The effects of metaphors on novice and expert learners’ performance and mental-model development

The effects of metaphors on learning have been proved by many studies. Learners naturally invoke metaphors when learning new concepts because metaphors stimulate them to generate models of the domain to be learned. However, little evidence has been seen of metaphors’ effect on developing learners’ mental models. Since metaphors function by providing familiar concepts that help learners to construct new knowledge, metaphors’ effects may be more apparent to novice learners.This study explores the effects of metaphors on both novice and expert learners’ performance and their mental-model development as documented by three different measurement methods. It also examines the relationship between subjects’ performance and their mental models. The results indicate that metaphors may facilitate novices’ construction of integrative knowledge but not simple knowledge. In addition, metaphors may possibly have lasting effects on expert learning but the effects may not be seen immediately after learning.