Which one of the following is the best method of teaching ?

Question

Accepted Answer

Correct answer: C — ConceptMethods of teaching differ in the channel through which the content reaches the learner and in how far the learner is active while it does so. A wholly verbal method carries the content through speech alone and leaves the learner in a receiving role; a method that shows the actual process while it is being explained carries the content through sight as well as speech and places the learner in the role of an observer who can then imitate what was shown. The wider the sensory base and the more active the learner's own part, the more durable the learning — this is the principle behind Edgar Dale's Cone of Experience and the old maxim of learning by doing. Applying the principle hereThree of the four methods offered — lecture, discussion and narration — are wholly oral transactions. Demonstration is the one in which the teacher actually performs or exhibits the process, experiment or skill while explaining it, and the learners watch it happen before repeating it themselves. It therefore joins showing to telling and ends in learner practice, and it is on this ground that standard teaching-aptitude sources and the UGC NET key treat demonstration as the best method within this set. Contrast with the other methodsMethod How the content is carried Chief merit and limitation Lecture Continuous oral exposition by the teacher to the whole class; one-way. Economical for covering a large body of content in a fixed period, but it rests entirely on the listener's sustained attention. Discussion Two-way oral exchange between the teacher and the learners. Develops reasoning and participation, but it needs prior background in the group and cannot convey an unfamiliar procedure. Narration Oral telling of an event or a sequence of happenings; one-way. Well suited to descriptive, historical and story-based material, but it remains purely verbal. Demonstration The process is shown and explained together and is then practised by the learner. Reaches the learner through more than one sense and ends in practice, though it needs apparatus, time and a group small enough to see. A necessary cautionIn general pedagogy no single method is best for every objective, every kind of content and every group of learners; the method is chosen to fit them. Within the set of options offered in this question, however, demonstration is the accepted answer, because it is the only one that reaches the learner through both observation and doing. Answer: Demonstration.

Answer

A. Lecture

Answer

B. Discussion

Answer

C. Demonstration

Answer

D. Narration

Method	How the content is carried	Chief merit and limitation
Lecture	Continuous oral exposition by the teacher to the whole class; one-way.	Economical for covering a large body of content in a fixed period, but it rests entirely on the listener's sustained attention.
Discussion	Two-way oral exchange between the teacher and the learners.	Develops reasoning and participation, but it needs prior background in the group and cannot convey an unfamiliar procedure.
Narration	Oral telling of an event or a sequence of happenings; one-way.	Well suited to descriptive, historical and story-based material, but it remains purely verbal.
Demonstration	The process is shown and explained together and is then practised by the learner.	Reaches the learner through more than one sense and ends in practice, though it needs apparatus, time and a group small enough to see.