This is Set 1 of 60 in the smartvidya question bank on Teaching Aptitude (UGC NET Paper 1, Unit I). Part I: Teaching: concept, objectives and levels. This set covers Concept of teaching, its nature and its relation to learning.
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Set 1: Meaning and Nature of Teaching
1. Teaching is best described as
(a) an interactive process aimed at bringing about desirable changes in learners
(b) a one-way transfer of information from teacher to pupil
(c) an activity that is complete once the syllabus is covered
(d) a process that depends only on the knowledge of the teacher
Ans. (a) an interactive process aimed at bringing about desirable changes in learners — Explanation: Modern views treat teaching as an interactive, purposeful process whose success is judged by the desirable changes in the behaviour of learners. [Ref: Concept of teaching]
2. The success of teaching is ultimately judged by
(a) the length of notes dictated
(b) the learning achieved by students
(c) the number of hours the teacher spends in class
(d) the strictness of classroom discipline
Ans. (b) the learning achieved by students — Explanation: Teaching and learning are two sides of the same coin; teaching that does not result in learning has not achieved its purpose. [Ref: Teaching–learning relationship]
3. Which pair of elements is central to every teaching–learning situation?
(a) Building and furniture
(b) Textbook and blackboard
(c) Examination and certificate
(d) Teacher and learner
Ans. (d) Teacher and learner — Explanation: The teacher (independent variable) and the learner (dependent variable) are the core of any teaching situation; materials and facilities are supporting factors. [Ref: Variables of teaching]
4. In the teaching process, the teacher is generally treated as the
(a) extraneous variable
(b) intervening variable
(c) independent variable
(d) dependent variable
Ans. (c) independent variable — Explanation: The teacher plans, organises and controls the activities, so the teacher acts as the independent variable that brings about changes in the learner. [Ref: Variables of teaching]
5. In the teaching process, the learner is treated as the
(a) dependent variable
(b) control variable
(c) independent variable
(d) moderating variable
Ans. (a) dependent variable — Explanation: The learner's behaviour changes as a result of what the teacher does, so the learner is the dependent variable. [Ref: Variables of teaching]
6. Content, methods, teaching aids and the classroom environment act in teaching as
(a) intervening variables
(b) random variables
(c) independent variables
(d) dependent variables
Ans. (a) intervening variables — Explanation: These factors lie between the teacher and the learner and influence how the teacher's actions affect learning, so they are called intervening variables. [Ref: Variables of teaching]
7. Which statement about the nature of teaching is correct?
(a) Teaching is both an art and a science
(b) Teaching is a fixed routine that cannot be improved
(c) Teaching is only an art and cannot be studied scientifically
(d) Teaching is only a science and needs no creativity
Ans. (a) Teaching is both an art and a science — Explanation: Teaching uses scientific principles of learning and evaluation, but its practice also needs creativity, judgement and personal skill, so it is both an art and a science. [Ref: Nature of teaching]
8. Teaching can be called a tri-polar process because it involves
(a) teacher, principal and parents
(b) school, home and society
(c) lecture, notes and examination
(d) educational objectives, learning experiences and evaluation
Ans. (d) educational objectives, learning experiences and evaluation — Explanation: B.S. Bloom described the teaching–learning process in terms of objectives, learning experiences and change of behaviour judged through evaluation. [Ref: Bloom's tri-polar view of education]
9. Who described education as a bi-polar process involving the educator and the educand?
(a) John Dewey
(b) John Adams
(c) B.S. Bloom
(d) Jean Piaget
Ans. (b) John Adams — Explanation: Sir John Adams described education as a bi-polar process in which one personality acts on another to modify its development. [Ref: Adams, bi-polar process]
10. John Dewey regarded the educative process as having two sides, namely
(a) physical and spiritual
(b) oral and written
(c) psychological and sociological
(d) formal and informal
Ans. (c) psychological and sociological — Explanation: Dewey held that education has a psychological side, rooted in the child's powers and interests, and a sociological side, rooted in social life. [Ref: Dewey, My Pedagogic Creed (1897)]
11. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of good teaching?
(a) It is learner-centred
(b) It is democratic and cooperative
(c) It is planned and purposeful
(d) It is rigid and authoritarian
Ans. (d) It is rigid and authoritarian — Explanation: Good teaching is flexible and democratic; rigidity and authoritarian control discourage participation and thinking. [Ref: Characteristics of good teaching]
12. Teaching is called a goal-oriented activity because
(a) it is controlled entirely by the administration
(b) it is always measured by marks only
(c) it follows the same plan in every class
(d) it aims at achieving specified learning objectives
Ans. (d) it aims at achieving specified learning objectives — Explanation: Every teaching activity is planned to achieve definite objectives, such as knowledge, understanding, skills or attitudes. [Ref: Nature of teaching]
