April 4, 2019, by apyhsl

How should teaching be defined?

1. Are your teachers really teaching you?

I have just been to a philosophy lecture discussing Fisher and Tallant’s paper ‘What does it mean to teach?’  and it’s definitely made me think twice about what ‘teaching’ really is.

I’m sure we have all had a lesson when we didn’t learn a single thing (I know, maths is way too confusing ?!!!). The question is was the teacher, teaching?? If you want to find out what Fisher thinks, keep reading!! 

2. Competing intuitions

Often people think that teaching occurs only if

EITHER

The student learns

But….what if a teacher spends hours explaining in detail a complex maths proof to me, but I fail to understand? It seems weird (to me at least) to claim that they had not been teaching just because I failed to learn.

OR

The teacher has the intention for the student to learn

But….. what if I hear someone repeating out loud to themselves the elements of the periodic table, and I remember them? Surely they were teaching me the elements, even though they had no intention to???

3. The Student’s in Control

Fisher claims whether teaching occurs depends on the judgement of the students.

He does specify ideal conditions the student must be in for their judgement to determine if teaching is occurring, including that they are actually concentrating (which may rule out many of my classmates ?). You can determine whether teaching is occurring by whether a student in ideal conditions would consider them to be teaching.

4. What does this mean?

• Teaching can happen without any learning taking place
• Someone can be teaching without intending to (or even knowing that they have)

 

What do you think?? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Find out more about studying philosophy at the University of Nottingham here.

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