Levels of Teaching | Teaching Levels| Teaching Skills

Teaching is a deliberate activity. To be precise, it is the only activity that can bring desirable behavioral changes in the students. You would be surprised to know that both teaching and learning are correlated. However, the ultimate goal of both these concepts is to offer 360° personality development to the students.

Many aspiring teachers want to know if the level of teaching remains the same for all the students. The answer is no. The levels of teaching vary according to the developmental stage of the students. This difference is kept to achieve the desired educational objectives. Do you also want to become a teacher in the future?

If yes, then you should be well-versed with all the levels of teaching. And this is what today’s blog post is all about! Without much ado, let us learn more about the levels of teaching, along with their merits and demerits.

What are the Levels of Teaching?

There are three levels of teaching. Let us have a look at them one by one.

Memory Level

Memory level teaching only imparts or transfers knowledge to the students. They need to memorise the study material and keep it in their minds for a longer time.
The information or knowledge given at this level is more factual in nature. Thus, the students are advised to go for rote learning.
Unfortunately, the thinking abilities of the students do not play any role in this level of teaching.
The teachers take the initiative, present the study matter, and direct the students. Moreover, the study material is also sequential, pre-planned, and well-organised.
Please note that the teacher controls everything, right from designing the material to the evaluation of the students. Learning methods like a drill, revision, and review are used here by the teachers.
Teachers use written, multiple-choice questions and matching tests to check the understanding of the students.

Merits	Demerits
Helpful for younger students. The role of the teachers here is crucial. The knowledge gained at this level helps to form a solid academic foundation. Memory level is the first step towards understanding the next two levels of teaching.	Less contribution in developing students’ capabilities. The knowledge obtained at this level might not prove helpful in real-life situations. The learning provided here does not develop the talent of the students. The students are taught under a strict disciplinary environment. Unfortunately, this level of teaching lacks motivation and hardly contributes to the development of the students.

Understanding Level: Thoughtful Teaching

This is a more advanced level of teaching. Students here are expected to understand the factual data and comprehend different concepts.
Apart from this, they also need to understand the relationship between two variables and draw inferences.
Please note that the intellectual development of the students is higher than the previous level.
Moreover, the cognitive abilities of the students are also developed at this stage. It allows them to think, find out reasons, imagine, synthesise and analyse.
This level is supported by the Herbartian Theory of Appreciation. It focuses on explaining the relationship between the facts and principles.
The subject matter taught at this level is wide and comprehensive. Teachers teach through lectures, discussions, and explanations.
The classroom environment remains encouraging and lively.
The role of the teachers at this level is prominent. But, they are not so authoritative and dominating. On the other hand, the students are free to ask questions and clarify their doubts.

Merits	Demerits
Productive classroom interaction. Impressive learning. Development of cognitive abilities. It offers a solid foundation to enter the next level of teaching. Students can understand the subject matter instead of mugging it aimlessly.	Lesser focus on intrinsic motivation. It is again a teacher-oriented level of teaching. Do not emphasise higher cognitive skills. Individual learning is zero here.

Reflective Level: Upper Thoughtful Level

Reflective teaching does not believe in merely memorising concepts. On the other hand, this level is more about absorbing the information and pondering over it.
Reasoning, conceptualisation, imagination, and analysing are the four major activities taught at this level. The students are expected to pay serious attention to the study course and understand the actual context behind it.
It is a highly thoughtful and reflective level of teaching that requires experience and expertise in the subject. Students can reach this level only after completing the previous two levels of teaching.
Ideally, it is an introspective level of teaching and learning. It focuses on reflecting on concepts and giving careful thought to them.
Students at the reflective level learn to explore new concepts and solve real-life problems. They also get an opportunity to research the field of knowledge and verify the factual information.
The subject matter taught at this level is largely open-ended and does not have a fixed format. Moreover, the curriculum focuses more on problem-solving and decision-making skills.
Students’ thinking and creative skills are the best at this level of teaching.
What is the role of teachers in reflective teaching? Well, it is more democratic and supportive. Teachers here allow the students to present their thoughts and ideas and appreciate their efforts.

Merits	Demerits
Most thoughtful level of teaching. Adopts a flexible approach to learning. Student-oriented concept. Self-motivation.	It can be a time-consuming process. This kind of teaching is not for dull students. Can create pressure in the minds of the students.

Bottom Line

So, this was all about the different levels of teaching that every teacher should be aware of. However, experts recommend going for reflective teaching for the teachers who want to add value to the lives of their students.

But if you are into online teaching, you can also switch to the understanding level to help the students familiarise themselves with the concepts and theories first. Whichever level you choose, make sure your students are learning something new and creative in every classroom session. After all, this should be the prime motive of every teacher.

Teachmint is keen on changing the future of education with its advanced LMS and ERP tools. With more than 20+ modules for educational institutions like admission management, attendance management system, performance management, and more; it is changing the teaching-learning experience.