teaching

Teaching is the practice implemented by a teacher aimed at transmitting skills (knowledge, know-how, and interpersonal skills) to a learner, a student, or any other audience in the context of an educational institution. Teaching is closely related to learning, the student's activity of appropriating this knowledge.
Teaching is part of the broader concept of education.

Teaching has been considered uniquely human because of mentalistic definitions. Indeed, in psychology, teaching is defined by the intention of the teacher, which is to transmit information and/or behavior and/or skill. This implies the need for the teacher to assess the knowledge state of the potential learner, thus to demonstrate theory of mind abilities. As theory of mind and intentions are difficult (if not impossible) to assess in non-humans, teaching was considered uniquely human.
However, if teaching is defined by its function, it is then possible to assess its presence among non-human species. Caro and Hauser suggested a functionalist definition. For a behavior to be labeled as teaching, three criteria must be met :

The behavior of the "teacher" must be observed only in the presence of a naive individual
The behavior represents a cost for the teacher, or at least no direct benefit
The possible consequence of the behavior is a learning gain for the learner

Cordier, Mary Hurlbut (1992). Schoolwomen of the prairies and plains : personal narratives from Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska, 1860s-1920s (1st ed.). Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 9780826313843. OCLC 25786967.
Elsbree, Willard S. (1939). The American Teacher: Evolution of a Profession in a Democracy (1st ed.). New York: American Book Company. ISBN 9780837139210. OCLC 120903.
Parkerson, Donald H.; Parkerson, Jo Ann (2008). The American Teacher: Foundations of Education. New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780203895122.
Wyman, Andrea (1997). Rural Women Teachers in the United States: A Sourcebook. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, Inc. ISBN 9780810831568. OCLC 34321265.

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