Eisner, forms, and teaching

The link between aesthetic design and the classroom becomes readily evident after having read Eliot Eisner's Aesthetic Modes of Knowing (1985). In this chapter, Eisner asserts that compositional aesthetics are important to all fields, not just those thought of as specifically oriented to sensory perception like the Arts. There is a craft and aesthetic to all things whether or not we consciously apply it in the creation process. Indeed, we may not even consciously perceive the aesthetics, but the fact that we perceive a thing necessitates that it has some aesthetic qualities.

This issue of conscious design and perception (and lack thereof) certainly applies to the classroom. There are many aesthetic forms within and produced by the craft of teaching including (but certainly not limited to) design of instructional materials and delivery of content (lecturing, leading discussions, guiding research, etc.). On the learning side too, processing information, forming opinions, creating artifacts to demonstrate their understanding, and ultimately transferring knowledge to other areas can all be recognized as aesthetic forms in one way or another.

Both teachers and students can be oblivious to the aesthetic of their respective work; the results are similar and linked: uninspired teaching will beget uninspired learning. It is our job as teachers, learners, designers, and technologists to catalyze strong teaching and learning, and attention to aesthetics is without a doubt a central concern.