| UGC-NET Paper 1 | Unit - I | Teaching Aptitude |

Teaching Concept, Objectives, Characteristics, 

Teaching Concept

    Teaching Concept : Teaching is a complex process that brings a socially desirable behavioral change in a person. In traditional concepts, teaching is the act of imparting instructions to the learners in the classroom situation. 

    But in modern concept, teaching is to cause the pupil to learn and acquire the desired knowledge, skills, and also desirable ways of living in society. 

    It is a process in which learner, teacher, curriculum, and other variables are organized in a systematic and psychological way to attain some pre-determined goals. 

Teaching Concept

    Teaching is a part of the teaching-learning process. It is required to bring specific changes in a person according to the need of his society and environment in which he is living. ‘Teaching is not an act as it is dynamic in nature, so it is termed as a process.” It is also not a fundamental concept as it is greatly influenced by social and human factors. 

Some Expert Views about Teaching Concept:

    Ryburn’s view: “Teaching is a relationship which keeps the child to develop all his powers.” 

    Burton’s view: “Teaching is the stimulation guidance, direction, and encouragement of learning.” 

   Smith’s view: In the words of B.O. Smith, “Teaching is a system of actions intended to produce learning.” 

Objectives of Teaching Concept

Major objectives of the teaching concept are as follows:

• To bring desired changes in pupils.
• To shape behavior and conduct.
• Acquisition of knowledge
• To improve the learning skills of students.
• Formation of belief.
• To provide a social and efficient member of society.

Nature and Characteristics of Teaching

Nature of Teaching:

Dynamic, Social, and Humane: Teaching is not a fundamental concept because it is greatly influenced by social and human factors that are dynamic in themselves. 

Both Art and Science: Teaching is both art and science. It calls for the exercise of talent and creativity making it an art and involving repertoire of techniques, procedures, and skills that can be studied systematically, described and improved making it science. 

Diverse in Application: In application, teaching is of diverse nature. It may have various forms as formal, informal, directional, instructional, formational, training, conditioning, in­doctrination, talking, showing, doing, remedial, etc. 

Characteristics of Teaching

System of actions: Teaching is a system of actions varied in form and related to content and pupil behaviour under the prevailing physical and social conditions. 

Professional activity: It is a professional activity involving a teacher and student with a view to the development of students’ personality. Professionalism helps students in being regular and making harmony with their objects towards those they are concentrated. 

Subjected to analysis and assessment: Teaching can be analysed and assessed and analysis and assessment provide feedback for further improvement. 

Interactive process: Teaching is highly dominated by communication skills. Teaching is an interactive process carried with purpose and objectives. 

Specialized Task: It is a specialized task and may be taken as a set of skills for the realization of certain objectives. 

Collection of various modes: Teaching is a collection of various modes of itself. It is a broader term. Terms like conditioning, training, instruction, indoctrination denote a kind of teaching. They are a part of teaching but not a synonym with teaching. These are various modes of teaching contributing to teaching. 

Goals of Teaching

The aims of teaching concept with respect to its various modes are as follows- 

Teaching – To bring changes in the behaviour of students. 

Conditioning – To improve the learning skills of students. 

Training – Shaping behaviour and conduct. 

Instruction – Acquisition of knowledge. 

Indoctrination – Formation of belief. 

Levels of Teaching

    We all know that teaching is a purposeful activity. Through teaching, a teacher brings a desirable change in the learners. Both the concepts of teaching and learning are interrelated to each other. The development of the all-round personality of the learner is the final goal of teaching and learning. During teaching, an interaction takes place between an experienced person (teacher) and an inexperienced one (student). Here the main aim is to bring change in the behaviour of the student. 

    Teachers teach students at three levels. They have to keep in mind about the developmental stage of the learners so that desired educational objectives can be achieved. These three levels are 

Memory level: Thoughtless teaching 

Understanding level: Thoughtful teaching 

Reflective level: Upper thoughtful level 

Hierarchy of Levechingls of Teaching

Memory Level of Teaching (MLT)

    The objective of the Memory Level of teaching is just to impart information or knowledge to the learner. This knowledge or information is factual in nature, which is acquired through a mechanical process (i.e. memorization or rote learning). 

    Memory Level of teaching covers only the knowledge-based objective of Bloom’s taxonomy where the students learn to identify, recall, or remember the objects, events, ideas, and concepts and retain them in memory. 

    Memory level teaching lacks insight. Psychologically, it is cognitive level teaching. 

Important Points of Memory Level of Teaching (MLT): 

• It is supported by Herbart Theory of Appreciation, which states that this level of teaching seeks the learner to acquaint himself with the relationship between the facts and principles. 
• It is the first stage of teaching to get factual information. 
• Useful for children in the lower classes because of their intellect is under development, and they have a rote memory. 
• MLT aims to get factual information, to train memory, to retrain the learning material in-memory storage, to reproduce and recognize the learned information when required 
• Teacher dominated methods are used- like drill, review, and revision and asking questions. 
• The evaluation system mainly includes oral, written, and essay-type examinations. 
• Good memory includes rapidity in learning, the stability of retention, rapidity in recalling, and ability to bring only desirable contents to the conscious level. 
• Memory level teaching acts as the first step for understanding and reflective levels of teaching. It is a pre-requisite for understanding level teaching. 

Merits/ Advantages Memory Level of Teaching: 

• Useful for young children 
• Useful for the acquisition of facts, information of models and structure 
• Help children learn a new concept 
• Useful for slow learners 
• The basis for understanding and reflective level of teaching. 

Demerits / Disadvantages of Memory Level of Teaching: 

• Not suitable for higher classes 
• Use of rote memory 
• Dominance of teacher 
• Little interaction in the classroom 
• No room for initiation and self-learning for the students 
• Not intrinsic motivation 
• Problem of classroom management 
• Loss of retention and recall 

Understanding Level of Teaching (ULT) 

It comes in between the memory level and reflective level. This stage of teaching involves a moderate level of thoughtful behaviour. It is a pre-requisite for the reflective level teaching-learning, which requires the use of higher mental processes. The term “understanding” literally means to comprehend, to grasp, and to have knowledge of, to learn, to interpret and to infer, etc. 

