Meaning and Significance of Teaching-Learning Process

Meaning of teaching-learning process

Teaching-learning process is the heart of education. On it depends the fulfillment of the aims and objectives of education. It is the most powerful instrument of education to bring about desired changes in the students.

Teaching-learning are related terms. In teaching-learning process, the teachers, the learners, the curriculum and other variables are organized in a systematic way to attain some pre-determined goal.

Let us first understand in short about learning and teaching-

Learning:- Learning can be defined as the relatively permanent changes in an individual’s behaviour or behaviour potential or capability as a result of experience or practice.

Teaching:- Teaching can be termed as the purposeful direction and management of the learning process. It is not just giving knowledge or skills to the students; teaching is the process of providing opportunities for students to produce relatively permanent change through the engagement in experiences provided by the teacher.

Teaching and learning closely related to each other. Teaching can only become effective by relating it to the process of learning. Teaching objective can not be realized without being related to learning situation. To create appropriate learning situation, we may use some teaching aids. The strategies and devices of teaching may be selected in such a manner that the optimal objectives of learning are achieved. Appropriate learning situation may be created for effective teaching.

Significance of Teaching-learning Process

Teaching-learning is the heart of education but it depends on the fulfilment of the aims and objectives of education. The teaching-learning process is a powerful instrument to bring about the desired changes in the behaviour of the people. In this process, all the variables are organized in a systematic manner to achieve the pre-determined goal. It consists of four elements- assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation. It is only through the teaching-learning process that it is possible to monitor and judge based on the objectives and the data variables.

Teaching as an Art

Teaching as an art:- Teaching can be considered as the art of assisting another to learn by providing the information and appropriate situations, conditions or activities. It is an intimate contact between a more mature personality and a less mature one which is designed to further the education of later. It is the process by which one person helps other in the achievement of knowledge, skill and aptitudes.

Teaching as a Science

The science of teaching tells us what must be done so that objectives are achieved by the teacher. It helps the teacher to understand the techniques and also to acquire the knowledge necessary to complete the job. Once the techniques are learnt, the teachers can master the art of teaching. The art of teaching can not be taught but should be developed through experience. The creativity, skills, techniques etc. is to be found in the science of education. The teacher needs to utilize both the art and the science in order to create effective teaching.

Teaching is both as an Art and a Science

Teaching is both an art and a science. The science of teaching helps to explain what must be done. It is concerned with the why and how of teaching. The science of teaching helps the new teacher understand the techniques and acquire the knowledge required to do the job/ That is why teacher training includes subjects on the principles of learning, motivation, communication, teaching methods, learning objectives and testing among other topics. That is also why teacher training includes a lot of practice teaching and teaching performance examinations. These specific parts of the training are designed to help the beginning teacher grasp the basic techniques of institutions.

Once the teacher learns to use these techniques, they can start to discover the art of teaching. The art of teaching really cannot be taught – it can be developed through experience and finding out what works and what does not. Although almost anyone can become a competent teacher, some people will develop into truly superior teachers. The starting place, however, is the same for all of us – with the basics. The more we know and understand about the science of teaching, the better equipped we will be to develop the art and achieving teaching excellence. Efficiency is concerned with doing things right while effectiveness is doing the right things. An efficient teacher is one who knows what they are doing and does the right things consistently.

An effective teacher is one who does things right. They plan their lesson, prepare the learning environment, conduct proper lesson introductions, ask questions and use instructional media materials. That, however, does not ensure they are effective. Effectiveness in teaching is much more than just doing things right; it is a measure of the outcome of learning. It is what students can do, because of teaching, to demonstrate they have met the objectives of the course. The effective teacher touches the lives of the students.

Efficient teacher knows and follow all the rules and techniques of teaching. However, effective teachers are often those who seize every opportunity to enhance the learning experience by being more creative in their use of the rules and techniques. Before you can do that, though, yoy must know the rules and when you may appropriately deviate from them.

Thus, some people view teaching as an art, others consider teaching to be a science. It is important to note however that those who truly understand the process of teaching can appreciate the inter-related and synergistic combination known as the art and science of teaching. The art of teaching i.e. the creative processes, the skill and the teaching craft, is found in the application of the science of education. The systematic processes, the body of knowledge gained from several disciplines. A teacher needs to utilize both the art and the science of teaching to create effective student learning.

Important aspects of teaching-learning process

It is informative to examine the ideal teaching learning process, as proposed by Diana Laurillard. She argues that there are four aspects of the teaching-learning process:-

a. Discussion:- between the teacher and learners.

b. Interaction:- between the learner and some aspect of the world defined by the teacher.

c. Adaptation:- of the world by the teacher and action by the learner.

d. Reflection:- on the learner’s performance by both teachers and learners.

She then consider how different educational media and styles can be described in these terms. For example, a textbook represents a one-way flow of knowledge from the teacher’s conceptual knowledge to the student’s conceptual knowledge. A lecture or tutorial may be seen the same way, but there is a possibility of meaningful discussion between teacher and learner.