constructed semiotic artifacts, such asbooks, maps, and diagrams (p. 331). We believe metaphor is one of these semioticartifacts that can serve as a mediational tool in helping teachers progress in their thinkingabout writing and the teaching of writing.Another sociocultural theory concept that is relevant to our research is the notion ofinternalization, that is, the process by which intermental functioning in the form of socialrelations among individuals and interaction with socially constructed artifacts is turnedinwards and transformed into intramental functioning (Vygotsky, 1978). According toBall (2000), teachers internalize theoretical concepts as they appropriate what others sayand make it their own. Internalization implies going beyond the mere parroting ofothers’ words to adopting positions of commitment to action and to envisioning theapplication of new theoretical concepts to practice (Ball, 2000, p. 246-248). One way ofstudying internalization among teacher trainees is through the observation of teachers’changes in discourse practices (Ball, 2000, p. 229).A third related idea is that higher intellectual processes are mediated bypsychological tools (Wertsch, 1991). The view of metaphor as a mediating psychologicaltool is consistent with the approach to metaphor as cognition (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980),which holds that metaphors are more than just ornamental ways of using the language;they are ways of knowing and thinking. Metaphors organize and shape the way weperceive our world by consistently linking one mental domain to another. Metaphors arealso excellent tools for comprehending what is complex and incomprehensible in natureand experience (Gibbs, 1994). Recognizing the critical role metaphors play inconceptualizing fields of knowledge, educational researchers have been using metaphoras a research tool to investigate teachers’ cognition (Cameron & Low, 1999). Studieshave shown that metaphor is a useful way of bringing implicit assumptions to awareness,encouraging reflection, finding contradictions, and fostering change in educationalbeliefs and practices (see, for example, Guerrero & Villamil, 2000, 2002; Munby, 1987;Tobin, 1990).To sum up, metaphor, in this study, functions as the chief mediator in the formulationand reformulation of notions on writing. An enlarged notion of intervention within theZPD suggests, however, that internalization and progression in cognitive developmentare also accomplished through reading and reflection, making beliefs explicit, andsharing ideas among classmates. Intervention, in our study, is thus seen as the whole ofthose principled actions and resources taken up in order to foster change, reorientthinking, and broaden the understanding of writing. With this notion in mind, we asked