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Teaching an Art or a Science?

Robin Attfield
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National College for School Leadership

Teaching an Art or a Science?

Robin Attfield
This paper draws on differing viewpoints and places the argument at the heart of what schools do today and
how leaders can enhance that process.
In the introductory thinkpiece, reference was made to the meta study of Hattie (2003) and to the characteristics
that led to the most effective teaching, and therefore to student learning. The most influential factor was that of
giving feedback to students. Giving feedback to students is undertaken in a variety of ways including:
comments in marking
questioning in class
oral comments
Among the factors that inform any teachers ability to provide feedback are:
subject knowledge and analysis of what the students have learned and need to learn next
understanding what constitutes learning within the subject what does 85 per cent mean
on a particular test
knowledge of the performance of the individual student and their potential in the subject
how well the student is performing in relation to past achievements, their peers, particular
groups of their peers and their targets
Essentially, to provide effective feedback, for a teacher needs a number of technical skills, particularly around
analysis of performance and an ability to place this data in the context of both the individual student and the
wider picture of performance. This requires both subject knowledge and the ability to use data, about
individuals and specific pieces of work, as well as from peers, class, school and country. It also requires
knowledge of how students learn and what they need to do to improve their learning. All of these are
technical skills that can be learned, and are scientific in nature but are insufficient on their own. Technical
ability can influence the quality of teaching and learning but does not, by itself, provide a complete answer.
The teacher has not only to analyse and diagnose, but to communicate findings to each and every student,
each with their own particular circumstances, history, views, abilities, likes and dislikes. Interestingly, an
effective teacher is likely to pay close attention to feedback from students, however it is provided, and to act
accordingly. An ineffective teacher is likely to ignore such feedback or to relate negative feedback to the
students rather than the teaching.
We all have memories of teachers who influenced us, positively or negatively. When we recall aspects of those
teachers, we are far more likely to remember how they made us feel, than how they helped us to learn. John
Lubbock (1872, p.1463) in a famous quotation, stated that: The important thing is not so much that every child
should be taught, as that every child should be given the wish to learn.
Einstein (1936, p.270) asserted that the supreme art of the teacher is to awaken joy in both creative expression
and knowledge. We are more likely to recall the idiosyncratic aspects of teachers that awakened interest in us
and the specific events and activities that stand out rather than the teacher who was technically accurate. It will
be interesting to note how many students now leaving school recall details from their Literacy Hour studies in
the primary school with affection. Almost by definition, however, memories are selective and we are more likely
to recall what is different from the norm. This must not negate the value of the norm and the many hours of hard
work that teachers undertake in preparing and delivering appropriate learning opportunities.

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Those who advocate that teaching is a science, stress ways in which to systematize the communication between
teacher and student. Quite reasonably, they wish to regulate learning opportunities so that they are at an
optimum level for all. At a time when we are learning increasingly about how the brain functions and how
learning occurs, this is understandable, and has many benefits. This desire for error-free learning has its origins
in the behaviourist movement and has progressed through IT based learning of a programmed nature. The
growth in technical knowledge offers numerous advantages and has led to massive improvements in the way
we teach. This technical or technocratic approach to teaching underpinned the approach of the 1990s and the
introduction of national strategies. These strategies were underpinned by analysis, development, training and
implementation. They certainly led to improvement in teaching of literacy, and especially numeracy, in primary
schools but the approach did not provide the complete solution that was desired.
The strategies did have an impact in raising standards, especially in schools that were failing to reach their potential,
and many of the approaches and materials were welcomed by the teachers but it could be argued that the initiatives
failed to be as successful as expected for three specific reasons:
1. There was insufficient ownership at school level and schools suffered from multiple monitoring too much
monitoring by too many people. Rather than tackle weaknesses, this simply continued to identify them
and so, after initial improvement, failed to prevent results plateauing in many schools. (Ofsted, 2010, p.5)
2. The focus was overwhelmingly on numeracy and mathematics. This distorted the curriculum, especially
in primary schools although some initiatives around personal and social education, and citizenship
were widely welcomed
3. There was insufficient attention to the art of teaching at classroom level as the focus became directed
towards approaches built around the three part lesson. Such lessons have much to commend them,
but address the technical aspects of teaching rather than its art.
It is important to note that, as Kidder (1989) explains, most teachers have relatively little control over school policy,
curriculum or choice of texts but have a great deal of autonomy inside the classroom, and that education rests
precariously on the skill and virtue of the people at the bottom of the institutional pyramid.
Parini (2004) in his book entitled The Art of Teaching, on becoming an effective teacher, stressed the importance
of teachers practising and refining their work over years, drawing from research and its findings and fostering
effective relationships with students. In his view there is little that is natural about teaching and he sees the
classroom as a form of theatre (rather than perhaps the operating theatre that might be the ideal laboratory for
purely technical approaches) and the teacher as an actor, a point echoed by Godwin whose comment that good
teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths theater has been much quoted. In his keynote address to
the International Special Education Congress, Ainscow (1995) likened the role of the teacher to a jazz musician
who starts with a theme and improvises in accord with the responses from the students as fellow musicians.
When looking at teaching and learning it can be helpful to keep a simple model in our minds.

