Teaching vs. Training

Recently, I've had several conversations about teaching methods. As a tutor in the Writing Center (WC), we are constantly encouraged to use non-directive methods, more commonly known as the Socratic Method. The goal is to develop the writing and critical thinking skills of the writer by allowing them to discover the answers independently. We all vary at our comfort and skill level with this method and I am most definitely on the directive side of things. But I've been in school the majority of my life, so I should be more comfortable with the Socratic method, given it's the primary tool for education.

Right?

Well....maybe. Lower education is a very strong mix of the two..we let children do a lot of self discovery as they develop skills and independence, but we also directly teach a great deal. And as we move up in education, in class work becomes more directive and out of class work less directive. There's not a lot of sitting in class, considering, debating. I would argue that I got some more of that than other students based on classes - AP worked hard to develop those critical thinking skills. But otherwise...

And then the military happened. Military education, at least at the basic levels, is all directive. Purely directive. The first lesson we learned in basic training was how to stack our bags i.e. how to follow orders. I have it on video, but the basic concept is that the standard is presented, the standard is demonstrated, you are given a chance to meet the standard. If you fail to meet the standard, corrective training is issued (usually pushups at this point in our military lives). Repeat process. And because this is conducted as a group, you very quickly learn to help each other meet the standard, since everyone pushes if one person fails.

This particular method is used in all aspects of military life. The type of corrective training becomes more helpful as you're learning actual tasks (such as tutoring or extra task training), but for the most part, this method is a standard way to impart knowledge. I use it all the time with people - I tell them what I expect, I show them how to meet my expectations and then I leave them to do it. And it is, in fact, very effective.

But what I have realized is that this is not teaching. It's training.

I am a great trainer. I will train you to do a skill or task and you will know how to do it and how to do it well. I trained students when I was a teacher to function in my class, understand my expectations and what to do if they didn't think they'd meet those. I trained them in classroom behavior, test taking procedures and resource allocation (i.e. how to look stuff up for themselves). But I don't know if I actually taught them much. There was some teaching. I stood in front of them and taught them words. But I don't think that's the primary thing those students took away from the class.

When I look at the difference between the two words in the dictionary, teach is a catch all for showing someone how to do something. Train is nearly entirely task oriented (job training, etc). But I think the difference is more than that. Teaching has to do with concepts, training with skill acquisition. They are related, most certainly, but they are not the same.

I am a trainer. I am not a very skilled teacher. And I'm okay with that.