Teaching+as+an+art

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When people think of teaching, they think of lecturing and the passing on of information from an expert knower (teacher) to a novice (student). It’s no wonder then that many people don’t value teachers very highly, as with course books nowadays just about anyone could do this. However, teaching is and needs to be thought of differently. In fact, teaching should be thought of as a form of art. But what is art?
 * Teaching as an art **

The following are three key features:
 * 1) art conveys a message and allows observers to create their own meanings
 * 2) it is flexible and relies on the artist responding to what emerges in the moment
 * 3) it is skilled behavior

Using the above three basic concepts we can now begin to see how teaching can be considered an art.

First of all, teaching is full of messages. These could be openly stated, as in a teacher telling a student to be more independent. However, they could be hidden messages too, involving trying to develop habits in students that may help them become more independent, such as asking students to prepare for lessons before they come to class. Even just putting students work on the walls sends the message that it and the student therefore is valued. Furthermore, getting them to work in groups helping each other suggests that they are an important part of the learning process, as opposed to just playing the role of receiver of knowledge. These are all messages that students can receive through thoughtful teaching.

The second point is that good teaching, like art, is flexible. Good teachers can see when students working in groups have problems, and can respond in a way that helps them overcome their specific learning difficulties. This ability to work flexibly at students’ level is a skilled behavior, unlike the more lecturing style of teaching, which is a much simpler approach to education.

This is an important point, because seeing teaching and learning as simply passing information to students does not help develop the skills that students need in the knowledge age. Teaching needs to be seen as an art because only then can it hope to pass on important interpersonal meanings and attitudes, as well as make sure new knowledge is accessible to students. This will help students learn the attitudes, skills and knowledge they need to have successful futures.


 * Putting students work on the walls || Sends the message || that || The student || Is || valued ||
 * Getting them to work in groups helping each other ||  ||   ||   || is || A good activity to encourage communication ||