EXCERPT

From:
Clear Thinking about Teaching

DEFINING TEACHING

What is "teaching?" Is there a definition of teaching so broad as to include all of the types of instruction mentioned above? Are there common elements involved in all teaching? In 1871 an obscure politician named James A. Garfield remarked at a Williams College alumni banquet that "the ideal college is Mark Hopkins on one end of a log and a student on the other." Mark Hopkins was a former president of Williams College and Garfield's favorite teacher. (In those days, the president of the college was the best teacher.) Garfield, who went on to become the twentieth president of the United States, could think of no better educational situation than to have a student sit on a log and interact with Mark Hopkins.1 Actually, the image is a good one for helping to define teaching. It can be converted into a simple model as follows:

"Teaching", in this model, is defined as the "the interaction of a student and a teacher over a subject."2 There may be one student or several in a class. The students can be young or old, bright or below average intelligence, "normal" or physically challenged, highly motivated or "turned off," rich or poor, male or female. The subject can be easy and straightforward or difficult and complex. The teacher may not be physically present, as with televised or computer-assisted instruction. But in most situations, the model holds up. A teacher, a student, and a subject. And where is the log? The model is enclosed in a box to represent the setting where teaching takes place. Teaching takes place somewhere, in some specific context. The institution may be highly selective, or "open door" in its admissions policies. The climate for learning may be favorable or destructive, supportive or frustrating. The resources, both physical and human, may be lavish or meager. No teacher teaches in a vacuum. The setting makes a difference. Teaching involves a teacher trying to teach someone something somewhere. Can there be teaching without students? Probably not. Philosophers may argue about whether a tree falling in the forest makes a sound even if there is no one there to listen; but if there are no students, there is no teaching. Can there be teaching when there are students, but no teacher? There certainly can be learning without a teacher. A great amount of learning goes on without teachers; but the activity is called learning, not teaching. Can there be teaching without a subject? Can a person swim without water? There must be a medium, a subject, about which there can be structured and sustained dialogue. Teaching involves a teacher and a student interacting over a subject in a setting. But what is this interaction with students that we call teaching? What is the nature of the communication that moves across the log between teachers and students?

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