Approaches to Teaching

To teach is to be a felt presence as well as reverberating influence in the life of another person. Teaching occurs in countless settings: a parent helping a child learn to ride a bicycle; a news writer penning an editorial; a president speaking to his or her fellow citizens; a dance instructor choreographing a student's steps; or a friend showing another how to fish. In some circumstances people acquire knowledge without the benefit of explicit or intentional teaching; consider how people learn their native language or how to respond to a death in the family. Nonetheless, the activities of teaching – explaining, demonstrating, correcting, and the like – ...