learning can and often does take place without the benefit of teaching-and sometimes even in spite of it-but there is no such thing as effective teaching in the absent of learning.teaching without learning is just talking.college intructors who have assumed that thir students were learning what they were trying to tech them are regularly faced with disappointing evidence to the contrary when they grade tests and term papers.too often,students have not learned sa much or as well as was expected.there are gaps,sometimes considerable ones,between what was taught and what has been learned.by the time faculty notice these gaps in knowledge or understanding,it is frequently too late to remedy the problems.