UGC NET – Paper 1 Teaching Aptitude 

INTRODUCTION:

Teaching is a process in which one individual teach another individual. It is a process which usually takes place in classroom situations. The process of teaching is a kind of transfer or shearing of Instruction or delivering particular skills or knowledge from one person to another. The person who transfers his/her knowledge is known as teacher and the one who receives it is known as student. Education is the process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, and habits. 

Education creates communication through teaching languages to create understanding and removing any disputes among nations. The national standards of education as follows, Excellent teachers, Successful school administration, Developed curriculum, Social participation, Value of loyalty and Learning sources.

OBJECTIVES OF TEACHING:

1. To modify the learner’s behavior and conduct
2. To change the attitude of learners
3. To provide opportunities for learners to develop understanding and general intellectual skills
4. To improve learning skills of learners
5. To give some experience of life
6. To develop thinking power of learners
7. Acquisition of knowledge
8. Formation of belief
9. To provide a social and efficient member to the society
10. To stimulate curiosity to learners to discover knowledge

NATURE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF TEACHING:

1. Teaching is a process that facilitate learning
2. Teaching is democratic
3. Teaching is dynamic and social process
4. Teaching is an interactive process
5. Teaching is a bipolar process
6. Teaching is both art and science
7. Teaching is measurable process
8. Teaching is both formal and informal process
9. Teaching is diagnostic and remedial process
10. Teaching is universe of learning
11. Teaching is a process of development and learning.
12. Teaching is face to face encounter
13. Teaching is observable and modifiable process
14. Teaching is both conscious and an unconscious process.
15. Teaching is from memory level to reflective level.
16. Teaching is diverse in nature
17. Teaching takes place at multiple areas without constant
18. Teaching must be planned 
19. Teaching needs effective reciprocal communication
20. Teaching is a professional activity
21. Teaching is dependent process
22. Teaching is based on democratic ideas
23. Teaching is based on co-operation between teacher and learner
24. Teaching is progressive and it produces emotional stability
25. Teaching creates self-motivation for learners
26. Teaching is a continues process and it should be strategic
27. Teaching process showing concern and respect for learners
28. Teaching provide ability to engage with learner as their level of understanding
29. Teaching encouraging independence to learner
30. Teaching ability to learn, understand and develop critical thinking abilities
31. Teaching needs planning
32. Teaching is co-operative in nature
33. Teaching essentially required emotional stability and security
34. Teaching creates positive self-concept to learners
35. Teaching gives highest quality feedback for learner’s work
36. It should be according to mental level of learners.
37. Effective teaching is cooperative and suggestive

CHARACTERISTICS OF TEACHER:

1. Good teacher should have clear instructional goals
2. Teacher must have the passion to teach and learn.
3. Teacher must consult, analyze, explore, evaluate and learn to teach.
4. Good teacher should have integration with other subject area
5. Improve the physical standard of the student is the primary duty of the teacher.
6. Teacher should have good observance of professional ethics
7. Teacher must be a good observant and listener.
8. Teachers must have positive orientation towards student’s achievements
9. Acknowledging mistakes
10. Teacher helps to solve student’s problem
11. Teacher should give regular feedback
12. Teacher must be prepared and well planned
13. Teacher should have individualized instruction
14. Teachers should resourceful and participative
15. Teacher must teach through active learning methods.
16. Teacher must develop yourself with all methods of teaching.
17. A good teacher is not a senior person
18. Teacher must have content mastery and communication competency
19. Teacher must be a self-confident, humble, kind, show self-respect, enthusiastic and cooperative.
20. Teachers should have high expectation for all learners
21. Teacher must engage your learners and have an eye-contact.
22. Make the class environment interactive and democratic.
23. Teacher motivates and allows your learners to make mistakes.
24. Teachers should give real life example while teaching.
25. Teacher must be knowledgeable, developed and well- cultured.
26. Have high expectations and provide warm environment in class.
27. Teacher must have skills of using classroom management styles.

FACTORS AFFECTING TEACHING:

1. Educational qualification of teacher
2. Communication skills of teacher
3. Subject knowledge of teacher
4. Technique of teaching methods
5. Experience of teacher
6. Class room environment
7. Socio Economic status
8. Administrative policies of management
9. Learner’s behavior
10. Teachers – Learners relationship
11. Personal and Social environment factors
12. Faculty – students ration
13. Examination stress
14. Self-confidence and personality of teacher 

LEVELS OF TEACHING:

Teaching is a process of an interaction takes place between teacher and learners. Here the main aim is to bring change in the behavior of the student. Teachers teach students at three levels. These three levels are, Memory Level of Teaching , Understanding Level of Teaching  and Reflective Level of Teaching.

Memory Level of Teaching:

Teaching at the memory level represents the first and involvement of the least thoughtful behavior. In this level thinking ability does not work any role. The role of teacher is prominent and that of the learner is secondary. The learner tries to mug up these facts with the least involvement of his thinking and reasoning power without any care of understanding of their meaning and application. 

The study material is organized and pre-planned. The teacher presents the study material in a sequential order.  The teaching material should be meaningful and purposeful. The teaching material should have a definite structure and it should be simple to complex.

The subject matter should be presented in a systematic and organized way.