Morris, L.Bigge, in his book, ‘Learning theory for Teachers’, defines that understanding level teaching, “seeks to acquaint students with the relationships between generalizations and particulars, between principles and solitary facts, and which show- the use to which the principles may be applied.” 

Herbart mentions three forms of mental reality which play an important role in teaching-learning at the understanding level. They are sense impressions, images, and elective elements of pleasure and pain. In Herbart’s arrangements, the teacher is conceived as an architect as well as the builder of the minds of the students by manipulating ideas to construct a student’s circle of thought. 

He advocated six steps of teaching: 

• Preparation, 
• Presentation, 
• Comparison, 
• Generalization, 
• Application, and 
• Evaluation 

Morrison very clearly stated that understanding is not merely being able to recall something; it is not mere generalization deduced from specific facts; it is an insight into how it may be used in future situations. Morrison asserted that the outcome of all teaching is ‘ Mastery’ and not memorization of facts. He proposed a unit plan, each unit representing an insight which is relatively complete in itself. 

Important points: 

• Morrison is the main proponent of understanding level of teaching. 
• It is ‘memory plus insight’ as it goes beyond just memorizing facts. It focuses on the mastery of the subject. 
• It makes pupils understand generalizations, principles, and facts. 
• It provides more and more opportunities for the students to develop ‘intellectual behaviour’. 
• It provides an active role for both the pupil and the teacher for the assimilation of facts. 6. The evaluation system mainly includes both essay and objective-type questions. 

Merits/ advantages of Understating level of Teaching (ULT): 

• Effective learning 
• Development of different cognition abilities 
• Sets stages for entering into the Reflective Level of Teaching 
• Effective classroom interaction 

Demerits or disadvantages of Understanding Level of Teaching (ULT): 

Ignores higher cognitive abilities 

Less emphasis on intrinsic motivation 

No individualized learning 

Teacher centred 

Reflective Level of Teaching (RLT) 

This Level of teaching is the highest level of teaching-learning activity. It is the stage of learning when students do not merely repeat and revise or answer the questions as asked for; nor do they only understand, learn, interrelate or interpret the concepts but also they ponder upon, contemplate and pay serious thoughtful consideration to the presented contents. 

The main objectives of Reflective Level of Teaching are: 

1. To develop insight into the learner to solve problems. 
2. To develop rational and critical thinking in the students. 
3. To develop the ability of independent thinking and decision making in the students. 

Important Points: 

• Hunt is the main proponent of reflective level of teaching. 
• It is the highest level of teaching and includes both ULT and MLT. 
• It is problem-centric approach of teaching. 
• The students are assumed to adopt some sort of research approach to solve the problem. 
• Classroom environment is to be sufficiently ‘open and independent’. The learners are self-motivated (intrinsic) and active. 
• The aim is to develop the reflective power of learners so that they can solve problems of their lives by reasoning, logic, and imagination, and lead successful and happy lives. 
• The pupil occupies the primary place and teacher assumes the secondary place. 
• The essay-type test is used for evaluation. Attitude, belief, and involvement are also evaluated. 

Merits or Advantages of Reflective Level of Teaching (RLT): 

• It is the most thoughtful mode of operation. 
• Learner-centred approach 
• Development of problem-solving ability 
• Useful for gifted children. 
• Provides maximum flexibility 
• Self-motivation 
• Development of creativity 

Demerits of Reflective Level of Teaching: 

• It is not suitable for lower classes 
• It is a time-consuming process. 
• It is not applicable for dull students. 
• There is an excess burden to the teacher. 

Requirements of Teaching 

The teaching process involves the following variables:

1. Dependent Variable: 

The student is a dependent variable. He is subjected to changes and developments through the efforts of the teacher and teaching process. In the process of teaching, the dependent variable plays the functional or active part. 

2. Independent Variable: 

The teacher is an independent variable. He is responsible for the functioning of students, the dependent variables. He is free to act in the process while students are quite dependent on him. The teacher does plans, organizes, leads and controls the process of teaching. Like dependent variables, independent variables also play the functional or active part. 

3. Intervening Variables 

There is a need for desirable interaction between the dependent and the independent variable to achieve the goals of teaching. This role is played by the intervening variables. The content of teaching, methods and techniques, tactics and strategies management of instructional material and teaching environments, etc., are the Intervening Variables. 

Basic requirements of teaching are:

• All three variables of teaching
• Professionalism
• Suitable environment
• Teacher-student relationship
• Student’s discipline
• Teacher’s devotion to teaching, and also, on the other hand, student’s devotion to learning. 

Learners Characteristics | Individual Differences 

Learners Characteristics: Learning is a key concept in human behaviour. It is the axiom of all teaching and learning. It includes everything the learner does and thinks. It influences the acquisition of information, attitudes and beliefs, goals, achievements and failures, behaviour, both adaptive and maladaptive, and even personality traits.

Learning has been defined as a relatively permanent change in behaviour that occurs as a result of experience and practice. Any good definition of learning should have three elements:

1. Learning is a change in behaviour;
2. This change takes place through experience or practice. Changes due to growth, maturation and inquiry cannot be considered as learning
3. The occurred change must be relatively permanent, i.e. the learned response must last for a fairly long time.

Definition of Learning

Various psychologists and educationists have defined the concept of learning. Following are some of the definitions given by them:

Learning as a Process

Hilgard an exponent in the field of learning says, “Learning is the process by which an activity originates or is changed through training procedures.”

Bernard takes learning as a process by which an organism satisfying the motivation adopts or adjusts to situations in which it must modify its behaviour in order to overcome obstacles and barriers.

Learning as a Change in Performance

McGeoch– a renowned comparative psychologist says, “Learning as we measure it is a change in performance as a function of practice.”

Walker, E.L. (1976) considers “Learning as a relatively permanent change in performance that occurs as a result of experience, and is not attributable to maturation, fatigue or motivation.

Learning as Acquisition and Retention

Crow and Crow opine “Learning involves the acquisition of habits, knowledge and attitudes. Skinner also includes learning as both acquisition and retention.

