A Discussion on Education vs. Training in Software Development

In the IT world, often training is mistaken for education. This mistake leads to waste of money, waste of time and waste of human potential.
Well, training is a subset of an educational experience but it is not the only component.

Training concerns behavior. Education concerns cognition.

Benjamin Bloom's Taxonomy would help us better understand, where training fits into an educational experience overall. [The illustration and table was shown in a recent blog by Bob Reselman]

Figure 1: Bloom's Taxonomy classifies cognition into 6 progressive stages.

Table 1: Applying Bloom's Taxonomy to learn about a pencil.

According to Bloom's model, software development companies in India cannot deny the importance of training in technical education is necessary to master a technology at the Knowledge, Comprehension and Application stages. However, when learners move into upper stages of Analysis, Synthesis and Evaluation, they need more than training.

Any software developer in India would find that software programming is more similar to musical composition, there are no fixed patterns. This is highly creative and result oriented. As a programmer it is important to understand the underlying nature and utility of URI's when it comes to writing REST code. However, the competence to construct a logical URI may not guarantee that a programmer has the wherewithal to write an elegant REST service. More is required.

Machines train. Humans teach.

The lower stages of Bloom’s Taxonomy involve Knowledge, Comprehension and Application. This stage generally includes repetitive learning, where a learner works at his own pace and learns best privately. Here, computer based learning is best suited.

However, higher order technical education requires human instructional awareness and thus here counts the teaching from a real human being. Such awareness is never a cup of tea for a computer or a device. The process of advanced learning involves the interaction between a student and teacher. This is precious as it is powered with experience and knowledge.

The Call to Action

If you are planning to take technical education, spend the money wisely. Look for courses that offer you both computer based instruction and baseline knowledge with human led instruction. Also do not think that once you as a programmer attend a class or seminar that’s enough for your learning. Education is a continuous process and requires constant support. Thus, provide ongoing in-house support for your company's educational agenda after formal coursework is done. Offer thought provoking sessions and a focused educational climate. This way a software programmer would best learn all essential stuff and would be practically able to pursuit a career in the IT industry.