Which of the following statements is not correct ?
2023
Which of the following statements is not correct ?
- A.
Errors of the students give information about their thought process.
- B.
Errors in mathematics are part of learning.
- C.
Errors in mathematics help teachers in planning their lessons.
- D.
Errors of the students should be overlooked as pointing errors will demotivate them.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Concept: In diagnostic, constructivist pedagogy, a student's errors are treated as valuable data rather than failures to hide. An error reveals the learner's underlying thought process and the specific misconception behind it, so teachers are expected to notice error patterns, discuss them with students, and use them to plan targeted instruction. Errors are therefore an integral, productive part of learning, not something to be concealed or avoided.
Application: Checking each statement against this principle - that errors reveal thought process, that errors are a normal part of learning mathematics, and that errors help a teacher plan lessons are all direct applications of the diagnostic-error principle, so each of these holds up as sound pedagogy. The statement that errors should be overlooked because pointing them out will demotivate students goes against this principle: accepted practice calls for engaging with errors constructively (through questioning, discussion, and corrective feedback), since avoiding them removes the very diagnostic and instructional value errors provide. That statement is the one that does not hold up.
Cross-check: This reading matches the official CTET (August 2023, Paper 1) answer key, and NCERT teacher-training material similarly frames errors as informative signals a teacher should act on rather than ignore, confirming the same statement as the one that is not correct.