subject

learner

teacher
setting

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In this model, teaching can be defined as the interaction of a student and learner around a subject. The subject
may, at any point, be simple or complex, wide or narrow, skills- or knowledge-based. The student may be from
any point on any of the continua that characterise an individual including age, family, gender, ethnicity, culture,
interests, prior learning, class, motivation, friendship groups and so on. The setting is likely to vary but is heavily
centred on the classroom.
From the above model, it becomes clear that, for effective teaching and learning to take place, there must
be effective interaction across the domains. Those who criticise scientific teaching often propose that teaching
can become over-technical, over-formalized and impersonal a technocratic cookbook approach that fails to
acknowledge human difference and the importance of communication and interaction. They argue that teaching
requires a great deal of intuition and improvisation for students real needs to be met. During his Lecture at
Stanford University, Eisner (2002), used another musical analogy to liken the work of a teacher to that of a
symphony conductor, orchestrating a highly complex process with multiple voices. In a more outspoken
comment he likened past movements towards scientific approaches as having a negative effect on schools
where: Metaphorically speaking, schools were to become effective and efficient manufacturing plants.
Besides intuition and improvisation, critics argue that effective teaching depends on high levels of creativity,
sound judgment, and insight. Eisner argues that teaching is much more like the work of the artist than the
scientist. Teaching involves complex judgments that unfold during the course of instruction. Teachers must
deal creatively with the unexpected. There are no fail-safe routines and prescriptions. Furthermore, the most
important goals of teaching are those events that occur during the process and are often embedded in the
learning process itself.
A TES study with Crelos (2009) looked at the characteristics of great teachers through an analysis of the
personality, motivation and behaviours of award-winning teachers. While recognising the limitations of applying
characteristics of high performers to the profession as a whole, a number of interesting lessons emerged. They
found the critical features to be around inspiring behaviour: they are good at influencing others, building
confidence and inspiring communication. They also excelled at involving behaviour, which is primarily about
developing the capabilities of those around them, facilitating interaction and helping others
to open up. The research came up with the following key characteristics:
they build confidence in students
they make difficult decisions and confront when they need to; they do not avoid issues,
especially as relates to students and their behaviour management
they develop others
they are good communicators
they are, in many ways, non-conformists who like change and are creative innovators rather
than implementers
they thrive in the company of others and like to be with young people
they see the big picture at all times and are less interested in detail
It could be argued that many of these characteristics are primarily affective and cannot be specifically taught or
learned, but underpinning the characteristics and behaviours is likely to be technical knowledge. How can a teacher
inspire a low attaining student to achieve over time without knowing how to provide appropriate challenges at
an appropriate level? Equally, how can they inspire such a student without making the student feel valuable and
full of self worth? In many ways, to seek to impose a demarcation between the arts and the science of teaching
is a false dichotomy. The two interact. The more that is understood about the science of teaching for learning, the
more the teacher can use their interpersonal, artistic, creative and communication skills to develop an effective
context for learning.

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Hatties research (2003) stressed the importance of sensitivity to students needs and motivation at the goal-setting
level, as well as feedback during the teaching and learning process. He also asserted the need to address
communication and relationships and that:
trust and empathy enable students to seek help comfortably
teachers must appreciate student perceptions
demonstration of emotionality in the classroom can inspire student achievement
Hay McBers research (2000) into factors that lead to effective teaching, identified three main areas professional
characteristics, teaching skills and classroom climate that interact with teaching behaviour to determine
classroom climate.
GreatSchools summarise research findings around effective teaching on their website. The list of desirable
characteristics includes a mixture of technical and artistic elements in teaching. Among the technical
considerations are:
Great teachers have clear, written-out objectives.
Great teachers are prepared and organized.
Great teachers have good subject knowledge and expertise.
Great teachers communicate frequently with parents.
These are all clearly important although the impact of interacting with parents is more likely to be determined
by the quality rather than the quantity of such communication. Each of these can be readily taught and learned.
Each is relatively easy to assess. Compare the above with the remaining factors:
Great teachers set high expectations for all students.
Great teachers engage students and get them to look at issues in a variety of ways.
Great teachers form strong relationships with their students and show that they care about them as people.
These are much more strongly aligned with the affective domain and the art of teaching. They, too, are critical
to developing a classroom environment and ethos in which students are likely to be motivated to learn. They are
concerned with attitudes as much as with actions, and are therefore much harder to change. They are also much
harder to define and to assess.