Characteristics of Learning

If we analyse the different definitions and interpretations of learning, the process and products of learning and different factors of learning, we can form some idea about the nature of learning. To sum up, learning has the following characteristics:

1. Learning is the modification of Behavior
2. Learning is Purposive: – McDougall stresses the purposeful nature of learning. In other words, learning is a goal-directed
3. Learning is a Continuous Process
4. Learning is a Universal Phenomenon: – Learning takes place everywhere by all organisms in all cultures. It is an activity that is taken up by all the living
5. Learning is Progressive and Developmental
6. Learning is Transferable: – Transfer in learning is feasible. Material, things and subject matter learned in one situation may facilitate or inhibit learning in the other situation
7. Learning includes all the three aspects of Human Behaviour

Types of Learning

We can classify learning in a dozen ways from general to the specific. Making general distinctions, psychologists have divided learning categories:

A. Conditioning: Generally speaking, the individual has to learn about the stimulus or the response/group of responses. If we learn something about a stimulus, it is perceptual learning. But when we learn to make a particular response or a group of responses, it is called response learning. Response learning could be single or multiple-response learning.

    When an individual learns a single response associated with a specific stimulus or a stimulus situation, it is conditioning. Conditioning, where; using the sequence of pairing a conditional stimulus (CS) with an unconditioned stimulus (US), a conditioned response (CR) is learned. In this way, a number of conditional responses can be learned.

    This type of conditioning occurs in human as well as animal subject, single-response learning can be subdivided into classical conditioning, operant learning, and aversive conditioning.

B. Motor Learning: It is also labelled as psychomotor learning or skill learning. This includes all kinds of things, people learn to do, such as eating with a spoon or fork, swimming, typewriting, drives a car etc. Learning of such skills depends upon maturity, sensory-motor coordination and integration of the responses related to the intended skill learned at initial preliminary stages.

C. Discrimination Learning: We see that animal and human beings discriminate between a number of things in daily life. The general feature of this type of learning is that the subject has to differentiate between the two stimuli which occur to him simultaneously or in close succession and one or the other is frequently rewarded or punished. Differentiation between mother and a stranger, a dog and a doll, a taste of learning. Three important situations of discrimination learning are probability learning, incidental learning and reversal learning.

D. Verbal learning: It is the most important kind of learning for human beings because it involves words and formal education situations, and even the most informal learning in older children and adults occur by the verbal route. It also provides an important link between elementary nonverbal learning processes on one hand and learning of language and thought on the other.

E. Concept Learning: It is more specifically meant for human subjects. Learning a concept is learning to react to some common property/properties in a group of objects. In children, concept learning starts at a very young age. At a very early stage, they try to learn about various stimuli of the environment and attach verbal labels for them, such as a house, wood, fruit, man, girl etc.

    Once the concepts are learned, they are manipulated in language and thinking. At a higher stage of learning, power of thinking and judgment is developed, and the individual becomes capable of solving the problem in his own way.

F. Problem –Solving: This is the highest level of learning. In problem-solving learning, a problem is given to the organism, which discovers some of its relationship with its environment by some sort of manipulation. In fact, problem-solving in human beings and higher animals like chimpanzees is certainly more than operant conditioning.

    Human beings very occasionally in solving their problems by more trial and error method. They make use of prior verbal learning; they evaluate the whole situation, employ verbal reasoning, and sometimes also use trial and error activity, and ultimately some solution to the problem is found out. Gestalt Psychologists have made a series of experiments in this direction.

Learners Characteristics

    The concept of learners characteristics is used in the sciences of learning and cognition to designate a target group of learners and define those aspects of their persona, academic, social or cognitive self that may influence how and what they learn.

    Learners characteristics are important for an instructional designer as they allow them to design and create tailored instruction for a target group. It is expected by taking account of characteristics of earners, more efficient, effective, and/or motivating instructional materials can be designed and developed.

Learners characteristics can be:

• Personal,
• Academic,
• Social and emotional, and
• Cognitive

Personal characteristics often relate to demographic information such as age, gender, maturation, language, social-economic cultural background and specific needs of a leader group such a particular skills and disabilities for and/or impairments to learning.

Academic characteristics are more education and/or learning-related such as learning goals of an individual or a group, prior knowledge, educational type, and educational level.

Social and emotional characteristics related to the group or individual with respect to the group. Ex. of social/emotional characteristics are group structure, place of the individual within group, sociability, self-image, feelings of self-efficiency and mode etc.

Cognitive characteristics relate to such things as attention span, memory, mental procedures, and intellectual skills which determine how the learner perceives, remembers thinks, solves problems, organizes and represents information in her/his brain.

Characteristics of Adolescent Learners

    The characteristics of Adolescent learners can be explained in the following factors:

Physical Development:

• Restlessness and fatigue due to hormonal changes.
• A need for physical activity because of increased energy.
• Developing sexual awareness, and often touching and bumping into others.
• A concern with changes in body size and shape.
• Physical vulnerability resulting from poor health/dietary habits or engaging in risky behaviours.
• Bodily changes that may cause awkward, uncoordinated movements.

Intellectual (Academic) Development:

• Moving from concrete to abstract thinking.
• An intense curiosity and a wide range of intellectual pursuit, few of which are sustained over the long term.
• High achievement when challenged and engaged.
• Prefers active over passive learning experiences.
• Interest in interacting with peers during learning activities.
• An ability to be self-reflective.
• Demand the relevance in learning and what is being taught.
• Developing the capacity to understand higher levels of humour, some of which may be misunderstood by adults to be sarcastic or even aggressive

Social Development:

• Experimenting with ways of talking and acting as part of searching for a social position with peers.
• Exploring questions of racial and ethnic identity and seeking peers who share the same background.
• Exploring questions of sexual identity in visible or invisible ways.
• Feeling intimidated or frightened by the initial middle school experience.
• Liking fads and being interested in popular culture.
• Overreacting to ridicule, embarrassment, and rejection.
• Seeking approval of peers and others with attention-getting behaviours.
• As interpersonal skills are being developed, fluctuates between demand for independence and a desire for guidance and direction.

Emotional and Psychological Development:

• Mood swings marked by peaks of intensity and by unpredictability.
• Needing to release energy, with sudden outbursts of activity.
• A desire to become independent and to search for adult identity and acceptance.
• Self-consciousness and being sensitive to personal criticism.
• Concern about physical growth and maturity.
• A belief that their personal problems, feelings, and experiences are unique to themselves.
• Overreacting to ridicule, embarrassment, and rejection.
• Seeking approval of peers and others with attention-getting behaviours.

