This document discusses three levels of teaching: memory, understanding, and reflective. The memory level focuses on rote memorization of facts with little student thinking. Understanding level goes beyond memorization to help students comprehend relationships between facts and principles. Students can generalize rules and apply knowledge. The reflective level, not discussed in detail, is the most thoughtful level. It involves critically analyzing, evaluating, and creating new ideas. Psychological theories like conditioning and connectionism influence the different levels. Each level has strengths and weaknesses for student learning.

1. Dr. Pooja Walia
M.Sc. Mathematics, M.Ed. (Gold
Medalist),
UGC-J.R. F.,M.Phil., Ph.D. (Education)
Designation: Assistant Professor
Department of Education
Mizoram University, Aizawl
LEVELS OF
TEACHING

2. Outline of the Presentation
 Meaning of Levels of teaching
 Levels of teaching
 Memory Level
 Understanding Level
 Reflective Level
 Features of Levels
 Underlying Psychological Theories and Ideas
 Framework of Levels
 Merits and Demerits of Levels

3. Levels of Teaching
 In the formal classroom setting the task of
teaching carried out by the teacher can be
performed at various levels ranging from least
thoughtful to most thoughtful behaviour or mode
of action.
 Accordingly, psychologist and educationist have
clearly identified three such levels of teaching
learning act as follows
 Memory Level
 Understanding Level
 Reflective Level

4. Levels of Teaching
Reflective Level
(Most
Thoughtful)
Understanding Level
(Thoughtful)
Memory Level
(Least Thoughtful)

5. Definition of Memory Level
 Morris L Bigge has defined “It is a type of act
which supposedly embrances committing factual
material to memory and nothing else” .
 This definition conveys that the classroom task at
the memory level of teaching is confined merely
to memorisation of the facts or associations
related to the content material of the subject.
 The information, facts and body of contents are
presented before a learner in such a way that
they yield better results in terms of the
memorisation of the presented material.

6. Features of Memory Level
 At this level memory plays a key role.
 It is predominantly subject matter.
 Teacher presents factual information
before the learner
 Learner tries to mug up these facts with
the least involvement of his thinking and
reasoning power without care of
understanding of the meaning and
applications.

7. Features of Memory Level
 The learner is supposed to retain this material as
longer as possible and to reproduce(recall or
recognize) it when needed.
 The whole effort in revolves round the acquisition
of the factual information or knowledge through
rote learning. e.g.
 Multiplication Tables
 Chemical Symbols of the elements
 Dates and sequence of the historical events
 Words and phrases of the forgrein languages
 The name and number of the bones and muscles
in the human body etc.

8. Underlying Psychological Theories
and Ideas
 The theory of memory faculty or mental discipline:
In the spirit of this theory, teaching task at memory level
aims to discipline or train the faculties of mind,
particulary the faculty of memorisation through
excercise, repetition and practice of the learning
material.
 The Herbartian theory of appreciation: In the spirit of
this theory, this level implanting in the minds of the
learners a great mass of factual information merely
through the process of mechanical memorisation.
 The Thorndike's Connectionism: It gives full
weightage to the laws of exercise.
 The Theory of Conditioning: Influenced with the theory
of classical and operant conditioning memory level
teaching task converts itself into as task of habit
formation through repetition of the association between
stimuli and response.

9. Framework of Memory Level
 Focus
 Syntax: Nature of the subject matter and its
presentation
 Social System
 The role of the teacher
 The role of the learner
 Support System
 Nature of Motivation
 The methods employed
 Evaluation System
The testing devices

10. Focus & Nature of the Subject
Focus
 Acquisition of presented facts through rote
learning
 Retention and reproduction(through recall or
recognition) of the acquired factual information as
and when needed.
Nature of the subject matter and its
presentation
 Material should be selected very judiciously to
give desirable knowledge of the students.
 It should be presented in a very systematic
manner and definite as well as fixed order to
facilitate its proper retention and recall

11. Framework of Memory Level
The role of the Teacher
 Dominant and authoritarian
 Initiated by him only
 Presented the material
The role of the learner
 Passive
 No freedom of creation of knowledge
 Mere recipient

12. Framework of Memory Level
Nature of Motivation
 Largely extrinsic
 Students engaged them due to external factors
such as fear of punishment, getting favour of the
teacher, passing a test or getting promotion in the
next grade etc.
The methods employed
Teacher Centred
Subject Centred
e.g. lecture method, textbook method, lecture
cum blackboard method, deductive method
and narration method