Reflection
How confident are you as an observer of teaching that your views align with those of your headteacher
and middle leaders about teachers expectations and the relationships that you expect them to have
with their students? Would you all come to similar judgments and give similar feedback?

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In the eyes of many, motivation is one of the fundamental determinants of an environment in which students
can learn. A much-quoted comment has been attributed to Herbert Mann, an American education reformer and
abolitionist of the nineteenth century: A teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with
a desire to learn is hammering on cold iron. (Quoted in Schank, 2004. P151):
Jung (1993) described the curriculum as so much necessary raw material, but described warmth as the vital
ingredient if the soul of the child is to grow. This accords with modern thinking and the social constructivist
approach which stresses that learning relies mostly on interpersonal interactions in a social setting and demands
that we attend to the psycho-social and emotional aspects of learning as well as the content and its organisation.
In advice to its staff on motivating students, The University of Wisconsins web site typically stresses the part
of the teacher as a role model as follows:
An instructors enthusiasm is a crucial factor in student motivation. If you become bored or apathetic,
students will too. Typically, an instructors enthusiasm comes from confidence, excitement about the
content, and genuine pleasure in teaching. If you find yourself uninterested in the material, think back
to what attracted you to the field and bring those aspects of the subject matter to life for your students.
Building Learning Power (Claxton, 2004) is one of a number of methods that is based on treating young people
as active co-participants in the learning process (see section on learning theory). It incorporates not only
metacognition but the four Rs in students resilience, resourcefulness, reflectiveness and reciprocity. Without
interpersonal and softer skills, and belief in this approach, the teachers technical skills will not pay dividends.
This involves the ways in which you talk to students, organise your classroom and design activities as well
as actually how you teach.
Ofsted (2010) in its report, Learning: creative approaches that raise standards, confirms that pupils motivation,
progress and attainment in primary and secondary schools were improved by creative approaches to learning
such as:
stimulating pupils with memorable experiences and practical activity
allowing pupils to question, explore and challenge ideas
encouraging pupils to think creatively
supporting pupils to reflect on and evaluate their learning.
An interesting microcosm surrounds the use of praise. Most would accept that teacher praise is mostly an effective
tool for motivation. The DfE White Paper (2010), addressing the importance of teaching, draws particular attention
to finding the most appropriate approach for students of different ages. Those involved with behaviour, see for
example Cantor (1989), stress that comments from teachers that praise should significantly outnumber those that
criticise. What is ignored within this sort of analysis is the quality of praise. Teachers may undertake professional
development. They may understand the need for praise and seek to apply it: the technological or scientific
approach the what of teaching is clearly there. What may be missing is the genuine nature of the praise and
its resultant impact. Is one genuine and relevant piece of praise equivalent to, or better than, a greater number
of positive comments lacking the warmth that can arise from timing and delivery? The art of teaching is about
the how of teaching.

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Conclusions and thoughts on leadership of learning

It has become apparent that neither an approach deemed technical or scientific, or one that is artistic is sufficient.
The two may be at different ends of a continuum but teachers need to, and mostly do, draw from both aspects.
However, as leaders of teaching and learning we must be aware of the arguments, what underpins them and
their impact on teachers and their teaching. Most of the teachers we work with will have areas for development
as well as talents. The art of teaching is a complex one and each lesson involves literally hundreds of decisions,
including:
what to say
what to do
where to place yourself
what questions to ask
which students to question
how to respond to every reply
what pace to adopt
which behaviour to ignore
when to intervene and when not to
Each decision requires professional judgment. Teachers think on their feet and constantly consider alternatives
and choose directions. Many of the decisions will be taken at a subconscious level. If teachers are to achieve
their goal of improving students learning, their decisions are likely to be made from a learning-centred rather
than a teacher-centred base. Teaching can be a lonely profession with little direct interaction with others who
can observe on, support or challenge the process in order to help improvement.
It may be fair to say that teaching involves both science and art. Gage (1973) noted that there is a scientific basis
for the art of teaching and that artistic judgments are based on science. There is a growing knowledge base about
how we learn, and teachers need increasingly to drawn on this but to apply it artistically taking full account of the
context and what is needed for individual and groups of students. Teaching is neither an art nor a science, but
draws from these two relevant and wide disciplines. Teaching is reliant for its success upon professional judgment.
The senior teacher who works with colleagues to improve their own teaching is subject to exactly the same forces
and issues. When observing a lesson and considering feedback, the leader has to weigh the technical and artistic
aspects of what has been observed and, with the observed teacher, determine what aspects of teaching should
be considered further to make optimum progress. Focusing overly on technical aspects of teaching to someone
who is less inclined to such approaches may prevent progress; ignoring such aspects where they are needed will
prove equally unhelpful. We must ensure that we are evidence-based at all times, but there is a danger in using
checklists and standards as a basis for evaluations, however helpful these may be see Reece and Walker
(2003) as we may inadvertently focus on the purely technical aspects of a lesson rather than the lesson as a
whole and its impact on learners. It is possible for teachers to cover all of the required technical aspects of a lesson
in relation to structure, lesson planning, sharing of objectives, use of resources, questioning skills and use of a
plenary, for example, yet fail to teach a lesson that really engages students and leads to learning.
Scientific knowledge and a keen sense of how to apply it are both required for making well-informed professional
decisions about teaching. Teachers need the perspective of an informed professional who can make sense of what
is happening in the classroom, what could and might happen if certain actions are taken and helps them reflect
on and understand their own abilities and needs. This is a key role of the senior leader in school one that can
influence the outcomes for its students.

