Teaching is, as psychologist William James (2004) put it, both an art and a science. It is a science in that it moves forward from theory to methodologically sound and rigorous practice or pedagogical models, producing outcomes in terms of student learning and achievement that can be empirically measured. It is an art in that there are numerous intangible elements involved in successful pedagogy, which cannot be simply reduced to a formula that can be replicated in myriad settings. In this essay, the interplay between the scientific and artistic aspects of teaching will be discussed, leading to the conclusion that both "faces" of teaching must be present for success to occur in the classroom.
Kenneth Strike and Jonas F. Soltis (1998), in a discussion of the ethics of teaching, argued that at the core of the teacher's responsibilities is a moral and ethical duty to maximize learning outcomes for all students, regardless of individual skills and abilities and without respect to race, gender, socioeconomic status, or ethnicity. In this general context, the "science" of teaching refers to having knowledge and information regarding learning theory, differences in learning styles and interests, and the relative merits of different instructional models or styles. The "art" of teaching refers to recognizing the aesthetic and ethical constraints that shape teaching and inform its methods.
Researchers in a number of different fields have long investigated the factors affecting young people's educational attainment รป an area in which the artistic and scientific aspects of teaching clearly overlap. According to House (1999) there are any number of factors that are known to directly impact upon educational outcomes, including family variables, self-beliefs, school-specific elements, and a combination of community and cultural values. Among these elements, naturally, are the competencies and skills of teachers and teacher expectation...