Yes, my understanding is the same except that professors are usually required to teach. My best professor in grad school, in terms of teaching ability, had a wi

Yes, my understanding is the same except that professors are usually required to teach. My best professor in grad school, in terms of teaching ability, had a wife who was a high school teacher. He was head and shoulders above everyone else in the department. He clearly learned methods of teaching from her. He also had active research projects. I'm a software engineer. I also coach girls basketball at the youth level in my after-work time. I read about teaching methods, how people learn, and I talk with teachers whenever I can. Often they can help me get difficult lessons across to the girls. It's fine for professors to be great researchers. But, if they have to teach as part of it, they should strive to be good at it.