UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

In a learner-centred classroom, students actively participate, collaborate and construct their own understanding. Group problem-solving and sharing outcomes with peers, as in Option B, clearly demonstrates such an approach.

Option A:
Option A shows a teacher-dominated class where students are passive listeners. This is a typical teacher-centred situation, not learner-centred.

Option B:
Option B gives learners responsibility to explore, discuss and present ideas. The teacher becomes a facilitator, which is a key feature of learner-centred pedagogy.

Option C:
Option C restricts students to copying notes, which is a low-engagement activity offering little scope for understanding or application.

Option D:
Option D disallows questions, which suppresses curiosity, clarification and critical thinking, all of which are necessary in learner-centred teaching.

In a teacher centred classroom, the teacher generally controls the flow of information and takes most of the speaking time. Messages predominantly move from teacher to students in the form of lectures, explanations and instructions. Feedback from students is often minimal or limited to short responses. This pattern represents a downward, largely one way communication structure.

Option A:
Option A corresponds to downward communication from teacher to students with restricted feedback. It mirrors the hierarchical nature of teacher centred settings where learners play a relatively passive role. Because the teacher initiates and regulates most of the discourse, this pattern fits common classroom observations.

Option B:
Option B describes upward communication from students to administrator, which relates more to institutional feedback channels than to the everyday communication pattern inside a single classroom.

Option C:
Option C refers to horizontal communication between non teaching staff, which is communication among colleagues at the same level rather than between teacher and students. It describes organizational interaction, not classroom interaction patterns.

Option D:
Option D, mass communication through television programmes, involves messages sent to large, anonymous audiences via media. It is not characteristic of a typical face to face, teacher centred classroom setting.

In learner-centred teaching, statements (A), (C) and (E) are correct because they highlight active learner roles, collaborative work and diagnostic assessment to adapt tasks. Statement (B) is wrong as it describes a teacher-centred classroom in which the teacher is the sole authority and learners are passive. Statement (D) is also wrong because learner-centred teaching deliberately recognises and responds to individual differences rather than ignoring them. Therefore the wrong statements that need to be identified are B and D only.

Option A:
Option A assumes that only statement B is wrong and ignores statement D. While B does misrepresent learner-centred teaching as teacher dominated, D is equally problematic because it claims that this approach ignores individual differences. By failing to include D among the wrong statements, this option does not fully capture what is incorrect in the list.

Option B:
Option B treats only statement D as wrong and assumes B is acceptable. However B clearly depicts a teacher-centred model with passive students, which is contrary to the philosophy of learner-centred teaching. As it overlooks the error in B, this combination is incomplete and therefore incorrect.

Option C:
Option C correctly groups B and D, the two statements that conflict with learner-centred principles. B describes students as passive recipients under a controlling teacher, while D falsely claims that individual differences are ignored. Since A, C and E all align with active learning, collaboration and diagnostic assessment, excluding them and identifying only B and D as wrong makes this option accurate.

Option D:
Option D treats B, D and E as wrong statements. While B and D are indeed incorrect, E is a correct feature of learner-centred teaching because diagnostic assessment is used to adapt tasks to learner needs. By misclassifying E as wrong, this option mixes correct and incorrect statements and becomes invalid.

Option E considers A, B, D and E to be wrong while leaving C outside the group. A and E actually reflect key aspects of learner-centred teaching such as active learner involvement and adaptive assessment. By labelling these valid statements as wrong and at the same time omitting C from the set, the combination becomes logically inconsistent.

At the memory level of teaching, the primary focus is on rote learning and repetition of information. Students are expected to recall definitions, formulae and simple facts without necessarily understanding underlying principles. This level is suitable for initial learning of basic information but is limited in promoting higher-order thinking. Hence, the level described in the stem is correctly termed the memory level of teaching.

Option A:
Reflective level teaching involves critical thinking, problem-solving and self-evaluation by learners. It goes far beyond simple recall and is considered the highest level of teaching. Therefore, it does not fit the description that stresses reproduction of factual material.

Option B:
Understanding level teaching is associated with comprehension and meaningful learning where students grasp relationships and reasons. Although it still uses some recall, its aim is deeper than mere reproduction. Thus, it does not match the strong emphasis on recall in the stem.

Option C:
Memory level teaching trains learners to remember and reproduce information such as definitions and lists. It is often used in early schooling or for foundational content. Since the stem clearly refers to recall and reproduction of facts and rules, memory level is the appropriate completion.

Option D:
Autonomous level is not a standard label in the classic three levels of teaching discussed in UGC NET Paper 1, where memory, understanding and reflective levels are emphasised. Consequently, it is not correct in this context.