13. Framework of Memory Level
The testing devices
 Oral Test
Type of questions
 Objective type questions

14. Merit of Memory Level
 Suitable for small children, as their memory at
the younger age is the rote memory. They are
capable of mugging up things without caring to
know their meaning and use.
 The task carried out at the memory level in the
form of acquisition of so many memorized facts
prove quite helpful in the teaching-learning
activities performed at the understanding and
reflective level.
 The memory level of teaching learning gives full
freedom to the teacher for realizing his goal i.e.
to furnish maximum knowledge of his subject in
the form of systematic and well connected pieces
of information to his studnets in a planned way

15. Demerit of Memory Level
 No scope for the development of understanding and
other essential cognitive abilities of the students.
 Not useful for application or practical aspects of the
concept.
 No guarntee of good retention and appropriate
reproductionof the memorised material by the learner.
 No scope for personality development of the child as
they have no role besides mugup the things
 Problem of class control and securing attention as no
intrinsic motivation is present at this level.
 Teacher is so burdenful at this level. He has to
arrange for the review, drill and effective excercise for
the good retention and easy recall

16. Understanding Level
 It is a high level in the teaching learning
process as compared to memory level. It calls
for the use of one's thought processes and
cognitive abilities in the form of reasoning and
thinking powers, powers of imagination,
analysis, synthesis, comparision, application,
generalisation and drawing infernces.
 Morris L. Bigge has defined this level, the one
‘that seeks to acquaint students with the
relationship between a generalisation and the
particulars-between principles and solitary
facts-and which shows the use to which the
principles may be applied”

17. Characteristics of Understanding
Level
 It does not stop with the acquisition of facts or
information by the students as done at the
memory level but takes them ahead for
generalizing the rules or principles out of these
acquired facts.
 The students can identify the realtionship
between the individual facts and the principles
generalised out of these facts.
 It helps the students use the generalised rules or
principles as a tool or instruments in the
acquisition of new facts or applying them in their
practicle life.
e.g. Concept behind the multiplication table.

18. Example of Understanding level
 When a student memorise a fact,7*5=35, the
teaching learning process is said to be operated
at the memory level. In this case, he memorizes
the facts without understanding, i.e. he neither
knows the genearalisation behind this particular
fact nor its application. It is only when he is taught
at the understanding level, he happens to know
that
 7*5 is similar to 5*7
 When 7objects are grouped five times or five
objects are grouped seven times the product is
always thirty five.
 The fact or relatioship is true for all objects in all
situations.
 The knowledge of this fact may be usefully
applied in calculating the price of seven item is

19. Framework of Understanding
Level
 Focus
 Syntax: Nature of the subject matter and its
presentation
 Social System
 The role of the teacher
 The role of the learner
 Support System
 Nature of Motivation
 The methods employed
 Evaluation System
The testing devices

20. Focus
The teaching act performed at the understanding level is
aimed to achieve the following objectives:
Knowledge Objective: Acquisition of required factual
information or body of facts
Understanding Objective: Under this objective the learner
are able:
 to see relationship between acquired facts
 to comprehend the meaning of the acquired facts or factual
information
 to identify the similarities and dissimilarities between the
acquired facts
 to seek generalisation out of the specific facts
 to apply the generalised fact, rule or principle for learning

21. Nature of the subject matter and its
presentation
The subject matter for the understanding level
teaching is quite structured in terms of following
 Planning
 Squential
 Presentation
 Meaningful learning
It needs to be linked with the previous knowledge of
the students on one hand and with its utilisation
for acquiring new facts and application to
practical life.

22. The role of the Teacher
Like memory level teaching the teacher plays a
quite dominant and authoritarian role at the
understanding level of teaching. This type of
teaching is also too much subject centred hence,
teacher has to take care of the fact that the
students gain complete mastery over the subject
matter in terms of its full understanding and
generalised insight rather than its mere
memorisation, i.e. retention and reproduction of the
memorised facts.

23. The role of the learner
The learner does not only have a passive role here
as in the case of memory level teaching. He has to
remain active in acquiring the desired
understanding of the learned facts. However the
key of the teaching-learning process lies well in the
hands of the teacher. The students have to act and
interact within the framework set up by the teacher
for realizing the set objectives of his teaching.