Moral Development:

• An understanding of the complexity of moral issues (question values, cultural expressions, and religious teachings).
• Being capable of and interested in participating in democracy.
• Impatience with the pace of change and underestimating how difficult it is to make social changes.
• Needing and being influenced by adult role models who will listen and be trustworthy.
• Relying on parents and important adults for advice but wanting to make their own decisions.
• Judging others quickly but acknowledging one’s own faults slowly.
• Show compassion and are vocal for those who are downtrodden or suffering and have a special concern for animals and environmental issues.

Characteristics of Adult Learners

• Problem-cantered; seek educational solutions.
• Results-oriented; have specific results in mind for education.
• Self-directed; typically, not dependent on others for direction.
• Often sceptical about new information; prefer to try it out before accepting it.
• Seek education that relates or applies directly to their perceived needs, that is timely and appropriate for their current lives.
• Accept responsibility for their own learning if learning is perceived as timely and appropriate.

Individual Differences

    Individual differences are found in all psychological characteristics physical mental abilities, knowledge, habit, personality and character traits.

    The psychology of individual differences is largely the study of group differences. This study classifies individuals by age, traits, sex, race, social class, and so on, and observes the differences within and between those groups. Physical, mental, social and cultural differences, etc. are being studied, under individual differences.” – John P.De Ceeceo

    According to Skinner, “Today we think of individual differences as including any measurable aspect of the total personality.” It is clear from this definition of individual differences that it comprehends every aspect of human personality which is in some manner measurable.

    With respect to learner characteristics, there are often large differences between the characteristics of different learners and groups of learners such as children, students, professionals, adults, older people and disabled persons. This group differs in their motivation, prior knowledge, expertise level, study time, and physical abilities, etc.

Individual differences can be categorized on the following factors:

1. Physical Appearance
2. Intelligence
3. Attitudes
4. Achievement: It has been found through achievement tests that individuals differ in their achievement abilities. These differences are very much visible in reading, writing, and learning mathematics.
5. Motor ability
6. Sex
7. Racial differences
8. Economic status
9. Interests
10. Emotion
11. Personality

Factors Affecting Teaching | Teacher | Learner | Institution

Factors Affecting Teaching
    The awareness about the factors affecting teaching would help the teacher to make teaching and learning more effective.

Factor Affecting Teaching

1. The factors can be categorised on the following basis:
2. Factors affecting teaching related to Teacher
3. Factors affecting teaching related to Learner
4. Factors affecting teaching related to Support Material
5. Factors affecting teaching related to Instructional Facilities
6. Factors affecting teaching related to Learning Environment
7. Factors affecting teaching related to Institution

1.Factors Affecting Teaching related to Teacher

If the learner stands on one end of the ongoing teaching-learning process as one of the poles then the teacher act as the other pole for the desired one of the teaching-learning activities in the classroom. Hence, factors related to teacher play a significant role in the process of teaching.

The following are the factors affecting teaching related to the teacher in the teaching-learning process:

Subject Knowledge: There is a saying that a teacher is only as good as what they know. If a teacher lacks knowledge in a subject, that dearth of understanding is passed along to the students. A teacher who knows his subjects well can only play a decisive role in leading the journey of the teaching-learning process.

Knowledge of learners: This is a broad category that incorporates knowledge of the cognitive, social and emotional development of learners. It includes an understanding of how students learn at a given developmental level; how learning in a specific subject area typically progresses like learning progressions or trajectories; the awareness that learners have individual needs and abilities; and an understanding that instruction should be tailored to meet each learner’s needs.

Teaching Skills: A teacher may know his subject well but for sharing, communicating and interacting various experience related to the learning of the subject, he needs specific teaching skills. The proficiency and deficiency possessed by a teacher in this regard are quite responsible for turning the teacher learning process a big success or failure.

Friendliness and Approachability: Because it’s the teacher’s job to help students learn, they must be easy to approach. Students will have questions that can’t be answered if the teacher isn’t friendly and easy to talk to. The unapproachable, mean, arrogant, rude, teacher can’t last long. If the students think of their teacher as their enemy, they certainly won’t learn much. The best teachers are the most open, welcoming, and easy to approach. A good teacher possesses good listening skills and takes time out of their busy schedule to solve all kinds of problems for their students.

Personality and behaviour: A teacher as a leader has to lead his students in the teaching-learning process through the magnetic influence and incredible impression left on the minds of the students on the basis of his personality traits and behaviour. He is a role model for his students. His actions, behaviour pattern and personality traits carry great meaning to his students for being imitated and brought into practice.

Level of Adjustment and Mental health: How adjusted a teacher feels in his personal and professional life and the state and level of mental health maintained by the teacher carry much weight in influencing his teacher behaviour and teacher effectiveness needed for the effective control and management of the teaching, learning process. While a teacher possessing poor mental health and lack of adjustment in his personal and professional life may prove totally failure in the realization of teaching-learning objective, a teacher possessing good mental health and adjustment may prove an ideal image to his students and boon to the effectiveness of the teaching-learning process.

Discipline: In a classroom, a teacher uses discipline to ensure routine is maintained, school rules are enforced, and the students are in a safe learning environment. A great teacher has effective discipline skills and can promote positive behaviours and change in the classroom. Without discipline, learning cannot be accomplished.

2. Factors Affecting Teaching related to the Learner

Both physiological and psychological factors of the learner affect learning outcomes. These can discuss as follow:
Maturation: – Maturation is the process of development of bodily systems and co-ordination in the functioning of bodily organs and It is the physical readiness of the individual for learning. Maturation governs not only certain specific motor behaviour such as walking and talking etc., it also plays an essential role in acquiring other skills such as reading and writing. This readiness or potentially within the individual determines “what to learn” and ‘how to learn’.

Age: – Mental abilities and potentialities develop with age, so learning efficiency increases with age up to a certain level, and after that, it tends to decrease. As children are in growing and developing age, their capacity to learn and acquire new things is greater as compared to that of the older individuals. Grown-up children have grater potential to learn than very young children.

