Teaching: concept, objectives and levels
Teaching is a planned interaction that causes learning. It rises through three levels: memory (Herbart), understanding (Morrison) and reflective (Hunt).
Three levels of teaching
| Level | Proponent | What happens | Roles | Evaluation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Memory (MLT) | Herbart | Recall of facts through drill and repetition; the first, thoughtless level | Teacher dominant, learner passive | Recall and recognition items |
| Understanding (ULT) | Morrison | Grasp of meaning, principles and relations; memory plus insight | Both active; teacher still leads | Essay and objective tests |
| Reflective (RLT) | Hunt | Learners face a problem, form hypotheses and test them; the highest level | Learner-centred; teacher is a democratic guide | Essay tests, attitudes, problem-solving |
Objectives: Bloom's three domains
| Domain | Covers | Levels, low to high |
|---|---|---|
| Cognitive (Bloom, 1956; revised by Anderson and Krathwohl, 2001) | Knowing and thinking | Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyse, Evaluate, Create |
| Affective (Krathwohl) | Feelings, values, attitudes | Receiving, Responding, Valuing, Organisation, Characterisation |
| Psychomotor (Dave) | Physical and motor skills | Imitation, Manipulation, Precision, Articulation, Naturalisation |
Teaching as a process
Either way, teaching is judged by the learning it produces. Learning can happen without teaching, but not the other way round.
Characteristics and basic requirements
- Interactive: a two-way exchange, not a one-way talk.
- Purposeful: aims at a desired change in the learner's behaviour.
- Both an art and a science: it needs skill and judgement, and it can be observed, measured and improved.
- Diagnostic and remedial: finds learning gaps and fixes them.
- Basic requirements: a competent teacher, a ready and motivated learner, suitable content, fitting methods and aids, and a supportive environment.
NET pairs levels with proponents (Herbart, Morrison, Hunt) in match-the-following, asks the order of Bloom's levels as a sequence, and tests features of the reflective level in statement questions.
Typical MCQ: “Which level of teaching is problem-centred and the most learner-centred?” The reflective level (Hunt). It builds on memory and understanding and asks learners to frame and test hypotheses.
Typical MCQ: “Arrange the revised cognitive domain from lowest to highest.” Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyse, Evaluate, Create. Create replaced Synthesis and now sits at the top.
Climb M-U-R: Herbart Memorises, Morrison Understands, Hunt hunts for answers (Reflective). Memory is the floor, reflection the roof.