Teaching
* Focus: The broader process of facilitating learning. This includes not just delivering information, but also inspiring, motivating, and guiding students.
* Scope: Encompasses a wide range of methods and approaches, including lectures, discussions, demonstrations, activities, projects, and more.
* Goal: To develop a student's understanding, skills, and overall intellectual and personal growth.
Instruction
* Focus: The specific act of delivering information and skills to students. It's a more targeted and structured approach.
* Scope: Often involves specific lessons, tasks, or activities that are clearly defined.
* Goal: To impart knowledge and skills directly related to a particular subject or topic.
Think of it this way:
* Teaching is like building a house: It involves planning, materials, tools, and ongoing work to create a complete structure.
* Instruction is like building a wall within the house: It's a specific task with defined materials and steps to create a particular component.
Here's a table summarizing the key differences:
| Feature | Teaching | Instruction |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Facilitating learning | Delivering information and skills |
| Scope | Broad and diverse | Specific and structured |
| Goal | Overall intellectual and personal growth | Imparting specific knowledge and skills |
| Examples | Creating a curriculum, leading discussions, providing feedback, setting goals | Giving a lecture, demonstrating a technique, assigning homework |
In essence:
* Teaching is the art of guiding learning.
* Instruction is the craft of delivering knowledge and skills.
While teaching encompasses instruction, instruction is just one part of the broader teaching process. A good teacher uses both instruction and other techniques to create a rich and engaging learning environment.