Crisp, structured model answers to the most frequently-asked short-answer questions — a mix of 2-mark definitions and 5-mark short notes, grouped unit by unit. Every theorist, law and stage below is exam-accurate; learn the underlined key terms and quote the right name to score full marks.
5 Units2-mark + 5-markDefinitions & short notes
Answer length guide: a 2-mark answer = one sharp definition + one supporting line; a 5-mark short note = definition + 4–5 points, quoting the exact theorist, law or stage. In this paper the marks come from the right names and terms — Thorndike's three laws, Pavlov, Skinner, Piaget's four stages, Vygotsky's ZPD, Bloom's six levels — so memorise the labels.
UNIT 1
Nature of Learning & Teaching
2-Mark Definitions
1.Define learning.
2 MARKS★ ASKED
Learning = a relatively permanent change in behaviour brought about by experience or practice — not by maturation, fatigue, illness or drugs.
Gates: "learning is the modification of behaviour through experience and training"; Skinner: "a process of progressive behaviour adaptation".
2.What is self-learning?
2 MARKS
Self-learning = independent, self-paced learning in which the learner takes charge of what and how much to learn.
Common modes: programmed instruction, computer-assisted instruction, self-instructional modules and MOOCs.
3.What is meant by maxims of teaching?
2 MARKS★ ASKED
Maxims of teaching = universally accepted, practical rules that guide the sequence of presenting content so that learning proceeds smoothly.
Examples: known → unknown, simple → complex, concrete → abstract.
5-Mark Short Notes
4.Thorndike's laws of learning.
5 MARKS★ ASKED
E. L. Thorndike gave three primary laws of learning based on the stimulus–response (S–R) bond.
Law of Readiness — when the learner is ready to act, acting is satisfying and being blocked is annoying.
Law of Exercise — connections are strengthened by use (practice) and weakened by disuse.
Law of Effect — responses followed by a satisfying state are stamped in; those followed by an annoying state are stamped out.
Add for full marksAlso mention the secondary principles — motivation, learning by doing, reinforcement, feedback, individual differences and readiness — and the educational value of reward and practice.
5.Distinguish rote learning from meaningful learning.
5 MARKS★ ASKED
Rote learning = memorising facts without understanding, by sheer repetition.
Meaningful learning (Ausubel) = relating new knowledge to the learner's existing cognitive structure.
Rote knowledge is easily forgotten; meaningful knowledge is retained longer.
Rote learning gives little transfer; meaningful learning is transferable to new situations.
Rote is mechanical and passive; meaningful learning is understanding-based and active.
6.Active-learning techniques.
5 MARKS
Active learning = strategies that make the learner participate and construct knowledge rather than listen passively.
Techniques: brainstorming, group discussion, project work, role-play.
Also peer / collaborative learning, think-pair-share, problem solving and dramatisation.
Implications: greater engagement, better retention and higher-order thinking.
7.Characteristics of good teaching.
5 MARKS★ ASKED
Teaching (B. O. Smith) = "a system of actions intended to produce learning".
Good teaching is planned and purposeful and learner-centred.
It is interactive and democratic, well-organised and uses varied methods and aids.
It is diagnostic and remedial and promotes reflective, critical thinking.
It is professional and ethical and provides continuous feedback.
8.Teaching as a tripolar process.
5 MARKS★ ASKED
Teaching is a tripolar process involving three poles — the teacher, the pupil and the content.
The teacher arranges situations and activities; the pupil learns; the content is the subject matter that links them.
The relationship between teaching and learning is close but not identical — learning can occur even without teaching.
Effective teaching aligns all three poles towards defined learning objectives.
UNIT 2
Teaching in Diverse Classrooms; In & Out of School
2-Mark Definitions
1.What is a diverse classroom?
2 MARKS★ ASKED
A diverse classroom is a class whose learners differ in ability and intelligence, socio-economic status, language, culture, religion, gender, learning styles and special needs.
It demands varied and inclusive teaching for all.
2.Distinguish learning in school from learning out of school.
2 MARKS
Learning in school = formal, planned, curriculum-based, graded and teacher-guided.
Learning out of school = informal / incidental — from family, peers, community, media, nature and work; lifelong and unstructured.
5-Mark Short Notes
3.Differentiated instruction.
5 MARKS★ ASKED
Differentiated instruction = tailoring teaching to suit the differing readiness, interests and learning styles of learners in a diverse class.
The teacher varies the content, process and product for different learners.
It uses flexible grouping, multiple methods and the Universal Design for Learning (UDL).
It respects individual differences and multiple intelligences.
