Teaching, Training: What’s the difference?
Imparting knowledge can be quite an interesting venture, especially when such knowledge can inspire important changes in the lives of persons and the community within which they operate. The passion of being or becoming a teacher or trainer, is very often the more accentuated by the interests of many nowadays in undertaking such courses or trainings, that would improve on not just their knowledge of the world, but as well their professional and career status quo. That said, the words “teaching” and “training” appear to be very recurrent and often even used interchangeably in academic and professional hubs.
However, as much as teaching and training courses share much in common, they also differ greatly with respect to how they are delivered, their objectives and expected outcomes. Mindless of which ever end of the knowledge/skills impartment spectrum you find yourself at, the understanding of the key differences between a teaching course and a training is of premium relevance.
Teaching & Training – Core differences
Teaching is a process wherein knowledge is imparted to students on different subjects in a theoretical manner. Knowledge is shared to students within a specific discipline to cause emotional and intellectual growth in the students. Teaching shapes a person’s way of thinking and doing things, by providing general guidelines about life and being a good human being.
On the other hand, training involves guiding, instructing and coaching someone in order to impart skills and knowledge for a specific purpose. Training is undergone within a timeframe. It aims at sharpening a trainee’s potential, productivity, competence and efficiency in carrying out tasks or attaining a desired and specific level of knowledge.
Training aids new graduates gain basic knowledge of work-life, office culture, company environment and generally how to blend theory with practice.
Training completes Teaching
In teaching, students are provided knowledge about a new topic by the teacher meanwhile in a training course, trainees apply practical examples of what they already know. Teaching exposes students to a variety of topics which give the students an opportunity to grasp some knowledge about different aspects, concepts and phenomena. Training on the other hand presents trainees with an opportunity to try out or experiment these concepts, processes, phenomena and theories learnt in the teaching course in the field or job market.
Theory vs Practice
A training course presents practical and real-life experiences meanwhile a teaching course is mostly theoretical. A teaching course presents knowledge of various subjects to a student in a theoretical manner ranging from background, history, evolution and core assumptions of a particular topic of a course. Training on the other hand is one of such processes which helps in imparting specific skills in the trainee which help them to specialize in a specific work or job. In recent times, training is mostly sort for as it is a mandatory requirement for most professions.
Passive vs Active
A teaching course is passive, while a training course is active. Usually, in a teaching course the students watch the teacher who is an expert do it while in the training course, a facilitator triggers students to carryout hands-on activities and engage in calls to action. Generally, the knowledge that we acquire is not engrained in us, unless we apply it practically. The skills that we learn are no better than unapplied information unless those skills are practiced, in order to develop them into appropriate reactions to specific stimuli.
Training further develops one’s education. Practicing learned skills is the preferred method of professionals throughout the World.
Don’t forget the famous cliché, “Practice makes perfect” and even permanent!