What is Education & Teaching?

Education is a discipline that involves teaching and learning through the means of transmitting and acquiring knowledge and skills. Formal education typically occurs in learning institutions such as schools, colleges, and universities and is generally guided by teachers. Teaching involves sharing knowledge and experiences in an organized way, guiding others to foster critical thinking skills and intellectual growth. A culture's norms, values, knowledge, and traditions are transmitted through education, helping to prepare students for their roles and responsibilities within society. A person's character can also shaped be through educational experiences.

Pedagogy is the term used to refer to the art and science of teaching methods. Just like there are various teaching methods to consider, each student brings different learning styles, preferences, and strengths into the classroom. Educators must understand a variety of pedagogical theories and approaches to teaching, as well as how to apply those methods to best meet the needs of each of their students.

One's character is also shaped by their educational experiences. Hence, social-emotional learning is an important part of formal education. It is vital for teachers to understand social-emotional development to help students learn to regulate their emotions, cope with frustration, and socially interact in respectful and responsible ways.

Along with understanding instructional strategies, available resources, differing learning styles, and social-emotional development, teachers must be knowledgeable about many specialized areas of education. These areas include special education, education law and policy, teaching English as a second language, and student support. All of these areas have the essential purpose in adequately meeting the educational needs of children and other members of society.

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Education & Teaching Topics

Education Law & Policy

Discover the importance of education laws and policies. Refer to the resources and courses to find the higher education law and educational policy issues.

Pedagogy & Teaching Strategies

Explore pedagogical practices in teaching. Learn about pedagogy and access lesson plans to learn teaching strategies and the pedagogical approach to education.

Special & Specialized Education

Find special education resources and learn about the use of special needs education. Examine special education courses such as Special Education History & Law.

Student Support in Education

Explore the topic of student support services. Find student services resources on this page, including high-school readiness and guidance counseling courses.

Teaching English Language Learners

Learn about teaching English Language Learners. Discover the ELL program and ELL strategies. Visit this page to get access to ESL courses and ELL resources.

Education & Teaching Resources

There are many facets of education and teaching. Resources are available through Study.com, covering everything from different educational systems and types of education to the wide variety of teaching strategies and classroom management techniques educators use. These courses are useful for a person that wants to learn more about education and teaching, supplement college courses, or even attain professional development and brush up on their knowledge and lesson-planning skills as an educator.

Education & Teaching Courses

The collection of education and teaching courses available at Study.com cover a variety of topics. Working through these courses will provide an understanding of the history of education and teaching, as well as educational theories and applicable laws. Teachers and aspiring teachers alike will find resources on classroom management, lesson planning, and more.

Institutional & Ethical Issues in Special Education

Special education has many laws, ethical considerations, and instructional concerns educators must understand. The lessons within this course give a bite-sized overview of the federal laws, acts, mandates, and considerations that govern special education.
Understanding Special Education Law

Special education law in the United States protects a student's and parent's constitutional and civil rights. This course provides current and aspiring educators with more knowledge about these rights relating to educational needs, learning accommodations, and outcomes.
Child Abuse & Neglect Training for Mandated Reporters

Educators must report any signs of potential child abuse or neglect to the proper authorities. The lessons within this course will examine recognizing signs of abuse or neglect, how to report it, as well as what it means to create safe spaces within classrooms for students.
Conflict Resolution in Schools

Through this course's short text and video-based lessons, educators will learn how emotions play into student behavior and conflict. The lessons will also cover managing and implementing conflict resolution practices within a classroom and school.
Measuring the Effectiveness of Learning Initiatives

Knowing if a learning initiative is effective is important in education. Through several short lessons in this course, educators will learn how to evaluate and measure the effectiveness of learning initiatives implemented in their classrooms.

For teachers and parents

Education & Teaching Lesson Plans for Teachers

Teaching requires educators to be prepared with lesson plans to guide their instructional interaction with students and their day. Study.com offers lesson plans for engaging and effective instruction for teachers in a variety of subjects. Whether one is teaching science, social studies, or life skills, educators can find creative ways to help students connect to and learn the information being taught through these lesson plans.

Lesson plans
  • Lesson Planning Ideas for Teachers

    This lesson planning source considers many factors educators must be prepared for, including daily lesson plans, classroom activities, classroom management, field trips, and school-wide assemblies.