24. Support System
 Nature of Motivation:Purpose is always
involved in understanding level of teaching.
Yet the nature of the motivation here is largely
extrinsic as in the case of memory level
teaching.
 The method employed: The method
employed at the understanding level requires
some additional inputs in methods that are
used for memory level e.g.
 lecture cum demonstration method
 lecture cum discussion method
 Question Answer method

25. Evaluation System
Testing Device Used:Require more
comprehensive evaluation programme than
memory level of teaching.
 Oral, written and practical examination
 Short Answer type question
Transfer of training or learning: It gives greater
scope for the proper transfer of the acquired
training or learning from one situation to another.

26. Merits of Understanding Level
 Understanding level teaching help the students in
the aquisition of the facts or information more
effectively than the memory level. Here the
retention is quite long as it is accompanied by
clear understanding of the facts or information.
 It helps students to learn generalised rules,
principles or theories built up on the basis of
individual facts or speacial examples. Such
generalised insight acquired by them works as an
instrument or a tool. It proves quite useful not
only in the aquisition and interpretation of new
facts, but also in problematic situations in and
outside the school.

27. Merits of Understanding Level
 Understanding level teaching trains and equips
them for acting more intelligently in proceeding on
the path of learning. They get proper oppurtunity
for the development of their cognitive abilities
through various acts like analyzing,synthesizing.
comparing, drawing inferences, making
generalisation, applying rules and principles etc.
performed at this level of teaching.
 It prepares students for reflective level of
teaching. This level equips the students with a
mental kit of rules and principles. Such kit proves
quite useful in carrying out the teaching activities
at the reflective level and also in turning the
studnets as masters and experts in their
respective fields.

28. Demerits of Understanding
Level
 The teacher at understanding level is more or less
teacher centred and subject centred than being
child centred. Students do not get required freedom for
independent thinking, discovery and problem solving.
 The motivation is largely extrinsic in nature and the
studnets' ego is hardly involved in such type of teaching.
 The results of such teaching are always judged in terms
of the fixed specific responses to highly specific
knowledge and skills acquired through mechanized
repetition and drillwork or as taught by the teacher in
the rigid and controlled teaching-learning situation. Such
type of teaching-learning environment and evaluation
pattern can't help in the develpoment of higher cognitive
abilities, including creativity and independent problem

29. Reflective Level
 The word reflection stands for the act of
reflection(turning back), contemplating or paying
serious consideration. Consequently, teaching at
reflective level must have its association with the
process of reflecting or turning back the existing
idea or knowledge for more careful consideration
or critical examination to derive fresh conclusion.
It is in this sense that
 Teaching at reflective level represents the highest
level of teaching act that can be carried out at the
most thoughtful modes of operation providing the
desirable quality of teaching learning situation
and experience to the learner for utilizing and
enhancing their cognitive abilities to the
maximum.

30. Definition of Reflective Level
Morris L. Bigge has defined is as “careful, critical
examination of an idea or supposed article of knowledge in
the light of the testable evidence which supports it and the
further conclusion towards which it points.”
This definition reveals following facts about the nature of
the reflective level of teaching.
 It provides opportunities to the learners for the close,
careful and critical examination of the existing facts,
ideas, insights and generalisation.
 The learner try to test them in the light of the relevant
evidences.
 They are free to set independent hypothesis,test them
and draw their own conclusion for learning facts or
acquiring new insight.

31. Underlying Psychological Theory
and Ideas
This level has its roots in the cognitive field
theory of learning namely goal insight theory,
opposed the traditional mechanical
memorization and meaningless understanding
of facts.
It gave emphasis on the purposeful, goal
directed, insightful approach to learning and
tried to make the learner learn the art and skill
of problem solving behaviour by identifying his
goal and problem and solve the problem in a
scientific way

32. Framework of Reflective Level
 Focus
 Syntax: Nature of the subject matter and its
presentation
 Social System
 The role of the teacher
 The role of the learner
 Support System
 Nature of Motivation
 The methods employed
 Evaluation System
The testing devices

33. Focus
 To make use of the learned facts and acquired
understanding or insight for learning refectively.
 To help the learner the learner build up an
enlarged store of the tested insights of genralised
character
 To enhance the learners' ability to develop and
solve problems at their own initiative.

