There is a conspicuous and abiding fallacy residing at the heart of formal education, namely that what is taught is what is learned, that what the teacher teaches is what the student learns. Education systems, schools, college and universities around the world today rest, as they have done for much of their existences, on an illusory foundation, and I believe that much of what is wrong with formal education today arises from this enduring and mistaken belief.
When we come to the full realisation of the actual relationship between teaching and learning, we begin to discern the sheer pointlessness of so much of what passes for educational policy and strategy in today’s world. We know that human beings learn through interaction with others, with ideas, with information, with the world at large, but that ultimately they create and shape their own learning. The intervention of the teacher in this process is important and valuable, but at no point in the interaction of teacher and student, other than by occasional happy accident, does the learner ‘learn’ what the teacher ‘teaches’.
An appreciation of this, the true nature of learning, means that the complex edifices of curricula, pedagogy, assessment, accreditation, teacher education and professional development, as well as the overbearing structures of institutional management and educational organization, start to crumble to dust before our eyes.
I would say that the common fallacy is the opposite — an over-emphasis on learning rather than teaching.
1. Learning is not necessarily beneficial: I can learn to take drugs or beat up my wife.
2. The only thing that we can ever do, qua teachers, is teach. Call it “facilitating learning” or “constructing learning environments” if you like, but “teaching” is shorter and more straightforward.
I have argued these points at greater length on my blog at http://edtechnow.net/2012/12/05/tel/ (your comments welcome).
I would add that I think people who de-prioritize teaching underestimate the vital importance of imitation in the development of personality.
Where I agree with you is that students do not necessarily learn what we try and teach. So continually assessing outcomes and managing progression accordingly is part of the iterative, conversational, adaptive cycle that constitutes good teaching.
I agree with John that real understanding comes when students create and shape their own learning. I believe that this promotes inquisitive minds able to think critically and creatively. Inquisitive minds are the safeguards of our democracy. Imitation leads to passive learning. Assessment-centered education freezes imagination.
In my opinion I think if we do not want to learn anything no one can teach us. It depends on us what we are aiming for and what we want to achieve. I definitely agree with Teresa had said. Great post!