Definitions of Teaching

1
Definitions of Teaching

• taken in part from B. O. Smiths
• Definitions of Teaching

2
Operational Definitions of Teaching

• "the action of a person who teaches the
  profession of a teacher
• "teaching is imparting knowledge or skill"

3
Terms defining teaching such as imparting,
knowledge, and skill are often ambiguous

• imparting --
• telling? conditioning? constructing?
• knowledge --
• knowing? believing? comprehending? understanding?
• skill --
• knowing that? (a bike is ridden this way)
• knowing how? (to ride a bike in actuality)
• knowing to? (ride a bike when necessary)

4
Descriptive Definitions of Teaching

• Teaching as Success
• Teaching as Intentional Activity
• Teaching as Normative Activity
• Scientific Definition of Teaching

5
Teaching as Success

• "teaching is that which results in learning"
• There are drawbacks with this form of definition.
• Learning is the responsibility of the teacher!
• If students do not learn, it is the fault of the
  teacher.
• This is the process - product approach.
• students are a product of the system
• confuses teaching (a task) with learning (an
  objective)
• By this definition, an external observer cannot
  tell whether or not a teacher is actually
  teaching e.g., cannot observe teacher to see if
  teaching is actually occurring.

6
Teaching as Intentional Activity

• "teaching is undertaking certain tasks or
  activities the intention of which is to induce
  learning"
• A teacher can anticipate that certain activities
  will result in learning, but not guarantee it.
• In short, successful teaching cannot be reduced
  to a set of general rules, or a prescribed
  pattern of behavior.

7
Teaching as Normative Activity

• "normative teaching requires that the activities
  of teaching conform to certain ethical
  conditions"
• conditioning (stimulus-obeying behavior)
• indoctrinating (uniformed belief)
• brainwashing (conditioned behavior/uninformed
  belief)
• informing (information with explanations or
  evidence, no experience provided)
• training (rule-obeying behavior)
• instructing (training and informing)
• teaching (processes of verification, concern for
  what student thinks, preparing them for
  independent action)

8
Toward of Scientific Definition of Teaching

• "teaching is the process of carrying out those
  activities that experience has shown to be
  effective in getting students to learn"
• a major problem is that there is very little
  research that agrees systematically on anything
• craft wisdom is frequently good, but sometimes is
  in error
• a scientific definition is probably not possible
  given student autonomy

9
A Working Definition of Teaching

• teaching is undertaking certain ethical tasks or
  activities the intention of which is to induce
  learning

10
Relationship between Teaching and Learning

• Teaching is what teachers do.
• Learning is what students do.
• Does a relationship between good teaching and
  student learning exist?
• To a degree, but how are they related and to what
  extent is unclear.

11
If such a connection truly exists, then...

• your ability to teach should be judged on the
  basis of student learning.
• you should be held accountable for student
  learning despite poor parenting, negative
  attitudes, and other social ills.
• your pay should be based at least in part on
  student outcomes.

12
There is not necessarily a connection between
teaching and learning.

• some students can and will learn in spite of bad
  teaching
• some students will not learn even with the best
  teaching