Motivation: – Motivation is the core of learning. It is of pivotal importance in affecting an individual’s persistence to learn. Motivation is important in at least three ways; 

    (i) It is a condition for eliciting behaviour. In other words, it brings out appropriate behaviour to be learned, 

    (ii) Motivation is necessary for reinforcement, which, in turn, is an essential condition for learning, i.e. motivation permits reinforcement to occur, and 

    (iii) It increases the variability of behaviour and thus raising the probability of occurrence of correct responses. For example, curiosity and exploratory drive bring the individual into wider contact with the environment which increases the possibility of performing correct behaviour/response. Thus, motivation provides a powerful incentive for the learner to perform.

Previous learning: –Rate of learning is partially determined by the learner’s previous learning experiences with similar or somewhat similar material. In the same or somewhat similar learned previous situation, the individual might have “learned how to learn,” it at least prepares the ground to learn and provides ease in learning in the new set-up. So, the factor or relevant previous learning is of great

Intelligence: – Intelligence, innate mental ability is basic to the cognitive development of an individual. There is individual difference in the intellectual ability of learners. Intelligence, in terms of I.Q. score obtained on intelligence tests, is positively related to learning. Generally, children with higher I.Q. learn new material more rapidly as compared to the average I.Q. children. However, learning is not always linearly related to I.Q. One point of caution is that intelligence cannot be defined solely in terms of learning ability or the learned material by the learner.

Mental health: – Good mental health in terms of the absence of anxiety, conflict, worry, and frustration, etc. provides the learner with a good ground to learn better. All learning, especially for the beginners, entails a certain amount of anxiety, but anxiety above certain limits hampers learning and the outcomes in terms of the learned material decreases. Thus, the teacher should take care that children must not be put in such an emotional state as may prove a hindrance in learning.

Physical handicaps and dysfunctioning: –Malformation and malfunctioning of physical organs or some system cause great hindrance in children’s proper learning. Defects in vision, hearing, and other diseases such as epilepsy, paralysis, cardiac problems, etc. affect learning. Needless to say that poor vision, hearing defects, and physical handicaps have far-reaching psychological consequences in learning.

Diet and nutrition: – Good diet and other nutrients are an essential part of good physical health. These are essential for developing children and for better learning. For example, 90% of the glucose taken by a person is consumed by brain cells, so naturally, poor diet lacking adequate nutrients has an adverse effect on learning.

Attention and interest: –Both are interrelated to each other and are also a part of the motivation. Interest originates attention, and attention creates interest in the material/subject to be learned. If a child has an interest in some subject, he will pay more attention to that; and if he pays more attention, he may develop an interest in the learning of that subject.

Goal-setting and level of aspiration: – Goal-setting and level of aspiration both related to the psychodynamics of behaviour. Goal set, high or low, by the individual, goes with the expectation of the individual to achieve. Teachers should take care that learners make a realistic view of their abilities, set the goal accordingly, and go on increasing it on its achievement.

3. Factors Affecting Teaching related to the Subject-Matters

Educationists and psychologists set the syllabi according to the physical and mental development of children; even then, the important material related factors influencing learning can be discussed as follows:

The difficulty of the task: the material to be learned should be of appropriate difficulty level. Whereas a very easy task fails to challenge children, a very difficult task disappoints them and results in a slow rate of acquisition. The same task varies in difficulty for children of different developmental levels or capacity and previous experiences.

Length of the task: A lengthy material poses a big problem for young learners. The longer a material the more difficult it would be to learn. The difficulty task should also be presented in small parts.

Meaningfulness of the task: – Learning outcomes are associated with the meaningfulness of the learning material. Rapid learning occurs when children have to learn something. So, the kind of material to be learned makes a considerable difference in the rate of learning. Some tasks are hard, others are easy. The tasks that have some meaning make learning easier.

The similarity of the task: – Tasks which have some elements similar to the previously learned material make learning quick and comfortable. As in life, it is equally applicable in teaching-learning situations.

Organised Material: – The subject-matter should be logically organized so that we have better outcomes. The organization of learning material should be from simple to difficult, from concrete to abstract and from direct to indirect keeping in view the physical and mental development of learners, otherwise much of teacher’s efforts and learner’s energy will be wasted.

Life learning: The task to be learned must be presented in an interrelated manner. No subject-matter should be taught in an isolated way. Most of the material from different subjects can be taught keeping in view their interrelationship. If some part of the subject- matter is related to life while teaching, its effectiveness increases, and forgetting, in that case, is minimized.

4. & 5. Factors Related to Methods of Teaching (Instructional Facilities) and Environment

    Knowledge of methods of teaching is very essential for effective learning. For better outcomes, teachers should use the appropriate methods of teaching considering chronological age and mental development of children. However, a summary of the generally used methods is presented below:

Distribution of practice: – It is also called a method of masses V/s spaced practice. Learning depends upon the rate at which the individual practices with the task. Short periods of practice inters read with a period of rest permit more efficient learning than does continuous or masses practice.

Whole V/s part learning: – One important question is whether the material should be learned as a whole or in One may go over the whole learning material several times or take one part at a time and learn it in the piecemeal method.

Recitation: – One way to secure the active participation of the learners in teaching-learning is to use the recitation method. After learning certain material once, the learner recites and tries to recall it loudly.

Knowledge of result: – the learner goes on improving his performance if he is given information about the correctness of his responses or his progress in learning at each stage of mastery. The learner can sustain his efforts, if, during the course of learning, he may periodically know how well he has done or how far he is away from the target. Knowledge of result aids learning by being an incentive. Some information about his accomplishment helps in maintaining his interest and motivation in learning.

Learning by doing: –Participation of the learner is of central significance. So, the students should be encouraged to learn things by doing. It will bring more of their involvement in the task. They would take more interest in learning that task and pay more attention to it. Therefore, the teacher should devise means and ways to ensure active participation of the students.

Suitability of Method: – Methods of teaching adopted by the teacher and environmental factors affecting learning are many and varied. These can be elaborated to any extent. Learning is affected by the suitability of methods of teaching like; Discussion method, Demonstration method, Lecture method, Project method, Heuristic method, Programmed learning method, Plat-way method, Story-telling method, Field-work, excursion and trips.

Teacher and Environments related Factors: – These factors also play an important role in the effectiveness of teaching-learning outcomes. Physical environment, social environment, classroom culture, curricula, time table; and fatigue and rest very important for providing a conducive environment to learn.

