Approaches to Learning (Behaviourism, Cognitivism, Constructivism) — Mastery

Q1. Two teachers debate why the same Class 4 syllabus produces very different results in two children of the same school. 'Approaches to learning' help by

• A. Describing the conditions under which learning takes place and the style or technique the learner brings to a task — Surface, Deep or Strategic
• B. Listing only the biological pre-conditions of learning such as age and IQ
• C. Replacing the behaviourist, cognitive and humanistic schools entirely
• D. Predicting the exact term-end marks a child will score in any subject

Q2. Priya, a Class 5 student in Rampur, complains every evening that homework is a 'burden put on her by the teacher' and only memorises answers the night before the test. The BEST inference about her approach is

• A. She uses the Deep approach because she completes the homework regularly
• B. She is a slow learner with low IQ and the approach concept does not apply
• C. She uses the Strategic approach because she finishes work before the test
• D. She uses the Surface approach — task treated as an imposition and content memorised as anticipated answers

Q3. Pavlov's dog has been conditioned to a 500-Hz bell. With further training the dog now salivates ONLY to the 500-Hz bell and NOT to the 700-Hz school bell or the 300-Hz doorbell. This process is called

• A. Generalisation
• B. Spontaneous recovery
• C. Extinction
• D. Discrimination

Q4. After the salivation response had been extinguished (no food given with the bell for many trials), Pavlov rang the bell and again presented food a few times. The dog's salivation returned. This process is called

• A. Spontaneous recovery
• B. Discrimination
• C. Generalisation
• D. Negative reinforcement

Q5. In Pavlov's experiment, the salivation of the dog in response to food placed in its mouth — which happens naturally without any training — is called the

• A. Conditioned response
• B. Neutral stimulus
• C. Unconditioned stimulus
• D. Unconditioned response

Q6. Three external conditions through which behaviour is modified in operant conditioning are listed. These three are

• A. Reinforcement, contiguity and practice
• B. Assimilation, accommodation and equilibration
• C. Generalisation, discrimination and extinction
• D. Surface, deep and strategic intentions

Q7. There are two types of teaching machines based on operant conditioning. They differ in

• A. Whether the learner constructs the answer or picks from given choices — constructed-response type vs multiple-choice type
• B. Whether the teacher is present in the room or not
• C. Whether the machine is electronic or paper-based
• D. Whether the response is positive reinforcement or punishment

Q8. A teacher-trainee writes in her assignment: 'Behaviourism is the perfect classroom theory because reinforcement, programmed steps and teaching machines explain ALL of children's learning.' The BEST critique is

• A. The trainee is correct — behaviourism explains everything about learning
• B. The trainee is partly right but should also add Pavlov's classical conditioning to the list
• C. The trainee overstates the case — itself notes that behaviourism treats man as a machine, ignores genetic placement, and overlooks creativity, curiosity and spontaneity in human learning
• D. The trainee should have used Maslow's hierarchy instead of operant conditioning

Q9. The process by which Piaget says cognitive development moves forward — a continuous self-regulation between assimilation and accommodation — is called

• A. Equilibration
• B. Adaptation
• C. Schema
• D. Reinforcement

Q10. A 5-year-old in a Class 1 classroom watches the teacher pour water from a tall thin glass into a short wide glass. The child insists the tall glass had 'more water'. In terms of Piaget's stages, the child is in the

• A. Sensorimotor stage (birth-2)
• B. Formal operational stage (11+)
• C. Concrete operational stage (7-11) — characterised by reversibility
• D. Preoperational stage (2-7) — characterised by centring on one dimension at a time

Q11. Two trainees argue about Piaget's stages. A: 'A bright Class 2 child can skip the concrete operational stage and go straight to formal operational thinking.' B: 'No, the SEQUENCE of stages is the same for all children, though the AGE at which a stage is entered can vary.' The correct position is

• A. B is correct — sequence is fixed and same for all children; only the timing varies
• B. A is correct — bright children can skip stages
• C. Both are wrong — Piaget says ages are exact and stages cannot vary at all
• D. Both are wrong — Piaget rejected the idea of stages altogether

Q12. A Class 3 teacher in Rampur sits with Mohit while he attempts two-digit subtraction with borrowing. She asks guiding questions, models one example, then gradually withdraws her support as Mohit starts solving on his own. This practice is BEST described as

