Teaching Aptitude-4

1. It is an ideal teacherΓÇÖs responsibility to:
a. Create an immersion environment
b. Help students start thinking out of the box
c. Convince students about the value of education
d. All of the above

2. A teacher can be considered the leader of the class because:
a. He is the sole authority in the classroom
b. He is more educated than students
c. He leads students to a better tomorrow
d. He is more powerful than students

3. It is often said that teachers learn most from students. Why?
a. Students have unique problems and unfettered imagination
b. Students have poor knowledge and lots of doubts
c. Students have information on the latest things
d. Students have access to modern day technology

4. Effectiveness of lectures can be enhanced if a teacher:
a. Uses prepared notes and constantly refers to them
b. Talks eloquently about sensational and hot subjects
c. Cracks jokes now and then to keep the class going
d. Uses prepared notes as a guideline and connects disciplines

5. Television is superior to radio as a teaching aid becauseΓÇö
a. It has round the clock service and advertisements
b. It has gained popularity and cheap
c. It offers sound and sight in providing information
d. It offers live casts and reality shows

ANSWERS
1. All of the above.
It is a conclusion that leaps into the eye. A teacher, it is to be borne in mind, has to play multiple roles. Learning is impossible without an immersion environment: that is, a situation that fulfils prerequisites of learning, where students feel free from worries and have the courage to blaze new trials in thinking. So a teacher must dispel fears that students, especially beginners, are likely to have. Value of education is not the monetary benefits students may gain or the amount invested by parents. It is a much broader idea. Education should be perceived as a tool that casts ignorance and accompanying superstitions away, a system that enables the student to see others as equals.

2. He leads students to a better tomorrow
A leader is not one who exerts power and browbeats others. On the contrary, he shoulders the responsibility of leading others to safety and happiness. A teacher is a guru, one who shows the right path and lets the pupil travel it independently, as much as possible. If he falters, the teacher is to rush and make sure he reaches the destination.

3. Students have unique problems and unfettered imagination:
You approach a seasoned teacher and request him to narrate his experiences. Most must have come across weird situations and incredible stories. Insights gained in this way can be fruitfully used in dealing with the problems of other students. RememberΓÇöeveryone is unique. It is a known fact that students, especially young ones, possess fertile imagination sans bounds. Some of their ideas may be farfetched but definitely they can see things that adults fail to see and even think about. In other words, to get into the shoes of students will pay rich dividends to any teacher.

4. Uses prepared notes as a guideline and connects disciplines
A lecture does demand tremendous command over language because it is essentially a one-sided process (unlike seminar or group discussion). Given that our attention span runs out in fifteen minutes or so, a teacher looking every now and then to his notes is likely to cut a sorry fiigure, incapable of inspiring students. Jokes and sensational subjects are not bad in themselves but not a substitute to the exchange of ideas and creation of new thinking. It is advisable to use your notes as a roadmap, something that makes sure you donΓÇÖt astray and firmly keeps you tied to the main topic. This strategy can prevent you from making factual errors too. Interdisciplinary discourses rule the roost now. It is virtually impossible to talk about any subject without touching others. This is all the more so in social sciences.

5. It offers sound and sight in providing information

Television, if properly used, is a goldmine of information presented in minute details. Students can watch and conceive many things they are unlikely to come across in their immediate surroundings. Moreover, there are channels like the BBC which help us improve our English.