Factors affecting Teaching related to Institution

    The teaching-learning process depends on many factors and they are interdependent to each other. Institutions is one of the factors that directly affect teaching.

    The following factors can be summarised as Factors affecting Teaching related to Institution:

1. Teacher -Student ratio
2. Quality of Teachers and Their Commitments
3. Infrastructure
4. Adopted teaching Methods
5. Management
6. Institutional Achievements
7. Stability
8. Environment
9. Physical and Material Resources.

Evaluation Systems | Meaning, Types and Elements |

Evaluation Systems: Evaluation is a process through which we can get an exact idea of what students actually achieve from their teaching-learning experiences.

UGC defined as:

"Evaluation is the process of making judgments based on

 evidences and interpretations gathered through examination 

and assessment and on the basis of agreed upon criteria."

Assessment: It is the process of collecting, recording, scoring, describing, and interpreting information about learning.

Examination: it is a quantitative measure of learners’ performance and is usually held at the end of the academic session or semester.

According to Tuckman: “Evaluation is a process wherein the parts, process or outcomes of the programme are examined to see whether they are satisfactory, particularly with reference to the programs stated objectives of our own standards of excellence.”

According to Moffatt: “Evaluation is a continuous process and is concerned with more than the formal academic achievement of the students. It is interested in the development of the individual in terms of the desirable behavioural changes in relation to his feelings and actions.”

Characteristics of Evaluation Systems in Education

Continuous process: Evaluation is a continuous process. It leads together with Teaching-learning process.
Comprehensive: Evaluation is comprehensive as it includes everything can be evaluated.
Learners-Centered: Evaluation is a learner-centered process which gives importance to the learning process, not to the teaching process.
Remedial: Evaluation comments on the result which helps in remedial work it is not a remedy Evaluation is remedial in nature.
Cooperative process: Evaluation is a cooperative process involving students, teachers, parents, and peer-groups.
Teaching Methods: Effectiveness of teaching methods is evaluation.
Common practice: Evaluation is a common practice among the proper growth of the child mentally and physically.
Multiple Aspects: it is concerned with the total personality of students.

Elements of Evaluation Systems

    Five essential elements of evaluation systems:

        (1) Audience,
        (2) Purpose,
        (3) Questions

        (4) Scope, and
        (5) Resources

To determine these elements, the following questions should be considered:

1. For what audience is the evaluation being conducted?
2. For what purpose is the evaluation being conducted?
3. What questions will be asked in the evaluation?
4. What is the scope of the evaluation?
5. What resources are available to conduct the evaluation?

Process of Evaluation Systems

The process of evaluation for teaching-learning system comprises of four major steps. The stages are the following:

• Setting Objectives and Criteria
• Development and Use of Measurement instruments
• Interpretation of Collected Data
• Formulation of Judgments and taking of appropriate Action

Types of Evaluation Systems

In the various form of instruction, evaluation is integrated. There are four types of evaluation systems are Placement, Formative, Diagnostic, and Summative.

Placement evaluation: It determines the knowledge and skills the students possess, which are necessary at the beginning of instruction in a given subject area. The purpose of placement evaluation is to check the aptitude of a candidate for the course or subject, whether the candidate has caliber or not. Various entrance exams can also be conducted for the same purpose. This is also done to see the knowledge base of students, and a teacher can start discussion keeping that in view.

Formative evaluation: A formative evaluation (also referred to as internal evaluation) is a method for judging the worth of a program while the program activities are in progress. It focuses on the process. This evaluation provides the student with feedback regarding his or her success or failure in attaining the instructional objectives. It also identifies the specific learning error that needs to be corrected.

    For instance, a student learns and scores high on the objective part of the test but fails in the essay part; he is reinforced to exert more effort in answering essay questions in the succeeding tests. For a teacher, formative evaluation provides information for making instructions and remedies more effective. Quizzes, unit tests, and chapter tests are examples of evaluative instruments used in this type of evaluation.

Diagnostic evaluation: The formative evaluation determines the extent to which students accomplish the learning targets; therefore, it focuses on the measurement of the intended outcomes. The diagnostic evaluation goes a step further and tries to provide an explanation for the possible causes of problems in learning. Diagnostic tests are, thus, more comprehensive and detailed.


Summative evaluation (external evaluation): Summative evaluation is a method of judging the worth of a program at the end of the program activities (summation). The focus is on the outcome. It determines the extent to which objectives of instruction have been achieved and is used for assigning course grades. Summative evaluation generally includes oral reports, projects, term papers, and teacher-made achievement tests, and it shows how good or how satisfactory the student is in accomplishing the objectives of instruction.

Link for Evaluation Systems

                                        1. Click, 2. Click and 3. Click

Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) in Higher Education

Choice Based Credit System: The CBCS provides an opportunity for the students to choose courses from the prescribed courses comprising core, elective/minor or skill-based courses. The courses can be evaluated following the grading system, which is considered to be better than the conventional marks system.

Therefore, it is necessary to introduce a uniform grading system in the entire higher education in India. This will benefit the students to move across institutions within India, to begin with, and across countries.

Choice Based Credit System

    The uniform grading system will also enable potential employers to assess the performance of the candidates. In order to bring uniformity in the evaluation system and computation of the Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) based on student’s performance in examinations, the UGC has formulated the guidelines to be followed.

Advantages of the Choice Based Credit System

    The advantage of Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) are followings:

• Shift in focus from the teacher-centric to student-centric education.
• Student may undertake as many credits as they can cope with (without repeating all courses in a given semester if they fail in one/more courses).
• CBCS allows students to choose inter-disciplinary, intra-disciplinary courses, skill-oriented papers (even from other disciplines according to their learning needs, interests and aptitude) and more flexibility for students).
• CBCS makes education broad-based and at par with global standards. One can take credits by combining unique combinations. For example, Physics with Economics, Microbiology with Chemistry or Environment Science etc.
• CBCS offers flexibility for students to study at different times and at different institutions to complete one course (ease mobility of students). Credits earned at one institution can be transferred.

Disadvantages:

1. Difficult to estimate the exact marks
2. Workload of teachers may fluctuate
3. Demand good infrastructure for dissemination of education

Applicability of the Grading System

These guidelines shall apply to all undergraduate and postgraduate level degree, diploma and certificate programmes under the credit system awarded by the Central, State and Deemed to be universities in India.