• A. Programmed instruction with reinforcement after each step
• B. Equilibration between assimilation and accommodation (Piaget)
• C. Scaffolding within the Zone of Proximal Development (Vygotsky)
• D. Extinction of an incorrect response (Pavlov)

Q13. A Class 4 boy can recite the steps of long division perfectly when asked orally, but in his written test he makes silly mistakes and scores low. A behaviourist teacher concludes: 'He has not learned long division.' In terms of Bandura, the BEST analysis is

• A. Bandura would agree fully — observable performance IS learning
• B. Maslow would say the boy's safety need is unmet, so he cannot learn
• C. Piaget would say the boy is in the sensorimotor stage and cannot do division at all
• D. Bandura distinguishes acquisition of knowledge (learning) from observable performance (behaviour); the boy may have ACQUIRED long division but failed to PERFORM it on paper — these are separate

Q14. A Class 2 child from a flood-displaced family is hungry less often than before (mid-day meal helps), but he is fearful of every loud sound and cannot focus on lessons. According to Maslow's hierarchy, the teacher should next attend to the child's

• A. Self-actualization need
• B. Prestige need
• C. Safety needs — stability, sequence, the need for a house
• D. Belongingness need

Q15. A primary teacher writes in her diary: 'My job in the classroom is not to fill children's minds but to be their guide, friend and helper, so they can reach, touch and teach themselves.' Her practice belongs to which approach?

• A. Behaviouristic approach — teacher as programmer
• B. Cognitive approach — teacher as architect of schema
• C. Social learning approach — teacher as model to be imitated
• D. Humanistic approach — teacher as guide, friend and helper; child given a central 'reach, touch, teach' place

Q16. The Surface, Deep and Strategic approaches are called the 'modus operandi' of a learner. The phrase 'modus operandi' here MOST closely means

• A. The style or technique with which the learner habitually tackles a learning task
• B. The biological age and IQ band of the learner
• C. The grade level and syllabus the learner is enrolled in
• D. The textbook chosen by the school for the learner

Q17. While teaching fractions in Class 4, Sunita Madam asks her students, 'Where have you seen halves and quarters at home — in roti, in money, in time?' Children connect new ideas to what they already know. The approach Sunita Madam is encouraging is

• A. Surface approach — memorising the rule first
• B. Strategic approach — planning for the highest marks in the test
• C. Deep approach — active interaction with content and relating new ideas to previous knowledge
• D. Behaviourist approach — reinforcing each correct answer

Q18. Behaviourism, is described as a school of psychology that explains learning chiefly through the connection between

• A. Schema and equilibration inside the mind
• B. Stimulus (S) and Response (R) in the observable world
• C. Social interaction and language internalisation
• D. Physiological needs and self-actualization

Q19. Why was Pavlov's salivating-dog experiment central to behaviourist learning theory?

• A. It proved that learning is a change in the cognitive structure of the dog
• B. It demonstrated how a previously neutral stimulus, after pairing with a natural stimulus, comes to elicit a response — i.e., learning through classical conditioning
• C. It proved that animals can self-actualize like humans
• D. It showed that observation of a model produces imitation

Q20. Class 3 students dislike the loud school bell that rings whenever the class becomes noisy. The teacher tells them, 'The moment everyone is silent, I will switch the loud bell off.' The class quickly becomes silent. In terms of Skinner, the teacher has used

• A. Positive reinforcement — adding a pleasant stimulus
• B. Negative reinforcement — removing an unpleasant stimulus to strengthen a desired response
• C. Punishment — adding an unpleasant stimulus to weaken a response
• D. Extinction — withholding a previously reinforced response

Q21. A trainee writes — 'Skinner is just an extension of Pavlov: both are stimulus-response, both are behaviourist, the difference is only of laboratory animals (dog vs rat).' The BEST critique is

• A. The trainee is correct — Skinner and Pavlov are identical
• B. Pavlov's conditioning is RESPONDENT (response elicited by a known stimulus); Skinner's is OPERANT (response made TO the surrounding environment, then strengthened by consequences) — the difference is theoretical, not just the animal
• C. Skinner is actually a cognitivist, not a behaviourist
• D. Pavlov is a humanist, so the two cannot be compared

Q22. The cognitive process of DIFFERENTIATION is illustrated with the example that an infant who 'perceives every woman as his/her mother' gradually learns to tell mother from others. This illustrates change in the cognitive structure through

