There is a disconnect between conceptualizations of learning held by researchers in education and conceptualizations held by others. Many researchers in education and related fields have conceptualizations of learning grounded in a construction metaphor of learning: meaning is individually, collaboratively, and collectively constructed. People outside these domains tend to have conceptualizations of learning grounded in a transfer/acquisition metaphor of learning. The transfer/acquisition metaphor sees knowledge as consisting of discrete entities, and learning as the transfer of those entities from authoritative sources such as teachers and books into the minds of learners. This metaphor is the dominant metaphor in society today and is rarely recognized as a metaphor. The construction metaphor of learning sees learning as the construction of meaning within learners’ individual minds, as well as collaborative and collective constructions. Metaphors inform worldviews and paradigms. Worldviews are mental frameworks of assumptions, ideas, and behaviors informing the way reality is perceived, and consist of constellations of metaphorical concepts covering a particular domain. Paradigms are the shared assumptions and beliefs in a community of practice. Both worldviews and paradigms are dependent on metaphors and analogies. Conceptualizations of learning directly impact practice. People with a transfer/acquisition metaphor of learning tend to have substantially different worldviews, paradigms, and conceptualizations from people with a construction metaphor of learning. For instance, a person with a transfer/acquisition metaphor of learning may tend toward learning practices involving lectures, drill-and practice, and tests. A person with a construction metaphor of learning may tend toward learning practices involving collaboration, project-based learning, student-directed learning, and metacognitive practices.