TrainerVsTeacher
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Trainer versus Teacher
From: Catherine B. King (cb.king at verizon.net)
Subject:[NIFL-AALPD:680] Re: from Cris, Qualities of a good facilitator
Date: Sat Sep 27 2003 - 15:38:19 EDT
Jackie:
why are we "facilitators" and not "teachers"?
Catherine King
From: AndresMuro at aol.com
Subject:[NIFL-AALPD:681] Re: from Cris, Qualities of a good facilitator
Date: Sat Sep 27 2003 - 17:24:29 EDT
In a message dated 9/27/2003 1:40:19 PM Mountain Standard Time, cb.king at verizon.net writes:
why are we "facilitators" and not "teachers"?
Someone asked me this outside of the listserv. The terms are sometimes used interchangeably. Facilitator, as used in this discussion, is based on critical pedagogy and the idea that knowledge is not transmitted from the teacher to the learner, an empty vessel (Freire's banking model of education). But rather, the learner discovers new knowledge and the teacher facilitates the process by which the learner acquires it. So a teacher that creates spaces where students discover new knowledge can be referred to as a facilitator to be distinguished from the traditional teacher that transmits knowledge for students to memorize and regurgitate.
This process is also used in Montessori where the teachers create the spaces and then, they are supposed to become virtually invisible, except that they help the students when they request assistance. In Montessori, the only good teachers are the ones that you don't see. I guess this is sort like the only good cops are....
Never mind,
Andres
From: Maria Rosales-Uribe (nicaroses at yahoo.com)
Subject:[NIFL-AALPD:682] Re: from Cris, Qualities of a good facilitator
Date: Sat Sep 27 2003 - 18:57:19 EDT
I agree wholehearedly with Andres. Facilitation is just one of the skills we use when we "teach". I strive to bring in any learning situation opportunities where we are play the roles of facilitation, teaching a "skill", and learning new perspectives and mastery.
Maria Rosales-Uribe, CCSF
From: Daphne Greenberg (epedgg at panther.gsu.edu)
Subject:[NIFL-AALPD:690] trainer vs. teacher
Date: Tue Sep 30 2003 - 09:23:33 EDT
I am finding the distinction between teacher and facilitator an interesting one. I would think that a good teacher is a facilitator and a good facilitator is a teacher! And now for my own question: What is the difference between a trainer and a teacher? Daphne
From: AndresMuro at aol.com
Subject:[NIFL-AALPD:691] Re: trainer vs. teacher
Date: Tue Sep 30 2003 - 10:28:43 EDT
In a message dated 9/30/2003 6:23:16 AM Mountain Standard Time, epedgg@panther.gsu.edu writes:
I am finding the distinction between teacher and facilitator an interesting one. I would think that a good teacher is a facilitator and a good facilitator is a teacher! And now for my own question: What is the difference between a trainer and a teacher?
Daphne
I agree. I think that the distinction is historical more than semantic. Teacher is used to refer to the traditional "school type" teacher, who, following the school model, uses the banking approach (as stipulated by school curricula). Facilitators is used to make the distinction. This is not to say that some teachers may have used some kind of a dialogic approach.
Regarding the distinction between teacher and trainer, the teacher teaches and the trainer trains :-).
It seems to me that, teachers are supposed to transmit knowledge, or help students acquire knowledge. Trainers are responsible for creating routines to better master a skill.
Now, what is the difference between a teacher, and a professor? I consider myself a professor. I am always professing a lot of BS.
Andres
go here: www.geocities.com/andresmuro/art.html