It ensures every child, whatever the ability, is challenged and supported.
4.Community as a learning resource.
5 MARKS
The community — its people, places, institutions and traditions — is a rich, real-life learning resource.
It provides experiential learning beyond textbooks.
Tools: field trips, surveys and project-based community engagement.
It bridges in-school and out-of-school learning, making knowledge relevant.
It develops social values, cooperation and civic responsibility.
UNIT 3
Theories of Learning — Behavioural, Cognitive & Humanistic
2-Mark Definitions
1.Distinguish assimilation from accommodation.
2 MARKS★ ASKED
Assimilation (Piaget) = fitting new experience into an existing schema without changing it.
Accommodation = modifying or creating a schema to fit new experience that does not fit the old one. Balance between the two is equilibration.
2.What is an advance organiser?
2 MARKS
An advance organiser (Ausubel) is an introductory idea presented before the lesson, at a higher level of generality.
It links new material to the learner's existing knowledge and promotes meaningful reception learning.
3.What is Rogers' idea of the teacher as facilitator?
2 MARKS
Carl Rogers held that the teacher is a facilitator who creates freedom to learn, not a mere transmitter of facts.
The facilitator shows unconditional positive regard, empathy and genuineness, helping the learner become a fully functioning person.
5-Mark Short Notes
4.Classical conditioning (Pavlov).
5 MARKS★ ASKED
Ivan Pavlov demonstrated classical conditioning with his experiment on a dog and a bell.
Food (UCS) naturally causes salivation (UCR).
Pairing a neutral bell with food makes the bell a conditioned stimulus (CS) that alone triggers salivation (CR).
Related concepts: acquisition, extinction, generalisation and discrimination.
Educationally, it explains attitudes, habits and emotional (like/dislike) responses to school.
5.Operant conditioning (Skinner).
5 MARKS★ ASKED
B. F. Skinner showed that behaviour is shaped by its consequences (the Skinner box).
Reinforcement (positive or negative) strengthens a response; punishment weakens it.
Behaviour can be built up by shaping and controlled by schedules of reinforcement.
His work gave rise to programmed instruction and teaching machines.
Educational implications: reward, immediate feedback and learning in small steps.
6.Trial-and-error learning (Thorndike).
5 MARKS
Thorndike proposed trial-and-error learning (Connectionism) through his cat-in-a-puzzle-box experiment.
The hungry cat made many random movements until it accidentally pressed the latch and escaped.
On repetition, wrong responses decreased and the correct response was fixed — forming an S–R bond.
It is governed by his laws of Readiness, Exercise and Effect.
It shows the value of motivation, practice and reward in learning skills.
7.Insight learning (Köhler).
5 MARKS
Wolfgang Köhler, a Gestalt psychologist, demonstrated insight learning with apes (Sultan).
The ape suddenly perceived the relationship between the sticks/boxes and the banana and solved the problem at once.
Learning is by a sudden grasp of the whole situation, not blind trial and error.
Gestalt principle: the whole is more than the sum of its parts.
It stresses understanding, perception and reasoning in learning.
8.Piaget's stages of cognitive development.
5 MARKS★ ASKED
Jean Piaget described four stages of cognitive development.
Sensorimotor (0–2 yrs) — learning through senses and actions; object permanence.
Pre-operational (2–7 yrs) — language and symbols; egocentric, intuitive thought.
Formal operational (11 yrs+) — abstract, hypothetical and logical reasoning.
Add for full marksMention the key processes — schema, assimilation, accommodation and equilibration — and note that teaching should match the child's stage of development.
9.Bruner's modes of representation.
5 MARKS
Jerome Bruner, a champion of discovery learning, gave three modes in which knowledge is represented.
Enactive — learning through action and doing.
Iconic — learning through images and pictures.
Symbolic — learning through language and symbols.
He also advocated the spiral curriculum — revisiting ideas at increasing depth.
10.Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
5 MARKS★ ASKED
Abraham Maslow, a humanistic psychologist, arranged human needs in a five-level hierarchy.
From the bottom: Physiological → Safety → Belonging (love) → Esteem → Self-actualisation.
Lower needs must be reasonably satisfied before higher ones motivate behaviour.
The highest goal is self-actualisation — realising one's full potential.
Implication: a hungry or insecure child cannot learn — teachers must meet basic needs first.
UNIT 4
Constructivism & Learner-Centred Teaching
2-Mark Definitions
1.What is the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)?
2 MARKS★ ASKED
The Zone of Proximal Development (Vygotsky) = the gap between what a learner can do alone and what they can do with help from a More Knowledgeable Other.
