The Art and Science of Teaching
Teaching requires a combination of art and science. The art of teaching is the people-to-people relationships and the inspiration that builds enthusiasm in the student to learn. The science of teaching is the technical procedures involved in communicating ideas, facts, and knowledge. The synthesis of art and science results in well organized lessons designed to transfer knowledge in a way that is maximized. The integration of art and science creates a classroom atmosphere that is pleasant and stimulating. The goal is to create an environment where students want to learn and will learn. In 1996, the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future released a study, which concluded that, “A caring, competent, and qualified teacher is the most important ingredient in education reform.” In this statement we see a need for the art and the science of teaching.
The Art of Teaching
The ingredients that comprise the art in teaching are mostly intrinsic. The art of teaching is natural and inherent. Teachers must have a love for people and a love of learning. The teacher’s enthusiasm or lack of enthusiasm will be obvious to students from the moment the teacher enters the classroom. Intrinsic traits can be improved and shaped to help make one a better teacher but the love and enthusiasm must be innately strong.
Artful teaching requires that the teacher be free to present materials in a way that is meaningful and successful. The teacher needs to be creative in preparing and presenting curriculum. This creativity in the teaching style also allows the teacher to establish healthy, meaningful relationships with the students.
Teacher creativity is often displayed in the physical classroom. The physical spaces where students are taught reflect the personality, style, and philosophy of the teacher. The artful teacher creates an environment that is conducive to their style of instruction. The classroom ambience should be stimulating and reflect a love of learning.
The artful teacher takes risks that involve non-routine decision making. Such a teacher is willing to explore new ways of presenting information. The willingness to try new methods can lead to a better way of teaching. It can also lead to a failure. The class may not respond. The material may not be understood. The artful, creative teacher accepts that failure is an integral part of creative work. The teacher is willing to take responsibility for his/her work, to learn from failure, to scrap or revise a lesson. The art of teaching involves being able to transform failure into a situation for improvement. The creative teacher always sees failure as an opportunity to learn. Thus, failure never really happens. Failure becomes another step to success.
Creativity requires knowing the subject area well. It is the creative teacher’s obligation and responsibility to study. Once a thorough knowledge of the material is acquired, the teacher has confidence in his/her ability to develop a curriculum, teach a class, and to judge if their presentation was a success or failure.
The creative teacher has a passion for the subject being taught. Such passion enables the teacher to bring life to the lesson. The students are caught up in the teacher’s enthusiasm. The enthusiasm is infectious. The students become engaged in learning. The learning becomes a part of them. Success is achieved.
Artful teaching involves a love for others. An artful teacher conveys interest, concern, and warmth through their casual interactions and teaching. The loving teacher desires to inspire students to become creative learners. Such a teacher creates a learning environment that permits the student the freedom to create and fail. Students are encouraged to accept the responsibility to learn and to develop a passion for learning.
An effective teacher is an artist in the form of an actor. The teacher is able to convey passion, enthusiasm, and wonder each time the lesson is taught. The fact that the teacher has taught the lesson 200 times in the past does not detract from the zeal and enjoyment of being able to share information with the present class. Every moment in the classroom should be a creative encounter that appears to be unrehearsed, spontaneous, and exciting. It is the artful teacher who converts subject matter into an educational experience.
Artful teaching requires that the teacher be free to present materials in a way that is meaningful and successful. The teacher needs to be creative in preparing and presenting curriculum. This creativity in the teaching style also allows the teacher to establish healthy, meaningful relationships with the students.
Teacher creativity is often displayed in the physical classroom. The physical spaces where students are taught reflect the personality, style, and philosophy of the teacher. The artful teacher creates an environment that is conducive to their style of instruction. The classroom ambience should be stimulating and reflect a love of learning.
The artful teacher takes risks that involve non-routine decision making. Such a teacher is willing to explore new ways of presenting information. The willingness to try new methods can lead to a better way of teaching. It can also lead to a failure. The class may not respond. The material may not be understood. The artful, creative teacher accepts that failure is an integral part of creative work. The teacher is willing to take responsibility for his/her work, to learn from failure, to scrap or revise a lesson. The art of teaching involves being able to transform failure into a situation for improvement. The creative teacher always sees failure as an opportunity to learn. Thus, failure never really happens. Failure becomes another step to success.
Creativity requires knowing the subject area well. It is the creative teacher’s obligation and responsibility to study. Once a thorough knowledge of the material is acquired, the teacher has confidence in his/her ability to develop a curriculum, teach a class, and to judge if their presentation was a success or failure.
The creative teacher has a passion for the subject being taught. Such passion enables the teacher to bring life to the lesson. The students are caught up in the teacher’s enthusiasm. The enthusiasm is infectious. The students become engaged in learning. The learning becomes a part of them. Success is achieved.
Artful teaching involves a love for others. An artful teacher conveys interest, concern, and warmth through their casual interactions and teaching. The loving teacher desires to inspire students to become creative learners. Such a teacher creates a learning environment that permits the student the freedom to create and fail. Students are encouraged to accept the responsibility to learn and to develop a passion for learning.
An effective teacher is an artist in the form of an actor. The teacher is able to convey passion, enthusiasm, and wonder each time the lesson is taught. The fact that the teacher has taught the lesson 200 times in the past does not detract from the zeal and enjoyment of being able to share information with the present class. Every moment in the classroom should be a creative encounter that appears to be unrehearsed, spontaneous, and exciting. It is the artful teacher who converts subject matter into an educational experience.
