Learning is the acquisition of knowledge through study and being tight. Teaching is giving instruction in a skill so that others can learn that same skill or ability.
Teachers make an enormous difference in classrooms. Teachers determine the quality of education in the classroom. In effect, teachers have complete control over how students learn.
“Transformative learning occurs through a process of examining, questioning, validating, and revising the perceptions of our experience."¹ Educators play an important role in setting up an environment where students are empowered and encouraged in this process. Teachers become challenging practitioners that engage in activities alongside students.
Student and teacher use of technology has expanded in the first decade of the 21st century and schools need to take advantage of the benefits of technology in the classroom. Today, students can access unlimited information in a global community using a device that can fit into their pant pocket. The access to information enables teachers to design learning opportunities that stimulate them to be independent, reflective, and collaborative learners.²
The adoption of online courses in high schools and universities has introduced students to new forms of blended learning. Blended learning allows teaching by qualified teachers, access to other students online through peer tutoring and discussion groups, and exposes students to a more in-depth experience by integrating technology.²
Although teachers and learners both have their own separate roles in the education process, it is possible to turn a learner into a teacher while still helping them learn. An example might be a student who reads at a grade five level in grade three. If the teacher were to just group him with other students who read at lower levels, he would become bored and not progress. However, if you give the student the grade three material and ask him to teach the students, his outlook changes completely and his focus increases.²
2. Ontario Public School Boards' Association. Retrieved May 14, 2014, from http://www.opsba.org/files/OPSBA_AVisionForLearning.pdf
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