• A. Reinforcement of the correct response
• B. Differentiation — the child distinguishes finer features within an earlier whole
• C. Imitation of an observed model
• D. Spontaneous recovery of a faded response

Q23. A Class 5 teacher in Rampur insists her 10-year-olds should now handle algebra word-problems involving 'if x stamps cost y rupees…' as readily as adult learners do. In terms of Piaget's stages, the BEST analysis is

• A. She is correct — Piaget's formal operational stage begins at age 5
• B. She is over-expecting — formal operational thinking, which handles abstract and hypothetical reasoning, begins only from about age 11; her Class 5 children are still concrete operational and need objects, pictures and real examples
• C. She is correct — concrete operational children love hypothetical reasoning
• D. She is wrong because Piaget says no child can do algebra ever

Q24. After teaching place value to Class 3 children using bundles of sticks, Reema Madam plans the very next set of activities. According to the classroom recommendations of the cognitive approach, she should arrange

• A. Drill and practice exercises so that the new schema is reinforced and stabilised
• B. Negative reinforcement by removing playtime
• C. Long lectures explaining place value abstractly without any objects
• D. Self-actualization camps for the children

Q25. A school principal proposes that ALL classroom learning in Classes 1-5 should follow Piaget's recommendation of self-discovery — the teacher must NEVER directly tell a fact, and every concept must be re-discovered by the child alone. The BEST critique of this proposal is

• A. The principal is right — Piaget's classroom must be entirely self-discovery, with no direct teaching
• B. The proposal overreaches — itself lists the limitations of the cognitive approach: discovery-based learning is lengthy and time-consuming, and 'no direct teaching' is impractical for the whole school day; it must be balanced with other approaches
• C. The principal is right because Skinner also recommends no direct teaching
• D. The principal is right because humanism rules out the teacher entirely

Q26. Anita is the new student in a Class 2 classroom. On the first day she watches how her classmates greet the teacher, line up for the mid-day meal and put their bags under the desk, and silently begins doing the same. Anita has learned through

• A. Classical conditioning by Pavlov
• B. Observational learning, the central mechanism of Bandura's social learning theory
• C. Equilibration of schema by Piaget
• D. Reinforcement of the law of effect by Thorndike

Q27. Vygotsky's view — that the child's cognitive functions appear first on the social plane (between people) and only later on the individual plane (inside the child) — falls under which named approach?

• A. Behaviouristic approach
• B. Cognitive approach (purely Piagetian)
• C. Social-constructivist approach
• D. Humanistic approach

Q28. A Class 4 girl whose physiological and safety needs are well met in her hostel still misses her family and feels unhappy because she has not made friends in the new classroom. According to Maslow's hierarchy, the need the teacher must MOST attend to now is the

• A. Physiological need
• B. Safety need
• C. Belongingness need — love, family, friend, society
• D. Self-actualization need

Q29. Considering the educational implications of the humanistic approach, evaluate this trainee claim: 'Humanism wants the same rigid grade-by-grade timetable as behaviourism and only adds being polite to children.' The BEST critique is

• A. The trainee is correct — humanism merely sweetens behaviourism
• B. The trainee is wrong — humanism recommends OPEN schools and UNGRADED classes where children are given a central place to 'reach, touch, teach' themselves, and the teacher acts as guide, friend and helper; this is a structural shift, not a politeness tweak
• C. The trainee is correct because Maslow's hierarchy demands strict grading
• D. The trainee is correct because Rogers wanted only oral examinations

Q30. Munni Madam, a Class 3 teacher, plans her week thus — Monday: star charts for neat work (drawing on Skinner's lab experiments with rats); Tuesday: maths with bundles of sticks and questions to discover (drawing on Piaget's child-observation studies); Wednesday: pair-work where the stronger child helps the weaker (drawing on Vygotsky's social experiments); Thursday: circle time on each child's feelings (drawing on Maslow and Rogers). Why does her week stand on solid theoretical ground?

• A. Because all four schools she draws on are TWENTIETH-CENTURY theories supported by careful experimentation and observation — not commonsense opinions
• B. Because Munni Madam invented these activities herself without any theory
• C. Because the syllabus orders her to do star charts every day
• D. Because Maslow himself worked with Class 3 children in India