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Questions for reflection and debate

What is the nature of art? To what degree does this seem relevant to the day-to-day practice of teaching?
Are great teachers taught or trained? What practical steps do you feel are important in helping teachers
to fulfil their true potential?
Science or art does it really matter?
What is the role of a senior leader in ensuring that enough emphasis is placed on the use of data and
evidence to inform teachers practice?
How do you as a senior leader ensure that teachers are sufficiently encouraged to consistently undertake
their own research into effective teaching?

References
International Special Education Congress, 1995, Ainscow, M, Education for all: Making it happen, keynote
address given at the International Special Education Congress, April 1995, Birmingham
Cantor L, 1989, Assertive Discipline: More than Names on the Board and Marbles in a Jar, Phi Delta Kappan,
v71 n1 p57-61 Sep 1989
Claxton, G, 2004, Building 101 Ways to Learning Power, Bristol, TLO
Davis, James R,1993, Better Teaching, More Learning: strategies for success in postsecondary settings,
Phoenix, American Council on Education/Oryx Press Series on Higher Education
DfE, Motivation, a collection of research digests on the theme of motivation, DfE. Available at:
www.education.gov.uk/schools/toolsandinitiatives/tripsresearchdigests/a0013254/themes-motivation
Stanford University, 2002, Eisner, E W, John Dewey Lecture, Stanford University, What can education learn
from the arts about the practice of education? Available at the encyclopedia of informal education:
www.infed.org/biblio/eisner_arts_and_the_practice_or_education.htm
Gage N (Ed), 1973, The handbook of research on teaching, Illinois, Rand McNally
GreatSchools, What makes a great teacher?, San Fransisco, Great Schools. Available at:
www.greatschools.org/improvement/quality-teaching/79-what-makes-a-great-teacher.gs
Godwin G, Date not known. See, for example, www.goodreads.com/author/show/18525.Gail_Godwin
Hargreaves and Shirley, 2009, The Fourth Way: The Inspiring Future for Educational Change, London, Sage
Hattie, J A C, 2003, Teachers make a difference: What is the research evidence? Wellington, New Zealand
Council for Educational Research
Hay McBer, 2000, Research into Teacher Effectiveness; A Model of Teacher Effectiveness, Research Report
No. 216, London, Department for Education and Employment
Henderlong, J, and Lepper, M R, 2002, The effects of praise on childrens intrinsic motivation: A review
and synthesis in Psychological Bulletin, 128 pp 774-795
Jung, C G et al, 1993, The Basic writings of CG Jung, New York, Modern Library
Kidder, T, 1989, Among schoolchildren, Boston, Houghton Miflin

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Mann, H, 2004, quoted in Roger C Schank, Making Minds Less Well Educated Than Our Own, p 151
Lubbock J (Lord Avebury), Elementary Education, Revised New Code (1871), Resolution, Hansards Parliamentary
Debates (19 Jul 1872), vol. 207, 1463. Also in The Pleasures of Life, 2007, 71; Appleton, 1887, 183-184,
or 2007, 71
Ofsted, 2010, Learning: creative approaches that raise standards, Ofsted. Available at: www.ofsted.gov.uk/
publications/080266
Ofsted, 2011, The National Strategies: a review of impact, London, Ofsted
Parini J, 2004, The Art of Teaching, Oxford, OUP
Reece, I & Walker, S, 2003) Teaching, Training and Learning, Sunderland, Business Education Publishers
TES, 2009, The seven secrets behind great teaching, TES Newspaper, 8 May 2009. Available at:
www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6013022
University of Winsconsin, Motivating students, Strategies, Ideas, and Recommendations from the faculty
Development Literature. Available at: www.uww.edu/learn/motivating_students.php

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