Semester System and Choice Based Credit System

The Indian Higher Education Institutions have been moving from the conventional annual system to semester system. Currently, many of the institutions have already introduced the choice based credit system. The semester system accelerates the teaching-learning process and enables vertical and horizontal mobility in learning.

The credit based semester system provides flexibility in designing curriculum and assigning credits based on the course content and hours of teaching. The choice based credit system provides a ‘cafeteria’ type approach in which the students can take courses of their choice, learn at their own pace, undergo additional courses and acquire more than the required credits, and adopt an interdisciplinary approach to learning, It is desirable that the HEIs move to CBCS and implement the grading system.

Types of Courses

Courses in a programme may be of three kinds: Core, Elective and Foundation.

1. Core Course: There may be a Core Course in every semester. This is the course which is to be compulsorily studied by a student as a core requirement to complete the requirement of a programme in a said discipline of study.

2. Elective Course: Elective course is a course which can be chosen from a pool of papers. It may be:

• Supportive to the discipline of study
• Providing an expanded scope
• Enabling an exposure to some other discipline/domain
• Nurturing student’s proficiency/skill.

An elective may be “Generic Elective” focusing on those courses which add generic proficiency to the students. An elective may be “Discipline centric” or may be chosen from an unrelated discipline. It may be called an “Open Elective.”


3. Foundation Course: The Foundation Courses may be of two kinds: Compulsory Foundation and Elective foundation. “Compulsory Foundation” courses are the courses based upon the content that leads to Knowledge enhancement. They are mandatory for all disciplines. Elective Foundation courses are value-based and are aimed at man-making education.
Examination and Assessment

    The Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) are currently following various methods for examination and assessment suitable for the courses and programmes as approved by their respective statutory bodies. In assessing the performance of the students in examinations, the usual approach is to award marks based on the examinations conducted at various stages (sessional, mid-term, end-semester etc.,) in a semester.

    Some of the HEIs convert these marks to letter grades based on absolute or relative grading system and award the grades. There is a marked variation across the colleges and universities in the number of grades, grade points, letter grades used, which creates difficulties in comparing students across the institutions. The UGC recommends the following system to be implemented in awarding the grades and CGPA under the credit based semester system.

Letter Grades and Grade Points

A. Two methods -relative grading or absolute grading– have been in vogue for awarding grades in a course. The relative grading is based on the distribution (usually normal distribution) of marks obtained by all the students of the course and the grades are awarded based on a cut-off marks or percentile. Under the absolute grading, the marks are converted to grades based on pre-determined class intervals. To implement the following grading system, the colleges and universities can use any one of the above methods.

B. The UGC recommends a 10-point grading system with the following letter grades as given below:

Grades and Grade Points

Letter Grade	Grade Point
O (Outstanding)	10
A+(Excellent)	9
A (Very Good)	8
B+(Good)	7
B(Above Average)	6
C(Average)	5
P (Pass)	4
F(Fail)	0
Ab (Absent)	0

C. A student obtaining Grade F shall be considered failed and will be required to reappear in the examination.

D. For non-credit courses ‘Satisfactory’ or “Unsatisfactory’ shall be indicated instead of the letter grade and this will not be counted for the computation of SGPA/CGPA.

E. The Universities can decide on the grade or percentage of marks required to pass in a course and also the CGPA required to qualify for a degree taking into consideration the recommendations of the statutory professional councils such as AICTE, MCI, BCI, NCTE etc.,

F. The statutory requirement for eligibility to enter as assistant professor in colleges and universities in the disciplines of arts, science, commerce etc., is a minimum average mark of 50% and 55% in relevant postgraduate degree respectively for reserved and general category.

Hence, it is recommended that the cut-off marks for grade B shall not be less than 50% and for grade B+, it should not be less than 55% under the absolute grading system. Similarly cut-off marks shall be fixed for grade B and B+ based on the recommendation of the statutory bodies (AICTE, NCTE etc.,) of the relevant disciplines.

Fairness in Assessment

    Assessment is an integral part of system of education as it is instrumental in identifying and certifying the academic standards accomplished by a student and projecting them far and wide as an objective and impartial indicator of a student’s performance.

    Thus, it becomes bounden duty of a University to ensure that it is carried out in fair manner. In this regard, UGC recommends the following system of checks and balances which would enable Universities effectively and fairly carry out the process of assessment and examination.

    (i) In case of at least 50% of core courses offered in different programmes across the disciplines, the assessment of the theoretical component towards the end of the semester should be undertaken by external examiners from outside the university conducting examination, who may be appointed by the competent authority. In such courses, the question papers will be set as well as assessed by external examiners.

    (ii) In case of the assessment of practical component of such core courses, the team of examiners should be constituted on 50 – 50 % basis. i.e. half of the examiners in the team should be invited from outside the university conducting examination.

    (iii) In case of the assessment of project reports / thesis / dissertation etc. the work should be undertaken by internal as well as external examiners.
Key Words under CBCS:

Academic Year: Two consecutive (one odd + one even) semesters constitute one academic year.

Choice Based Credit System (CBCS): The CBCS provides choice for students to select from the prescribed courses (core, elective or minor or soft skill courses).

Course: Usually referred to, as ‘papers’ is a component of a programme. All courses need not carry the same weight. The courses should define learning objectives and learning outcomes. A course may be designed to comprise lectures/ tutorials/laboratory work/ field work/ outreach activities/ project work/ vocational training/viva/ seminars/ term papers/assignments/ presentations/ self-study etc. or a combination of some of these.

Credit Based Semester System (CBSS): Under the CBSS, the requirement for awarding a degree or diploma or certificate is prescribed in terms of number of credits to be completed by the students.

Credit Point: It is the product of grade point and number of credits for a course.

Credit: A unit by which the course work is measured. It determines the number of hours of instructions required per week. One credit is equivalent to one hour of teaching (lecture or tutorial) or two hours of practical work/field work per week.


Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA): It is a measure of overall cumulative performance of a student over all semesters. The CGPA is the ratio of total credit points secured by a student in various courses in all semesters and the sum of the total credits of all courses in all the semesters. It is expressed up to two decimal places.

Grade Point: It is a numerical weight allotted to each letter grade on a 10-point scale.

