TEACHING IS ..........

Teaching is 

Teaching means many different things, that teaching act varies from person to person and from situation to situation. (Bar, 1961)

The behaviour or activities of persons as they go about doing whatever is required of teachers, particularly those activities which are concerned with the guidance or direction of learning of others.

(Ryan, 1965)

Teaching is the arrangement of contingencies of reinforcement under which students learn. They learn without teaching in their natural environment, but teachers arrange special contingencies which expedite learning and hastening the appearance of behaviour which would otherwise be acquired slowly or making scene of the appearance of behaviour which might otherwise never occur.

(B.F. Skinner. 1968)

Teaching as an act of interpersonal influence aimed at changing the ways in which other persons can or will behave.

(N.L. Gage, 1963)

The minimum requirement of any training programme is that it should enable the trainee to acquire the basis skills and competencies of a good teacher.

(Challenge of Education, A Policy Perspective 1986,

 National Commission on Teachers)

Teachers’ performance is most critical in-put in the field of education ……….

(Challenge of Education, A Policy Perspective 1986,

  National Commission on Teachers)

The teacher training too is not planned and organised to develop the spirit of inquiry, initiative, scientific temper, manual-dexterity, conceptual clarity and linguistic skills for effective speaking and writing which teachers are expected to impart to their students. Adequate attention is also not given to develop communication skills which is critical to the function of the teachers …….

(Challenge of Education, A Policy Perspective 1986,  

National Commission on Teachers)

It may not be wrong to say that in such defective practical and theoretically overloaded teacher education programme, the trainee remains almost at the same level in his teaching competence even after training ……

(R.C. Das and associates, 1980, NCERT)

From the definitions of teaching given  it is evident that teaching is a very complex activity. However it can be roughly concluded that teaching activity :

• is imparting knowledge or skill.

• it involves doing all things that may lead to learning.

• it is a social act of influence. 

From all these components of teaching we can say that there is no specific and universally accepted definition of teaching and teacher effectiveness.