Here is a try:

Teaching = information provided by senders to touch one or more senses of perceivers (what is the difference with communication?)

Learning = information provided by teachers (senders) that will be perceived, memorized and eventually recombined with other memorized information (see other thread from a couple of weeks ago?)

Learning is a holistic process involving, teaching, learners, and various educational materials. Teaching is just a part of the learning process.

Here is a try:

Teaching = information provided by senders to touch one or more senses of perceivers (what is the difference with communication?)

Learning = information provided by teachers (senders) that will be perceived, memorized and eventually recombined with other memorized information (see other thread from a couple of weeks ago?)

Dear Mahfuz

Teaching - to cause or help (someone) to learn about a subject by giving lessons. In the contemporary usage "teaching is imparting knowledge or skill" – Responsibility of teacher.

Success of teaching is designated by the process that the students learn. So Learning is the responsibility of the student!

These are two distinct things. Some may like to put them together as synonymous but not necessarily true.

Dear Mahfuz I agree with Costas and Marcel.

Teaching means imparting knowledge or skill, while learning refers to acquiring new information

Dear Mahfuz,

I disagree that the acquiring new "information" is knowledge. Knowledge is a kind of structuralisation of simple knowledge. What do you think?

Sorry... structuralisation of simple information.

Dear Costas.

I think that the process of acquiring new information is learning.

In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn.”

― Phil Collins

"You teach best what you most need to learn."

~Richard Bach~

The teacher should always cast a very wide net when delivering a topic

to a body of students. I think the best teaching involves not just the

dissemination of a particular thing or concept, rather, it is the responsibility

of the teacher to offer many interconnected concepts at once in such a way

that the students are coerced into making the difficult connections almost 'automatically.'

The teacher should entice the right questions in students' minds so that they become

independent thinkers after being pointed in the right direction(s). The teacher should

also, in the end, be very clear about what she or he hoped to convey if the

students should fail to grasp what was intended to be 'taught.' A multi-pronged approach to teaching is essential. All topics/concepts at some point rely on the ample understanding of many other related and seemingly un-related topics/concepts.

Learning is a pro-active state in which coffee often plays a major part~! It is also part repetition and a large amount of caring about the topics/concepts being received. I miss being in a class with a good teacher at the front. I miss being a student continuously. There are some great teachers out there - I wish I could attend all of their classes.

Teaching has outer dimension (impact) whereas learning has inner impact.

You, who are on the road ...

Must have a code that you can live by....

But these days are gone... Those were the days when we walked on clouds... we teachers

Every teacher is a learner; but every learner may not be a teacher. It is said that the best way to learn is to teach. I fully agree with this.

Learning is not just acquiring new information. Learning may also involve understanding how to do or perform, or analyze or compare or critique or elucidate or differentiate or decide. Teaching involves doing one or more these so as to impart knowledge to other/s.

Is there a difference between conscious and unconscious teaching? For instance, two people interact consciously (e.g. a teacher and a student) without knowing that are third person is watching and learning. Some call this 'eavesdropping'.

Eavesdropping is secretly listening to a conversation of others without their consent. Eavesdroppers always try to listen to matters that concern them.

I am getting on this discussion ratehr late and so much ahs been said already.

I will say the process of teaching is best for learning. When I teach, I have to gain deep understanding and broad knowledge of the subject, whcih is deep learning. Students aks me questions during teaching provoke my thinkiing and furtehr learning.

Dear @Mahfuz, it is interesting, so, there are differences between learning and studying; the following slides show the properties of each of studying and learning:

http://www.slideshare.net/sjaser/teaching-and-learning-process

Dear Abedallah,

Thank you for the powerpoint representation. I looked at the slides and they were very useful.

Teaching and learning promotes the highest peace attainable on the planet. It is most likely the best possible kind of human activity/exchange outside of a loving family itself. I like to think that we all can continuously learn from one another, teach one another, be patient with one another. Warfare happens when these basic principles are ignored. Imagine the entire world as the biggest classroom there is. I wish quality education for every corner of the world where it is either not adequately present, or even forbidden. And I wish strength to those who much teach in those situations at the risk of their own lives. Teaching is the hardest profession (highly underpaid and selfless), to be a student is relatively easy; it is a joy to finally understand! - and then to be the one(s) to carry on that knowledge.

Teaching and learning are not very different. Both are complimentary and the success of learning depends largely on quality of teaching. But the point to be remembered that good teaching is possible to transmit the acquired knowledge if the learning is adequate and up to the mark.

