The primary role of the trainer in education is to assist, as requested or necessary, in the meeting of demands for knowledge/skill by the learner or representing authority over the learner. The method and form in which the educator can meet these demands may vary from one to another circumstance and is ultimately focused on the measurable retention of the desired knowledge/skill by the learner.

The level to which the trainer may involve his/herself in the learning process largely depends on his/her own teaching preferences, however, the trainer is obligated to teach in such a way that best meets the above-mentioned learning demands while conforming to any established limitations of time, cost, scope, and quality.

The trainer is further obligated to provide the most accurate information and relevant materials that can be practically availed for the teaching event. The trainer must have a clear vision of what knowledge/skill should be obtained by the learner and to what level. It is incumbent upon the trainer to ensure the training relationship between himself/herself and the learner remains open to an appropriate level and is conducive to a dialog that may be required for the learner to meet the learning demand.

It must be noted that involvement by a trainer in a learning event is not always a requirement for a learner to obtain the desired knowledge and/or skill. The learner, in essence, can be both learner and trainer in what may be called a self-directed learning event or process. In such cases, it is the learner and the learner alone that determines the function, level, and usefulness of all of the herein-mentioned categories.

Training begins and ends with the learner. Without the learner, teaching does not exist and has no purpose. The learner is the primary element in any educational formula. The learner, though the recipient of the teaching and the intended beneficiary of the knowledge/skill, must be engaged and desirous to receive the knowledge/skill. Learning must be an act of the will by the learner.

Learners have differing styles of learning and may prefer different methods of delivery. Though learners may be grouped so as to be categorized by their most common methods of learning, the way in which each learner absorbs and retains knowledge/skill will ultimately vary and each learner should be considered unique in his/her learning process.

Intentional teaching and learning has the required component of learning content and subject matter, which as stated above is the requested/demanded knowledge or skill. All learning, to some degree, is the acquisition by the learner of some kind of subject matter. All content and subject matter must be known by, at a minimum, the teacher though it may not be clearly defined or outlined. It is the desired learning outcome that largely defines and governs the learning content and subject matter as well as influences the method by which the teacher may approach and deliver such content or subject matter.

By the volition of the teacher or the relevant teaching authority, the contents and subject matter of the teaching event may be thoroughly or vaguely made known to the learner. However, by the expected end of the learning event the learner must be able to reiterate the knowledge or demonstrate the skill.

Learning is the process by which the above four elements meet to form a complex orchestration that we may call the learning event. This learning event is an interaction of the learner with the contents and subject matter, under the supervision or guidance of the teacher with the outcome of the learner retaining some degree of knowledge or skill.

The learning event has various forms and styles, and no two learning events are exactly alike. Learning events are individualistic to the learner and teacher involved, and are therefore as varied as the learners and teachers themselves.