Teacher’s teaching is the process of imparting information and experience, which emphasises theories, while a trained teacher’s teaching is the process of gaining and mastering skills, which emphasises on practical application.
Although teaching and teaching by a trained teacher are often intertwined, there are minor distinctions between the two processes, and even if one is looking to teach jobs abroad, they need to understand the difference. Teaching focuses primarily on theory, while teaching by a trained teacher emphasises on practical application.
What is teaching?
Teachers act as guides and teach their students what they need to know. Teachers are taught how to teach and motivate students in the best way possible. Younger kids need to learn things like how to read, write, and do maths. The teacher guides the student through the educational system so that the student can learn and understand while facing challenges.
The teacher sets up the classroom so that it is a good place to learn. She helps the students talk to each other and get the information they need to do better in school. The teacher starts by showing the student how to use the right tools for learning. Teachers are part of a system that helps students become more independent as they go through school. As students move through the school system, the teacher gives them the instruction and guidance they need. The teacher gives additional learning activities.
Teaching is used for the following:
✔ Students should get new information and skills.
✔ Give them the environment they need to learn in a healthy way.
✔ Understand and help students with their physical, mental, and emotional needs.
✔ Check how learners are doing and help them if they need it.
✔ As a context for instruction, the teacher sets the stage for academic learning.
When it comes to trained teachers and online teacher training programmes, the distinction is easy to see.
Comparing Trained and Untrained Teachers
A study was conducted on Teacher Training in Ghana – Does it Count? –Â a research project of MUSTER. It revealed differences between trained and untrained teachers as mentioned here.
It appeared that proficiency in academic topic knowledge was highly dependent on competence in the teaching profession. However, what differentiated trained teachers from untrained teachers was the added emphasis educated teachers put on pedagogic knowledge as a vital component of teaching. Trained teachers believed that subject knowledge competency was crucial, while untrained teachers did not. It seems that there was a significant point of differentiation between the two groups. Untrained teachers believed they had a significant disadvantage when it came to the creation of lesson notes, while trained teachers said that they had been appropriately exposed to the purpose of lesson notes and the drafting of lesson notes for teaching throughout their training.
However, the untrained teachers believed that they were “catching up” on this professional talent, with the assistance of their head teachers, who were concerned that they had gained the expertise. They thought that they were “catching up” on this professional skill. However, the quality of the professional assistance that head teachers provided for incoming teachers seemed to be insufficient. One untrained teacher, for example, said that his head teacher had given him a copy of a lesson notes plan and instructed him to “do it like this one.” The headteacher had also given the untrained teacher a copy of the plan. It is very clear that the relevant information that underpins the ability will be absent from this method.
- Untrained teachers, as could be anticipated, emphasised the significance of “on-the-job training” and placed a high value on the little in-service training that they had been given. One of them brought up a quick workshop on pre-reading skills for instructors of primary 1 and 2 that gave him an introduction to efficient reading teaching methodologies.
- During observations in the classroom, many found that incompetent teachers had a tendency to get off to a shaky start, and this was a pattern that was consistent across the majority of the teachers. In addition, there were problems with the methods that they used to train. One example would be how poorly organised group projects often were. In some of the groups, the teachers did not help the students in finishing their tasks, while in others, the students were not allowed to make any changes to the instructional materials that were provided by the instructors.
- Many found that untrained teachers, in contrast to competent instructors, often encouraged “chorus reading” during the English classes they taught. For example, an “untrained” teacher in primary 1 started a lesson by reading aloud (without looking at a book) the proverb, “There are seven days in the week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday,” which the pupils then repeated in chorus after her. After that, the teacher gave the class an opportunity to “read” out loud what they had previously heard recounted.
- In order to get a better understanding of the preparations that professional and inexperienced teachers put into their classes, they examined the lesson plans that they had created. Three of the incompetent teachers had not taken any notes or prepared materials prior to beginning their instruction. On the other hand, all certified instructors had well-drafted lesson plans; nonetheless, they observed that some critical components of their lesson plans were not executed in two separate cases. For instance, even though it was stated in the lesson notes that participants should utilise the instructional materials throughout the class, no one was able to access them at any point during the lecture
- In spite of the fact that the study’s capacity to give in-depth insights into the qualitative distinctions between qualified and unskilled teachers was limited, they are nonetheless able to draw preliminary conclusions. The untrained teachers seemed to have greater self-assurance in their subject knowledge, but they were lacking in the professional competence and competencies essential to enhance their training. In contrast, trained instructors exhibited numerous of the characteristics of a professional teacher that were emphasised during the program, such as formulating lesson plans and making good use of instructional resources, etc.
- The support that inexperienced educators gained “on the job” made up for the fact that they lacked a professional grasp. On the other hand, the usefulness of this assistance seems to be in doubt, given that the majority of it consisted of obtaining sporadic counsel from principals.
These are some of the notable differences between trained and untrained teachers.
