BASICS OF TEACHING APTITUDE|L-1|

Teaching Aptitude

Teaching aptitude is the process of attending to people’s needs, experiences and feelings, and making specific interventions to help them learn particular things. Interventions commonly take the form of questioning, listening, giving information, explaining some phenomenon, demonstrating a skill or process, testing understanding and capacity, and facilitating learning activities (such as note-taking, discussion, assignment writing, simulations, and practice).

According to Bingham – “teaching aptitude is a specific ability, potentiality, interest, satisfaction, and fitness in the teaching profession”.The teaching aptitude means an interest in the teaching work orientation, implementing teaching principles and methods. Under the gamut of teaching aptitude, teaching skill occupies a major place.

Every student is a different entity from the viewpoint of his intelligence, aptitude, and interest. Under a particular situation, different students may have different perceptions, actions, and reactions to a given issue/subject.

Teaching is a social process in which the teacher influences the behavior of the less experienced pupil and helps him develop according to the needs of the society. Effecting coordination among them could be a very difficult task for a teacher and is put to test only on such occasions.

Teaching is an art and science as well. It is a professional activity involving teacher and student with a view to the development of the student. Teaching is a system of actions varied in form and related with content and pupil behavior under the prevailing physical and social conditions.

Teaching aptitude is a subject that assesses a candidate’s ability to understand, learn and communicate effectively with students, and create an environment that is conducive to learning. Wondering why is it important to study this subject. Well, teaching aptitude for UGC NET is essential for career advancement in the teaching profession. Furthermore, teachers who demonstrate strong teaching aptitude may be more likely to be promoted to leadership positions.

This subject evaluates the candidate’s understanding of teaching methodologies, communication skills, classroom management, learning theories, and evaluation techniques.

Important Topics in Teaching Aptitude for UGC NET

Teaching aptitude is essential for effective teaching and is crucial for a teacher’s professional development. The following topics are covered in the teaching aptitude section of the UGC NET syllabus. It is essential to study these topics thoroughly and practice answering questions related to them to achieve a good score in the exam.

Teaching: Concept, Objectives, Levels of Teaching, Characteristics.

Learner’s characteristics: Characteristics of adolescent and adult learners and Individual differences.

Factors affecting teaching: Teacher and Learner, Support material, and Instructional facilities with the Learning Environment and Institution.

Methods of teaching in Institutions of higher learning: Teacher centered vs. Learner-centered methods, Offline vs. Online methods of teaching.

Teaching Support System: Traditional, Modern, and ICT based, Evaluation Systems, Elements, and Types of evaluation, Evaluation in Choice Based Credit System in Higher education, Computer-based testing, and Innovations in evaluation systems.