A good educational process must consist of both training and learning. However, many people do not see clearly the difference between these two activities and treat them as synonyms. But it is very important for a person to differentiate to be able to choose one of them. Today we will try to find out the main factors that make them so different. And decide whether there are certain aspects in which they are similar.
Are they complementing?
The only similarity between these two activities is that they both are aspects of the educational process. How can we describe them? Training consists of giving new information or some new knowledge to a trainee in order to teach or instruct him/her. Besides, it can be presented in different forms; the most popular are speech and writing. On the contrary, learning is a process of absorbing new information in order to boost skills or get new experience. You may tell that I thought about this in another perspective, but these two activities are completely opposite phenomena, although they complement each other.
The quality of the learning process is tightly connected with the training performed. That is why it is essential to select a trainer wisely if you wish to get significant results in your work.
What is training?
Training is everything. “The peach was once a bitter almond; cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education”. You must have already heard this famous statement of Mark Twain. The main focus of any training consists of building new skills or developing already existed ones. Where is it used? Everyone had experienced training when they were hired by a company. The first thing every employer has to do is training a newbie in order to give him necessary instructions on his duties, responsibilities and to test him. Today many companies search for smart employees who, although lack the required skills, can be trained fast. That is faster and save more money than searching for the candidates with the relevant skills. This way we can say that the main aim of any training is rather giving instructions; its goal is to describe how something works in order a person can repeat an action himself. It does not aim at changing a person’s views or reshaping his behaviour. Besides, it is a synonym to doing or practicing, not just getting theoretical knowledge.
What are the characteristics of learning?
There are many definitions of this type of knowledge acquiring. The narrowest one describes the learning process as collecting and absorbing the new information in order to boost your skills and it is performed for a certain reason. This process is specially oriented for achieving a definite aim, thus you are acquiring exact things that you need. However, it gives you the knowledge you can use both now and in the future and which can’t be taken away. We can even say that a person becomes well-equipped with certain skills and knowledge that will help him cope with challenges every time he faces them. Besides, the technique of reinforcement of the knowledge you already have is used in any learning process. For instance, you have got some foundation of studying a foreign language from primary school, but you still continue learning it in secondary and high school.
New Era
With the development of technologies, learning and training have got new meanings. The phenomenon of distance learning appeared that helps students to get a qualification and diploma from any college or university of the world just sitting on the couch. What is more, many big companies implement online training of their stuff to their business policy. They understand that it is better to create an expert themselves than to re-educate people. Online education has got much attention recently as it is very accessible and comfortable for many people; you do not need to attend classes each day and spend at least 5 hours a day studying, you are free to learn any time you wish.
As Albert Einstein once said, “Education is not about learning of the facts, but the training of the mind to think.” The ideal e-learning environment or any educational process must consist of both activities. A teacher has to organize the process of training the best way possible in order for a trainee to be able to build up strong skills, improve the existed ones and manage the resources he/she already has properly. A trainee, on his part, has to learn the information presented.