The very important, fundamental, vital things in life cannot be taught - that can only be learned. All the rest can be taught.

In other words, living and living well, thinking, becoming a good human being, and many other aspects can only be learned.

Dear Huajiang, Jack, Amrit and all

You have said it so beautifully; I fully agree with what you say about the teaching and learning. The same is the case with me. That is the beauty of teaching and learning through it. You want to know even the miniscule possibility of something happening while you are preparing for yourself for teaching. And, when someone asks you a question, you may have to interrelate some complex issues that shake you; and pondering on them gives you still more pleasure. That eventually gives you so much confidence, and facilitates your mastery in the subject. That is how I also see in teaching.

Seeds of truth are planted, a tree of learning grows, and teaching is the fruit that grows from it (....and produces new seeds). It is a cycle, and only by learning to the point of being able to teach it to others is truly a fulfillment of the cycle. Otherwise the tree is barren and all the capabilities of it dies with the tree.

You don't know what you really know until you have to explain it, defend it, and often modify it in the presence of others. Learning and teaching is a symbiotic relationship that gives and takes, changes and grows.

Dear Lea, Seeds of truth are planted, a tree of learning grows, and teaching is the fruit that grows from it .... I like the expressive idea. Thank you.

We learn more when we teach others. It is my experience that when I was learning in college, I learnt concepts which became more crystal clear and a part of my grey matter, when I actually started teaching them, in front of my students.

I fully agree with you, Jaya. The same is my experience!

A quote from Friedrich Nietzsche (and a picture) to change the mode “He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying. ”

"A dancer's falling is a prelude to grace."

~Local poet musician, Happy Jack Dalton~

The sunny sun is witnessing an extremely graceful and poised dancing pose!

I like the quote from Friedrich Nietzsche put by Mahmoud, and also the poem of "Happy" Jack Dalton put by Jack. Thank you.

A teacher is someone who has acquired knowledge, and is working to share that knowledge with learners. A learner is therefore someone who has sought out a teacher, and is trying to absorb and understand the knowledge the teacher is sharing.

Teaching focuses on the instructor while learning the focus is on the student. I agree with Kamal in a good learning siting they are integrated circles. However, sometimes one could happen without the other.

@ Kamal. I agree with you that learning and teaching are integrated circles.

@ Kamal, the more integrated these circles, the more both will be benefitted from them. As teachers too, we are learning everyday. The day we stopped learning, will be our last day as a learning teacher and will bring stagnancy. Just yesterday, one of my ex-students visited me to show his submitted PhD thesis. I was happy to see the maturity developed and learnt a lot from what he had learnt during his journey.

The formal definition says that Teacher is the active person and Student is the passive person, the first gives the Knowledge to the second. But, this actually never holds. A good teacher is someone that he/she always learns and a good student is someone who tries to find a new way to develop the current theme of teaching. So, the differences are in the gray zone of the educational process...

A teacher is who gives data, information and processing methods of a subject. A learner is who tries to catch the concepts and the understanding governing the knowledge of the subject. A teacher is a continuous learner through updating his data and the learner's feedbacks

I agree with you Fairouz that a teacher is a continuous learner through updating his data and the learner's feedbacks.

Dear Mario,

Although teaching and learning are attached, the two processes are separate. Therefore, I believe a good teaching does not neceesarily produce as a result a good learning.

Dear Mario, thank you for sharing your experience. I appreciate it.

Teaching is only good if it leads to good learning otherwise it is just a good show.

Teachers teach and students learn, it's as simple as that!

Between teaching and learning there is movement of information: information moves away from teachers towards learners.

However, teachers were once learners and the learning process never stops. How many times did learners ask teachers questions which they could not answer? how many times students answered questions teachers could not? Teachers too can sometimes learn from their own students.

Whereas 'teaching' is lecturer/tutor driven, 'learning' is the sole responsibility of the student. Both processes occur simultaneously. However, the former can greatly influence the latter and its outcome.

Teaching and learning, while they are not antonyms, they are two interrelated or intertwined seemingly opposite concepts. Teaching is not just talking, but the imparting of knowledge through the passage of data/information with the intent that the someone learns. On the other hand, learning occurs when the recipient of the teaching process acquires knowledge having received the data/information, processes it, and all which leads to a potential change in behaviour in the long-run.

“Teaching” is about instruction, transmitting information. It has moved on from the rote memorization that was popular until the 60s but it is still external, something that is “done to” the pupils.

On the other hand “learning” is more internal. We can learn without being taught in that very traditional way, we can learn without even really realizing we are learning. This approach is more self-directed and self-motivated.