The Art of Teaching - seminar
11 April 2025 the research program Practice, Professionalism and Policy in Educational Research (PUF) organizes a seminar day for the entire faculty. The theme is The Art of Teaching and Professor II, Gert Biesta and Herner Sæverot will be important contributors. Under the heading "the art of teaching", we will engage in fundamental questions about what teaching is, and the relevance for bildung, education and research.
Registration deadline: 8 April
Programme
10.00 – 11.00: Gert Biesta: Reclaiming the art of teaching
The idea that teaching is an art, has been around for a long time. It often stands in opposition to the idea of teaching as a science. Nowadays this often comes down to the idea that with the right kind of ‘evidence’ teaching can become more effective in generating particular measurable outcomes. While some see this as a desirable future for education, there is not just the problem that it significantly narrows views of what the point and purpose of education is. It also seriously misrepresents the complex work of teaching. To reclaim teaching as an art, therefore, is about reclaiming the dignity of the teaching profession and reclaiming education as a meaningful human endeavour, not a giant technocratic operation. In my presentation I will speak to these issues and will explore in what ways the art of teaching can become central in practice, research, and policy.
(Inclusive 15 min to questions/comments)
11.00 – 11.15: Pause
11.15 – 12.00: Herner Sæverot: The Indirectness in Artistic Teaching
The overreliance on evidence-based teaching aimed at measurable outcomes, which is prevalent in today’s educational system, tends to overlook the nuanced, indirect pathways that characterise the artistry of teaching. When teaching is reduced to direct, straightforward instructions, it always poses problems. Not only are students reduced to controllable objects, but teachers also have their opportunities for improvisation and judgment significantly curtailed. A key argument in the presentation is that there is an intrinsic connection between the artistry of teaching and the use of indirect approaches. Thus, the art of teaching emerges when teachers acknowledge and utilise indirect approaches to consistently create opportunities for students.
(Inclusive 15 min to questions/comments)
12.00 – 13.00: Lunch in the main cafeteria, K1
13.00 – 14.00: Groupwork/dialogue with Padlet on how The Art of Teaching can be integrated into research and teaching at FLKI. Introduction by Knut Steinar Engelsen and Vigdis Vangsnes
Padlet (scan or click):
14.00 - 14.30: Summary of Padlets with comments from Gert Biesta