34. Syntax
 Nature of the Subject Matter and its presentation:
Not structured form as done at memory and
understanding level
 Here the genuine problem is presented before the
students for the aquisition, understanding and
application of the genralised facts and principles and
then enhancing their ability of problem solving are
raised, developed and tried for their solution. Some
problematic situations are given below:e.g.
 Students observe that in a tray filled with water, some
objects are sinked whiles others are floating. Why is it
so?
 The water of their handpump does not make lather with
the soap while that belonging to their neighbour makes a
good lather. Why?
 The bat can be described as a bird an animal too. How

35. Problem Raising and solving
 Problem raising, in the words of Morris L. Bigge
can be understood as a process of the
discovering and identifying inadequecies and
dishamonious of outlook or insights.
 After raising problem students' get motivation
intrinsicly and take initiative to solve the problems
by their own.
 Students take initiative, make hypothesis and
than verify the hypothesis and reach to the
solution of the problem.

36. Social System
Role of the Teacher: At the reflective level of
teaching, the teacher does not play a dominant and
authoritarian role but a facilitator and Situation
Creator. Telling of the information is a simple task
but to make the children feel the necessity of
getting such information and to discover this
information by their own efforts is quite challenging
which needs a lot from the teachers in terms of
their own reflective thinking, ingenuity, scholarship,
persistence, tacts,open mindedness, democatic
leadership and similar other personality
characterstics.

37. Social System
 Role of the Students: He has to make use of his
cognitive abilities and take all initiatives in the
process of problem raising and problem solving
involved at this level of teaching. Apart from this
following roles are played by the students:
 Solution Finder
 Independent
 Active

38. Support System
Motivation: Intrinsic
The learner are faced with a situation where they
feel a sort a psychological tension and intense
curosity to know something. Sometimes they are
inclined to go deep into the nature of matter and
feel the urgent necessity to solve a problem. Such
type of motivation helps in building a very healthy
environment which is more alive and exciting, more
critical and penetrating and more open to fresh and
original thinking for carrying out reflective level
teaching activities.

39. Instead of telling the facts and generaisation by the
teacher the emphasis is laid over raising,
developing and solving problems.
Methods used at Refelective Level: Learner
Centred
 Analytic Method
 Discovery Method
 Problem Solving Method
 Assignement Method
 Project Method

40. Usual Testing devices do not work well at this level
of teaching. Teacher has to frame open ended
question so their imagination and creative thinking
may challenged.
Type of questions:
 Essay Type
 Open Ended Type

41. Merits of Reflective Level
 Learner Centred: The learner himself sets his goal
and discovers the path of reaching the goal.
 Thoughful Learning: The teaching learning
process act is carried at more advanced level. It
provides better oppurtunities for the utilisation of
one's cognitive abilities to acquire information,
generalised insight and problem solving skills
among students.
 It helps in eqipping the students to face and solve
their problems in and outside the walls of their
schools.
 Classroom environment become democratic,
healthy lively and exciting because teacher
wecomes the students problem posing, raising and
probable responses of problems.

42. Merits of Reflective Level
 Sense of independency:The credit of the
teaching at reflective level lies in equipping the
students with the enhanced ability to develop and
solve problems on their own.
 The reflective level teaching makes possible the
maximum transfer of learning or training which is
otherwise missing at the memory and
understanding level
 Helpful in creating strong bond between teacher
and students.
 Freedom from rigid and structured book based
problems

43. Demerits of Reflective Level
 The teaching situations are organised in a flexible
way. In the absence of any formal course material,
the students are unable to acquire the systematic
and organised knowledge of the subject material
pertaining to the school subjects.
 The freedom and flexibility enjoyed by the students
in the unstructured teaching learning situation may
drift the students from the learning path. They can
waste their time and energy in discovering of facts,
raising irrelevant questions and pursuing
meaningless investigation.On account of lack of
experiences, required maturity and undeveloped
cognitive abilities they may arrive at errorneos
conclusion and wrong answers to their problems.

44. Demerits of Reflective Level
 It is limited to practical oriented subjects such as
sciences. It is usually applicable to the learning of
the subjects and areas where discovery and
problem solving approach can be better
employed.
 It requires more efforts on part of teacher. They
have to gain complete mastery over the facts and
genralised insights often cutting across various
subjects and life situations. They must be
aquainted well with th eprocesses of discovery
and problem centred teaching and have enough
patience and competency for the proper
organisation of classroom environment and
effective handling of the teaching learning
situation at the reflective level.

45. poojawaliakuk@gmail.com
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