For effective teaching which of the following is a key behavior?
2020
For effective teaching which of the following is a key behavior?
- A.
Encouraging students to elaborate their own answer or that of other students.
- B.
Summarizing what was told by a student.
- C.
Teacher gives comments for the purpose of organizing what is to come.
- D.
Making ideas clear to learners who may be at different level of understanding.
Attempted by 2 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Concept
Gary Borich classifies teaching behaviours into two groups. KEY behaviours are the core, essential behaviours an effective teacher must demonstrate, and there are five of them: lesson (idea) clarity, instructional variety, task orientation, student engagement in the learning process, and a high student success rate. HELPING behaviours (using student ideas, structuring, questioning, probing, teacher affect) are supporting techniques used in combination TO IMPLEMENT the key behaviours — they assist, but are not themselves the core.
Application
Match each described behaviour to Borich's two categories. Making ideas clear to learners who are at different levels of understanding is exactly the description of LESSON CLARITY — presenting content in a clear, step-by-step, uncomplicated way so every learner can follow. Lesson clarity is one of Borich's five KEY behaviours, so this is the key behaviour being asked for.
Contrast
The remaining choices are all HELPING behaviours, not key behaviours:
Encouraging students to elaborate their own or others' answers is probing — a helping behaviour that pushes thinking to a higher level.
Summarising what a student has said is using student ideas / structuring — a helping behaviour that organises contributions.
Giving comments to organise what is to come is structuring — a helping behaviour that frames the lesson sequence.
Result: the key behaviour for effective teaching is making ideas clear to learners, i.e. lesson clarity.