13. Which statement best expresses the relationship between teaching and learning?
(a) Teaching and learning are completely unrelated processes
(b) Learning can occur without teaching, but effective teaching aims at learning
(c) Learning can never take place without a teacher
(d) Teaching always produces learning whatever the method used
Ans. (b) Learning can occur without teaching, but effective teaching aims at learning — Explanation: People learn from experience, peers and media without formal teaching, but the purpose of teaching is to facilitate learning. [Ref: Teaching–learning relationship]
14. The word "pedagogy" is mainly associated with
(a) the administration of schools
(b) the management of examinations
(c) the art and science of teaching children
(d) the study of adult self-directed learning
Ans. (c) the art and science of teaching children — Explanation: Pedagogy comes from Greek roots meaning "to lead the child" and refers to the methods and practice of teaching, especially of children. [Ref: Pedagogy and andragogy]
15. Which of the following is a formal agency of education?
(a) Peer group
(b) Mass media at home
(c) Family
(d) School
Ans. (d) School — Explanation: A school has a planned curriculum, trained teachers and a fixed structure, so it is a formal agency; family and peers are informal agencies. [Ref: Agencies of education]
16. Education through correspondence courses and open universities is an example of
(a) pre-primary education
(b) informal education
(c) incidental education
(d) non-formal education
Ans. (d) non-formal education — Explanation: Non-formal education is organised and purposeful but flexible in time, place, age and pace, as in open and distance learning. [Ref: Formal, non-formal and informal education]
17. Learning that occurs naturally through daily experience at home and in the community is called
(a) informal education
(b) programmed education
(c) formal education
(d) non-formal education
Ans. (a) informal education — Explanation: Informal education is unplanned and lifelong, taking place through interaction with family, friends, media and surroundings. [Ref: Formal, non-formal and informal education]
18. A teacher who acts as a facilitator mainly
(a) avoids interacting with students
(b) creates conditions in which learners discover and construct knowledge
(c) decides everything without student participation
(d) dictates notes for students to memorise
Ans. (b) creates conditions in which learners discover and construct knowledge — Explanation: A facilitator guides, supports and arranges learning experiences so that students learn actively rather than passively receiving information. [Ref: Role of the teacher]
19. "Teaching is an intimate contact between a more mature personality and a less mature one which is designed to further the education of the latter." This definition is given by
(a) H.C. Morrison
(b) Edmund Amidon
(c) N.L. Gage
(d) B.O. Smith
Ans. (a) H.C. Morrison — Explanation: H.C. Morrison defined teaching as an intimate contact between a more mature and a less mature personality aimed at the education of the latter. [Ref: Definitions of teaching]
20. "Teaching is a system of actions intended to induce learning." This definition is given by
(a) H.C. Morrison
(b) John Brubacher
(c) B.O. Smith
(d) William H. Burton
Ans. (c) B.O. Smith — Explanation: B.O. Smith described teaching as a system of actions intended to induce learning, stressing its purposeful nature. [Ref: Definitions of teaching]
21. N.L. Gage defined teaching as
(a) the arrangement of school furniture for learning
(b) a process of giving marks to students
(c) a form of interpersonal influence aimed at changing the behaviour potential of another person
(d) the memorisation of facts by pupils
Ans. (c) a form of interpersonal influence aimed at changing the behaviour potential of another person — Explanation: Gage described teaching as interpersonal influence intended to change the ways in which other persons can or will behave. [Ref: Definitions of teaching]
22. Edmund Amidon described teaching as
(a) a purely individual activity of the teacher
(b) a process of supervision by the principal
(c) an interactive process involving classroom talk between teacher and pupils
(d) a written activity carried out at home
Ans. (c) an interactive process involving classroom talk between teacher and pupils — Explanation: Amidon, who worked on interaction analysis, viewed teaching as an interactive process, primarily involving classroom talk between teacher and pupils during definable activities. [Ref: Definitions of teaching]
23. Which of these is a modern view of the teacher's role?
(a) Sole source of all knowledge
(b) Strict disciplinarian only
(c) Reader of the textbook aloud
(d) Guide, facilitator and co-learner
Ans. (d) Guide, facilitator and co-learner — Explanation: In learner-centred education the teacher guides and facilitates and often learns along with students, instead of being the only source of knowledge. [Ref: Role of the teacher]
24. Teaching becomes effective mainly when
(a) students are kept silent throughout the lesson
(b) the teacher relates new learning to the previous knowledge and needs of learners
(c) the lesson is delivered in the same way to every class
(d) the teacher covers the maximum content in the minimum time
Ans. (b) the teacher relates new learning to the previous knowledge and needs of learners — Explanation: Linking new material to what learners already know and to their needs makes learning meaningful and lasting. [Ref: Principles of teaching]
25. Which of the following is a measurable outcome of teaching?
(a) The teacher's salary
(b) Change in the learner's behaviour
(c) The number of textbooks in the library
(d) The size of the classroom
Ans. (b) Change in the learner's behaviour — Explanation: Teaching aims at desirable changes in the learner's knowledge, skills and attitudes, which can be observed and assessed. [Ref: Outcomes of teaching]
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