The Science of Teaching
Instructional clarity is the teacher’s ability to provide instruction that helps the student process and understand new concepts. To present information in an organized manner, the teacher must first identify the main points of the lesson. The main points should be introduced to the students using instructional aids. Instructional aids can include a white board, overhead projector, PowerPoint slides, Weblogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and materials required for a demonstration. Providing a visual aid with oral instruction allows the student to hear and see how the material is going to be presented. The teacher must remember to not rush through this process of introduction of the new material. Time should be spent checking with the students to determine if they have an understanding of the learning objectives.
The teacher needs to present the lesson in a logical manner. Each new concept leads into or flows to the next new concept. All new concepts are explained using terms that are clear and easy to understand. Unfamiliar words are explained. Instructions and explanations include examples and elaborations. Student comprehension is improved with the use of graphic illustrations and visuals. The student’s attention is drawn to new concepts by the teacher writing them on the board, repeating them, and reviewing them throughout the lesson.
The teacher needs to allow time throughout the lesson for the student to process and reflect. Processing and reflection of the new material often results in the students having questions. The teacher needs to assure the students that all questions related to the topic are good questions. To answer a student’s question, the teacher may need to ask questions of the student to determine how the student is confused. Such probing allows the student to identify what he does understand and to identify what needs to be further explained. The teacher can then answer the question or have another student answer using different words or different examples.
To check for student understanding, the teacher asks students many questions. The students are asked to complete application exercises. The teacher monitors student learning through the students’ completed assignments. If the students’ work demonstrates that they do not understand the material, the teacher presents the main points again using different words and examples. Different methods of presenting the material are used until the students acquire understanding.
The teacher needs to present the lesson in a logical manner. Each new concept leads into or flows to the next new concept. All new concepts are explained using terms that are clear and easy to understand. Unfamiliar words are explained. Instructions and explanations include examples and elaborations. Student comprehension is improved with the use of graphic illustrations and visuals. The student’s attention is drawn to new concepts by the teacher writing them on the board, repeating them, and reviewing them throughout the lesson.
The teacher needs to allow time throughout the lesson for the student to process and reflect. Processing and reflection of the new material often results in the students having questions. The teacher needs to assure the students that all questions related to the topic are good questions. To answer a student’s question, the teacher may need to ask questions of the student to determine how the student is confused. Such probing allows the student to identify what he does understand and to identify what needs to be further explained. The teacher can then answer the question or have another student answer using different words or different examples.
To check for student understanding, the teacher asks students many questions. The students are asked to complete application exercises. The teacher monitors student learning through the students’ completed assignments. If the students’ work demonstrates that they do not understand the material, the teacher presents the main points again using different words and examples. Different methods of presenting the material are used until the students acquire understanding.
Conclusion
Discovery teaching has the potential to be most effective. When a student makes a discovery as opposed to being told a fact, the student embraces the learning. Employing discovery teaching involves taking risks. The teacher must be willing to let students explore, flounder, fail in regard to achieving the final goal. Such failure does not mean that the learning experience was a failure. It does mean that the students must examine what took place and determine what needs to be done differently to then achieve the desired goal. Discovery projects require the teacher to have great skill in the art and science of teaching. Project organization requires that the science of teaching be used to organize the project parameters and desired outcomes for the student. Methodologies of research are included in the presentation of the project to the class. As students work individually or in groups, the teacher has the opportunity to encourage and stimulate the students through personal interaction. The teacher’s love of the students and the subject matter and will inspire the students to work hard at learning.
Teaching is an art and a science. The successful teacher combines the enthusiasm of art and the organization of science in the classroom to engage students in the rewarding process of life-long learning.
Teaching is comprised of a set of behaviors and attitudes that come together in the classroom to create interaction that causes learning. Art has been defined as personal attributes and science has been defined as technical approaches used to present information in a clear, precise and comprehensible manner. Teaching is the synthesis of art and science.
Teaching is an art and a science. The successful teacher combines the enthusiasm of art and the organization of science in the classroom to engage students in the rewarding process of life-long learning.
Teaching is comprised of a set of behaviors and attitudes that come together in the classroom to create interaction that causes learning. Art has been defined as personal attributes and science has been defined as technical approaches used to present information in a clear, precise and comprehensible manner. Teaching is the synthesis of art and science.
References
Anderson, Douglas R. (2002). Creative Teachers: Risk, Responsibility, and Love. Journal of Education, 183 (1). Retrieved August 16, 2005 from EBSCOhost database
Deeds, Jacquelyn. (2005). Can You Hear Me Now. The Agricultural Education Magazine, 77 (4). Retrieved August 16, 2005 from ProQuest database
Elliot, J. Knight, J. (2005). Student Motivation. The Agricultural Education Magazine, 77 (4). Retrieved August 16, 2005 from ProQuest database
National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future. (1996) Retrieved on August 16, 2005 from http://www.zuni.k12.nm.us/Ias/21TE/NWREL/What.htm
Deeds, Jacquelyn. (2005). Can You Hear Me Now. The Agricultural Education Magazine, 77 (4). Retrieved August 16, 2005 from ProQuest database
Elliot, J. Knight, J. (2005). Student Motivation. The Agricultural Education Magazine, 77 (4). Retrieved August 16, 2005 from ProQuest database
National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future. (1996) Retrieved on August 16, 2005 from http://www.zuni.k12.nm.us/Ias/21TE/NWREL/What.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment