Teaching As Art And Science

Effective teaching comprises knowledge and skills acquired through education and experiences. We can view teaching as both an art and a science. How we provide instruction can be viewed as the art of teaching. The expertise of the knowledge applied to instruction makes teaching a science (Flake, 2017). Artists create work from techniques that have proved to work for them. Through their years of experience, they have found what works for them and can create art through their acquired skills.

Teachers in the same regard can apply these techniques to teaching within the classroom. Flake states, “An understanding of teaching as an art and a science enables educators to teach more effectively by providing perspective on different teaching approaches” (2017).

A large part of teaching relies on decision-making. Teachers can decide what needs to be taught within the classroom and how it should be taught. It can even be broken down into how much time should be spent on the lesson and what students need different instruction. The breakdown of the lesson conducted by the teacher can be seen as the science of teaching, while the application of the material would be the art. “Teachers’ motivational beliefs – i.e., teachers’ self-efficacy and felt responsibility for educational outcomes – can shape their professional decision-making and approaches to teaching” (Lauermann & Berger, 2021).

Selecting the appropriate content goes hand in hand with decision-making. The teacher is ultimately deciding on what content is best to present. Selecting the appropriate content involves knowing when to modify the work based on the student’s past and current knowledge (Orlich et al., 2018).

Consequently, the teacher needs to know when to motivate the students, as this is the science of student motivation. The art of student motivation would be knowing which type of motivation to provide to the student, whether intrinsic or extrinsic. Flake states, “Students need to be taught to be involved in their own learning. Distractions and lack of attention in the class prevent students from obtaining their learning potential” (Flake, 2017).

The piece that ties this puzzle together is reflecting. HoWe make decisions, select appropriate content, and motivate our students by reflecting on what did and did not work.

Reflecting allows the teacher to modify previous decisions that have been made and tailor them better to the needs of the students. There is always something that can be improved; reflecting on our daily choices can provide a better learning environment for the students.

References

Flake, L. H. (2017, September 7). A look at the relationship of curriculum and instruction and the … – ed. Retrieved October 24, 2022, from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1153846.pdf

Lauermann, F., & Berger, J.-L. (2021). Linking teacher self-efficacy and responsibility with teachers’ self-reported and student-reported motivating styles and student engagement. Learning and Instruction, 76, 101441. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2020.101441

Orlich, D. C., Harder, R. J., Brown, A., Trevisan, M. S., & Miller, D. (2018). Teaching strategies: A guide to effective instruction. Cengage Learning.

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Teaching As Art And Science

Review Section Two of this module’s assigned textbook reading and expound upon the idea that teaching is both an art and a science. Discuss the art and science implications of decision-making, selecting appropriate content, student motivation, and reflection. Find two scholarly resources to support your claims.