Teaching

File:Students of Nan Hua High School, Singapore, in the school hall - 20060127.jpg

Schoolers gathered from the Nan Hua High School in Singapore

Teaching is the practice implemented by a teacher aimed at transmitting skills (knowledge, know-how, and interpersonal skills) to a learner, a student, or any other audience in the of an educational institution. Teaching is closely related to learning, the student's activity of appropriating this knowledge.

Teaching is part of the broader concept of education.

File:A college professor teaching in a university classroom full of students in Tennessee, United States 06.jpg

A college professor teaching a class in the United States

Teaching in non-human animals

Teaching has been considered uniquely human because of mentalistic definitions. Indeed, in psychology, teaching is defined by the intention of the teacher, which is to transmit information and/or behavior and/or skill. This implies the need for the teacher to assess the knowledge state of the potential learner, thus to demonstrate theory of mind abilities. As theory of mind and intentions are difficult (if not impossible) to assess in non-humans, teaching was considered uniquely human. However, if teaching is defined by its function, it is then possible to assess its presence among non-human species. Caro and Hauser suggested a functionalist definition. For a behavior to be labeled as teaching, three criteria must be met :

• The behavior of the "teacher" must be observed only in the presence of a naive individual
• The behavior represents a cost for the teacher, or at least no direct benefit
• The possible consequence of the behavior is a learning gain for the learner

See also

• Teaching method