  • Business Lesson Plans

    This source provides educators of business courses with a variety of topics, lesson plans, activities, project ideas, and resources pertaining to business education, enhancing both the teaching and learning experience.

  • Foundations of Science Lesson Plans

    Science teachers will find resources to refresh their courses and build their background knowledge of science topics! Ideas for lesson planning, activities, and instructional strategies are included for many grade levels.

  • Social Studies: Lesson Plans & Games

    Social Studies teachers will find an incredible number of resources here! Included are ideas for lesson plans on a variety of topics, a review of background information, instructional ideas and strategies, and games.

  • Interpersonal Skills: Lesson Plans & Activities

    Educators and social workers will find lesson plans with ideas for integrating interpersonal skills within their student groups, classrooms, and school buildings that help students develop and practice these skills.

  • Life Skills: Lesson Plans & Activities

    This resource will provide educators with lesson ideas, planning guides, activities, and assessments to bring a wide variety of life skills learning, such as safety, money management, and career prep, into the classroom.

  • Student Success Skills Lesson Plans

    This course provides educators with a toolbox of ideas to help students be successful in the classroom, including punctuality, test-taking strategies, goal setting, time management, and good study habits.

  • Activities & Resources for Teaching ELL

    This resource provides educators with lesson plans, activity ideas, and learning games for teaching English language learners a variety of topics including, manners, money, shopping, college, and careers.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • How do you define teaching?

    Teaching is the sharing of knowledge and experiences. Teaching can occur formally within an organized institution or informally within one's community or home.

  • What is the main purpose of teaching?

    The main purpose of teaching is to help others acquire knowledge and skills for intellectual growth. Character growth is also an outcome of teaching.

  • What is education, and what is its purpose?

    Education involves teaching and learning through the means of transmitting and acquiring knowledge and skills. The purpose of education is to transmit knowledge and skills within a society or culture. Intellectual and character growth happen as the learner acquires knowledge and skills.

Teaching Strategies & Pedagogy for Today's Classroom

Teacher teaching students about Geography using a Globe

In the modern classroom, teachers need to be adaptable and light on their feet in order to best meet the needs of their students. To do so, it's best to remain up to date on teaching strategies to ensure that all learners are able to be as successful as possible when inside the classroom. Here are some great resources to help get and keep you up to date on successful strategies in and out of the classroom:

Teaching Strategies Proven to be Effective in the Classroom:

Every teacher has their own unique strategy for leading their students through coursework and ensuring their understanding of the material. While each teacher has their own unique strategy, no two students and no two classrooms are alike - and to be as effective an instructor as possible it's important to adapt to best fit the needs of the learners in your classroom. Remaining up to date on learning strategies can be incredibly beneficial for both the students and the teacher alike, check out some strategies that have proven to be effective:

  • Differentiated Instruction: In order to best meet the needs of all learners within a classroom, differentiated instruction provides students an opportunity to learn a single lesson through a variety of different activities and ways of presenting information. This strategy can be particularly effective for English language learners or when teaching in an inclusive classroom including students with learning disabilities.
  • Culturally Responsive Teaching: The integration of the cultures of your students into the classroom can be incredibly beneficial for establishing connection to the course material and for presenting information in a way that is easily understood by students. Culturally responsive teaching can be particularly beneficial when teaching subjects like history (link to pillar?) & language to allow for students to consider events through various perspectives and cultural lenses. One of the greatest benefits of this strategy though, is that it allows for all students to feel understood and accepted - and provides an opportunity for students & teachers alike to learn from each other's life experiences.
  • Project-Based Learning: Ensuring that your students are actively engaging in the learning process and course material being taught is essential to student success. Project-Based Learning goes beyond submitting projects in a classroom environment, and instead focuses on long-term projects that may have more real-world application. Longer-term projects with real-world application can also be used as a professional development opportunity as well, exposing students to real-world applications that they would otherwise not have visibility into.
  • Gamification: One of the most effective ways to get students to engage in the course material is to gamify the material and turn a learning experience or objective into a game. Turning a vocabulary lesson into a game of charades or utilizing digital tools like Kahoot! can bring students together to not only learn the material that's being taught - but to help make learning more engaging and fun!