It is the zone where effective teaching should aim.
2.What is scaffolding?
2 MARKS★ ASKED
Scaffolding = the temporary support given by a teacher or peer to help a learner accomplish a task within the ZPD.
The support is gradually withdrawn as the learner becomes independent.
5-Mark Short Notes
3.Constructivism.
5 MARKS★ ASKED
Constructivism = the view that learners actively construct their own knowledge and meaning from experience; learning is not passive transmission.
The teacher is a facilitator / guide, not a dispenser of facts.
Cognitive constructivism (Piaget) — knowledge built individually through assimilation and accommodation.
Social constructivism (Vygotsky) — knowledge built through social interaction, language and culture.
Approaches: inquiry, problem-based, project and collaborative learning using prior knowledge.
4.The 5E model.
5 MARKS★ ASKED
The 5E model is a constructivist instructional cycle of five phases.
Engage — arouse interest and tap prior knowledge.
Explore — learners investigate with hands-on activity.
Explain — concepts are clarified and defined.
Elaborate — apply and extend the idea to new situations; Evaluate — assess understanding.
5.Learner-centred teaching.
5 MARKS★ ASKED
Learner-centred teaching places the learner at the centre of the process.
It stresses active participation and construction of knowledge; the teacher is a facilitator.
It aims at understanding, not rote, and gives choice, autonomy and responsibility.
It caters to individual differences and learning styles through collaboration.
It uses continuous assessment for learning and real-life, contextual tasks. (Contrast: teacher-centred = transmission, passive learner.)
6.Teacher–student relationship — need and importance.
5 MARKS
A healthy teacher–student relationship builds rapport, trust, communication and emotional security.
It improves motivation, discipline, participation and achievement.
The teacher acts as a mentor and guide.
Positive relationships create a conducive learning climate.
It supports the whole development — social, emotional and academic — of the learner.
UNIT 5
Models of Teaching & Teaching as a Profession
2-Mark Definitions
1.What is a model of teaching (Joyce & Weil)?
2 MARKS★ ASKED
A model of teaching (Joyce & Weil) = a plan or pattern used to design instruction and shape the learning environment.
Its elements are Focus, Syntax (phases), Social system, Principles of reaction, Support system and Instructional & nurturant effects.
Inter-active phase — execution and classroom interaction; Post-active phase — evaluation and feedback.
3.What are the levels of teaching?
2 MARKS
The three levels are the Memory level (Herbart), the Understanding level (Morrison) and the Reflective level (Hunt).
They rise from mere recall to insight and problem-solving.
5-Mark Short Notes
4.Micro-teaching.
5 MARKS★ ASKED
Micro-teaching = a scaled-down teaching encounter to train one skill at a time.
It was developed at Stanford in 1963 by Allen and Ryan.
Its scale: one skill, 5–10 minutes, a small group of 5–10 pupils.
Core skills include set induction, explaining, questioning, stimulus variation, reinforcement and closure.
It gives immediate feedback and builds teaching competence step by step.
5.The micro-teaching cycle.
5 MARKS★ ASKED
The micro-teaching cycle is a repeating "teach–reteach" sequence.
Plan → Teach → Feedback on the chosen skill.
Then Re-plan → Re-teach → Re-feedback to improve.
The cycle continues until the trainee masters the skill.
A single skill is practised in a 5–10 minute lesson each cycle.
6.Bloom's taxonomy.
5 MARKS★ ASKED
Benjamin Bloom (1956) classified educational objectives into three domains: cognitive, affective and psychomotor.
The cognitive domain has six levels: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, Evaluation.
The affective domain (Krathwohl) deals with attitudes and values.
The psychomotor domain deals with physical skills.
Add for full marksMention the Revised Taxonomy (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001): Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyse, Evaluate and Create — with "Create" now at the top.
7.Reflective teaching.
5 MARKS
Reflective teaching = the practice of a teacher critically examining their own teaching to improve it.
It is the highest reflective level of teaching (Hunt).
The teacher plans, acts, observes and then reflects on what worked and why.
It fosters problem-solving and continuous professional growth.
It makes teaching thoughtful and research-oriented rather than routine.
8.Qualities of a professional teacher.
5 MARKS★ ASKED
Mastery of the subject and pedagogy with good communication and questioning skill.
Empathy, patience and fairness, with commitment and punctuality.
Adaptability and sound classroom management.
Continuous professional development, reflective practice and ICT competence.
Adherence to professional ethics / code of conduct and accountability.
Add for full marksNote the marks of a profession applied to teaching: specialised knowledge, long training, a code of ethics, a service motive and professional autonomy.