Memory level teaching lacks insight. Psychologically, it is cognitive level teaching. The main objectives of memory level of teaching are Imparting knowledge and information to the learner. Knowledge or information gained by the learner is factual in nature. It is acquired through memorization or rote learning.

It is the initial stage of teaching.

Memory level of teaching based on Teacher – Centered.

Minimum level of motivation present in this memory level.

In memory level signal learning, chain learning and stimulus response learning are emphasized.

There must be continues evaluation to measure and improve the memory power of learner. And also continues reinforcement should be provided during the course of instruction.

Cognitive memory level Learning: Perception, Retention, Recall and Recognition.

Herbart is the main exponent of memory level of teaching. He described the following steps for the presenting the model of memory level of teaching as Focus, Syntax, Social System, Support System.

Understanding Level of Teaching: 

The model of understanding levels teaching was indoctrinated by Morrison. It is named as Morrison teaching model. Understanding something is to perceive the meaning, grasp the idea and comprehend the meaning.

In the field of Education and Psychology, the meaning of ‘understanding ‘can be classified as use of facts, relationship and generalized insight.

The main objectives of understanding level are acquisition of required factual information or body of facts, to see relationship between acquired facts, to identify the similarities and dissimilarities between the acquired facts and to seek generalization out of the specific facts.

The teaching at the understanding level is of a higher quality than the one at the memory level. It is more useful and thoughtful from the point of view of mental capabilities.

In the understanding level role of the teacher is more active. 

At this level, no cramming is encouraged.  The new knowledge acquired at this level is related to the earlier knowledge gained.

Both learner and teacher can participate in developing the lesson while teaching occurs at the understanding level. Both are in active mode.  In this level learners should achieve the mastery of the concept.

Reflective Level of Teaching:

Reflective level of teaching is considered to be the highest level at which teaching is carried out. This level is also known as introspective level. Reflecting on something means giving careful thought to something over a period of time. It also means thinking deeply about something.

The main objective of this level is to make use of the learned facts and acquired understanding or insight for learning reflectively, to help the learner build up an enlarged store of the tested insight s of generalized character and to enhance the learner’s ability to develop and solve problems at their own initiative.

It is highly thoughtful and useful. A learner can attain this level only after going through memory level and understanding level. Teaching at the reflective level enables the learners to solve the real problems of life.

At this level, the student is made to face a real problematic situation. The student by understanding the situation and using his critical abilities succeeds in solving the problem.

The role of the teacher in this level of teaching is democratic. He does not force knowledge on the students but develops in their talents and capabilities. The role of the learner is quite active.

Reflective level of teaching is that which is problem-centered and the student is busy in original imagination.

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT LEVELS:

Cognitive Level is the creation of thought process including remembering, problem solving and decision making from childhood through adolescence to adulthood. There are different theoretical approaches to understand learning; cognitive development and moral development are

1. Piaget Theory of cognitive development
2. Socio culture theory of learning and development
3. Kohlberg’s theory of moral development.

LEARNING:

Learning is acquiring new or modifying existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types of information. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals and some machines.  Progress over time tends to follow learning curves.  Human learning may occur as part of education, personal development, schooling, or training. It may be goal-oriented and may be aided by motivation.  Learning is a step-by-step process in which an individual experiences permanent, lasting changes in knowledge, behaviors, or ways of processing the world.  Learning occurs when we are able to gain a mental or physical grasp of the subject, make sense of a subject, event or feeling by interpreting it into our own words or actions, and use our newly acquired ability or knowledge in conjunction with skills and understanding we already possess.

Characteristics of Adult learning:

1. Adult learning is internally Motivated and self-directed.
2. Adults are goal oriented
3. Adults are relevancy oriented
4. Adults are practical minded personality
5. Adults need to be respected
6. Adults brings life experience and knowledge to learning experience
7. Adult learner uses hands-on problem-solving approach to learning
8. Adult learner based on tasks and problem centered
9. Adult learner wants to apply a new knowledge and skills immediately
10. Adult learner uses hands-on problem-solving approach to learning
11. Adult learner needs to take responsibility
12. Adult learner learns from their mistakes
13. Adult learner learns better in an informal environment
14. Adult learner has different life style
15. Adult learner prefers verity of teaching methods
16. Adult learner is internally Motivated and self-directed.
17. Adult learner like to speak, participate and contribute in the learning process

Characteristics of Adolescent learning: 

1. Adolescent Learner motivated by external.
2. Adolescent Learner use specific concrete thought
3. Adolescent Learner expects what they are learning to be useful in the future.
4. Adolescent Learner should obey for rewards and punishment
5. Adolescent Learning based on subject oriented
6. Adolescent Learning based on rote learning
7. Seeking approval of peers and others with attention-getting behaviors.
8. They Restlessness and fatigue due to hormonal changes.
9. A need for physical activity because of increased energy
10. They have an ability to be self-reflective.
11. High achievement when challenged and engaged.
12. Interest in interacting with peers during learning activities.
13. Being capable of and interested in participating in democracy
14. An understanding of the complexity of moral issues
15. Relying on parents and important adults for advice, but wanting to make their own decisions.
16. Judging others quickly, but acknowledging one’s own faults slowly.