Letter Grade: It is an index of the performance of students in a said course. Grades are denoted by letters O, A+, A, B+, B, C, P and F.

Programme: An educational program leading to the award of a degree, diploma, or certificate.

Semester Grade Point Average (SGPA): It is a measure of performance of work done in a semester. It is ratio of total credit points secured by a student in various courses registered in a semester and the total course credits taken during that semester. It shall be expressed up to two decimal places.

Semester: Each semester will consist of 15-18 weeks of academic work equivalent to 90 actual teaching days. The odd semester may be scheduled from July to December and even semester from January to June.

Transcript or Grade Card or Certificate: Based on the grades earned, a grade certificate shall be issued to all the registered students after every semester. The grade certificate will display the course details (code, title, number of credits, grade secured) along with SGPA of that semester and CGPA earned till that semester.

CBSC UNDER CHOICE BASED CREDIT SYSTEM official document: click 

Computer Based Test (CBT) in Higher Education

Computer Based Testing

Computer Based Test (CBT) simply refers to tests and assessments conducted through the use of the organised systems on computers. Computer Based tests have the ability to automate a very time-consuming task, marking, and monitoring progress. Computer Based test as a test that can be used in a supervised or non-supervised environment and can allow students to check their own progress through self-assessment. It can also be used for testing lower-order skills (such as knowledge, understanding and application); it can also be used for testing higher-order skills to improve the students’ analysis, synthesis and evaluation skills with more complex application software.

Computer Based Test (CBT) in Higher Education

Computer Based test has a range of activities which include the delivery, marking, and analysis of all or part of the student assessment process using computer technologies. Some key reasons for using computer based test are to increase the frequency of assessment, motivating students to learn and encouraging skills practice, to broaden the range of knowledge assessed. It also increases feedback to students and lecturers and extends the range of assessment methods. Increase in objectivity, consistency and reduction in marking loads of script and other cases resulting in administrative efficiency.

The use of CBT for entrance examinations in education, military training, and certification examinations by professional groups and promotional examinations in various stages and categories of life cannot be overstressed in this century. Computer-based tests as a way to increasingly provide a quick method of marking summative assessments for large groups of students.

Advantages of Computer Based Test (CBT)

CBT system is not an alternative method for conducting examinations but represents an important qualitative shift away from traditional methods of testing students through “objective” type as popularly called. Advantages available in computer based test does not mean that CBTs are intrinsically better than other tests methods as a testing format does not affect test scores of students and as such CBT can be considered a valid and acceptable testing mode. Advantages of computer based test are numerous compared to its disadvantages.

They include, among others:

✔ Efficiency: It takes less time for teachers to prepare, distribute, and grade online tests compared to paper tests. Also, it is easily scalable, whether you are assessing 20 students or 2,000.

✔ Convenience: Students can take the assessment at a convenient time and place they choose, rather than having to take it at a fixed schedule.

✔ Automatic Scoring with Instant Feedback: A computer can automatically score the assessment and provide students with immediate feedback on their performance.


✔ Analytics and Reports: The computer-based examination software enables you to make data-driven decisions as it collects a large amount of data that can help you identify who is having trouble and also improve the assessments over time.

✔ Security Configurations: Online assessment creators have a variety of features to prevent cheating and unauthorized access.

✔ Less human error: Computer-based assessment removes a significant amount of human error, such as grading errors.

✔ Re-usability: Create tests and even individual questions once and reuse them easily on other assessments.

Disadvantages of CBT

Despite the numerous advantages that CBT has brought to the educational system. It still has its own shortcomings. Its disadvantages include the following among others:

✔ CBT is often interpreted as simple multiple-choice tests, only suitable for the repetition of factual knowledge but not to address higher cognitive levels like understanding, synthesis, analysis or judgment.


✔ the quality of examinations constricted to closed, automatically evaluated questions are often seen as a didactical step backward and as being not worthy for a higher level of academics.

✔ Students with insufficient computer literacy or differences in computer performance may be disadvantaged despite the expertise/understanding of such students in the course content.

✔ There may be a higher risk of (e-) cheating, e.g., by hacking the database of the question items, risk of a total loss of examination data, or lower security of sensitive personal data.

✔ Some lecturers may be discouraged by the time consumption caused by the initial development of numerous questions with well-tested scoring parameters, subject to laborious quality assurance.

How Computer Based Testing (CBT) Works?

Computer Based Test (CBT) in Higher Education

Types of Computer Based Test (CBT)

Offline assessments: These are the assessments that are created on a computer-based test software and are available only on a single device.

These tests are offline, so a single set of tests cannot be taken on two devices simultaneously, and the responses are stored in a database. The grades are assigned manually, and the reports are prepared much later.

Online assessments: Online assessments or online computer-based tests are created using online assessment software so they can be taken anytime, anywhere, and on any device.


Online assessment in education is vital since a single set of tests or assessments can be attempted on many devices at the same time. The answers can be automatically graded, and the responses are stored in auto-generated reports.

The reports can be visited anytime by instructors to review individual or group performances. You can easily create reports using an online assessment tool.

Computer Based Test Vs. Paper Based Test

Shortcomings	Paper-Based Assessments	Computer-Based Assessments
Creation	It takes a longer time to create.	Can be created in minutes with templates & ready-to-use questions
Wastage	Includes heaps of test papers	There is no paperwork involved in the process
Grading	Can take hours to grade	Grades automatically with automated grading
Feedback	Individual feedback can take hours	Feedback can be provided instantly.
Results	Due to manual grading and scoring of papers, results are often delayed by days.	Results are displayed instantly after completion. Results can also be personalized.
Reports	The reports have to be generated after all the assesses have completed their tests.	The detailed reports & statistics are automatically generated for all the assesses.
Performance Evaluation	Difficult to compare individual performances and analyse group performances.	With auto-generated reports & statistics, it becomes easier to analyse overall student performance and gauge the complexity of individual questions.
Risk of cheating	Always has to be invigilated physically to prevent cheating.	With better security controls like time-limits on questions, question randomization, and answer shuffling, there is no need for physical invigilation.
Security	Can be mishandled	Can be prevented from unauthorized access with password protection
Accessibility	Confined to physical spaces	Can be accessed on any device.

More details - LInk : click1, click2