Understanding Teaching — Hard

Q1. Consider the following two statements about teaching, after Eisner (1985): I. The ends of teaching, like those of an artist, often emerge during the course of action rather than being predetermined. II. Because the means and ends are decided before the lesson, every lesson must necessarily follow the lesson plan without deviation. Which is/are correct?

• A. Only I
• B. Only II
• C. Both I and II
• D. Neither I nor II

Q2. A class 7 teacher in Rampur, while narrating the chapter on the freedom struggle, modulates her voice, uses pauses for effect, walks among the rows, and uses hand gestures to point to a chart. This is best explained as

• A. an instance of teaching as a science, because each move is pre-planned
• B. kinesics — the use of voice, gesture and body language that characterises teaching as an art
• C. an example of programmed instruction, because the lesson follows a fixed sequence
• D. Herbartism in action, because it follows the five formal steps

Q3. Read the assertion (A) and reason (R) about teaching for ages 11-14: A: For an upper-primary teacher, character-building of learners is held at par with — and at times higher than — academic achievement. R: Cognitive learning is the only goal of CTET-aligned classrooms; affective and value-based goals lie outside school work. Which is correct?

• A. Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
• B. Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A
• C. A is true but R is false
• D. A is false but R is true

Q4. Character formation is tied to the affective domain of learning. Which of the following is NOT a correct claim about this link?

• A. The final achievement-level of the affective domain — characterisation — corresponds to the development of character
• B. Teaching has cognitive, affective and psychomotor aspects
• C. The affective domain is fully evaluated by written tests, and so character can be measured by marks alone
• D. Schools can inculcate the norms, ethics and expectations of society through teaching

Q5. Examine the following statements about teaching, instruction and pedagogy: I. Teaching is a journey that begins long before the classroom and is broader than instruction. II. Instruction begins only when the teacher enters the classroom. III. Pedagogy is unrelated to curriculum and refers only to classroom delivery techniques. Which combination is correct?

• A. I and II only
• B. II and III only
• C. I and III only
• D. I, II and III

Q6. Before introducing the topic of force and motion to her class 8, a teacher asks students what they already know about a cricket ball being hit by a bat. In Gagne's nine instructional events, this MOST closely matches

• A. Informing learners of objectives
• B. Stimulating recall of prior knowledge
• C. Providing learning guidance
• D. Enhancing retention and transfer

Q7. For a class 8 social studies project on the local panchayat, a teacher in rural Bihar assigns groups of four to visit the panchayat office, interview members, prepare a report and present it; she steps back and only intervenes for guidance when asked. In Thornton's three teaching styles, this is BEST described as

• A. Directing style — teacher is the major source of information
• B. Discussing style — teacher acts as facilitator inside the classroom
• C. Delegating style — learners are entrusted with independent assignments
• D. Behaviour-altering style — teacher modifies learner behaviour through reinforcement

Q8. Within Bruce Joyce's four families of teaching models, William Gordon's creative model is classified under

• A. Social Interaction family
• B. Behaviour Altering family
• C. Information Development family
• D. Personal Basis family

Q9. A class 8 maths teacher first states the rule 'the sum of the angles of any triangle is 180°' and then asks the students to verify it for three triangles they draw. Which teaching method is she using?

• A. Inductive method — specific to general
• B. Deductive method — general to specific
• C. Heuristic method — discovery through exploration
• D. Analytic method — unknown to known

Q10. Consider the lecture, demonstrative and lecture-cum-demonstration methods. Which of the following is NOT a correct claim about these methods?

• A. In the lecture method the teacher has the major role and the learner is largely passive
• B. The demonstrative method uses the senses of sight and hearing to involve learners
• C. The lecture-cum-demonstration method combines oral explanation with a demonstration to give the best of both
• D. The lecture-cum-demonstration method should be reserved only for senior secondary classes and is unsuitable for ages 11-14

Q11. Match the methods with their key proponent / definition: (a) Problem-solving method (i) Kilpatrick — wholehearted purposeful activity (b) Project method (ii) Armstrong — exploration in science (c) Heuristic method (iii) Gagne — learner reaches a goal he/she has not reached before (d) Concept formation (iv) Ausubel — learning through discovery

• A. (a)-(iii), (b)-(i), (c)-(ii), (d)-(iv)
• B. (a)-(i), (b)-(iii), (c)-(iv), (d)-(ii)
• C. (a)-(ii), (b)-(iv), (c)-(i), (d)-(iii)
• D. (a)-(iv), (b)-(ii), (c)-(iii), (d)-(i)

Q12. While teaching a class 7 chapter on light, Aarti's teacher asks a question, listens to several student answers, picks up on a misconception about reflection, gives reinforcement to a correct response, and adjusts her example on the spot. In Philip Jackson's phases, this work belongs to the

• A. Pre-active phase — fixing aims and arranging content
• B. Interactive phase — two-way classroom communication with reinforcement
• C. Post-active phase — the 'acid test' of evaluation
• D. Feedback phase — written modification of the unit plan

Q13. The post-active phase is called the 'acid test' of teaching. Which of the following best captures why?

• A. Because it is the longest of the three phases and consumes most teacher time
• B. Because it is the evaluative phase where the teacher checks whether stated objectives were achieved and modifies practice from feedback
• C. Because it happens in front of the learners and is therefore the most public phase
• D. Because it is graded by external inspectors only and never by the teacher herself

Q14. Identify the WRONG pairing of teaching maxim and example

• A. Simple to complex — teach addition before algebraic equations
• B. Whole to part — show the full map of India first, then state-level details (insight/Gestalt basis)
• C. Psychological to logical — start with what interests the learner now and then move to the logical order of the subject
• D. Particular to general — first state the general rule, then give particular instances

Q15. Read the assertion and reason about Hokanson and Hooper's five levels of teaching: A: When a class 8 teacher asks students to design three different ways of cleaning a polluted village pond, she is operating at the 'Creation' level of teaching. R: At the Creation level, learners present multiple solutions to a problem; the teaching is no longer one-way communication but supports divergent learner output. Which is correct?

• A. Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
• B. Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A
• C. A is true but R is false
• D. A is false but R is true