Science Pedagogy MCQ Quiz - Objective Question with Answer for Science Pedagogy - Download Free PDF

Cognitive validity is one of the key criteria proposed by the National Curriculum Framework (NCF 2005) to ensure that the science curriculum is meaningful and accessible to learners. It refers to the alignment of curriculum content, pedagogy, and expectations with the cognitive level and developmental stage of the learner.

Key Points

•  The option that highlights that the curriculum should be age-appropriate and aligned with students' cognitive development captures the essence of cognitive validity.
• It emphasizes the need to design curriculum content that students can understand and process at their particular stage of intellectual development, enabling meaningful and deeper learning rather than rote memorization or superficial coverage of advanced topics.

Hence, the correct answer is the curriculum should be designed to be age-appropriate and aligned with students' cognitive development, fostering deeper understanding rather than superficial learning.

Fostering inquiry-based learning is essential for developing students’ scientific literacy. Inquiry allows students to think like scientists; asking questions, forming hypotheses, designing experiments, collecting data, and drawing conclusions. This process equips learners with both conceptual understanding and practical scientific skills.

Key Points

•  The assertion that giving students opportunities to design and conduct their investigations is highly beneficial is true because it helps students internalize the scientific method. It shifts the focus from rote memorization of facts to active exploration and application, thereby deepening conceptual grasp and critical thinking.
• The reason is also accurate, scientific literacy is not limited to knowing scientific terms and facts. It encompasses understanding how science works: the processes of inquiry, experimentation, and reasoning. When students engage in hands-on investigations, they experience this process first-hand, which strengthens their overall scientific competence.

Thus, both the assertion and the reason are correct, and the reason clearly explains why the assertion holds true: engaging students in scientific inquiry enhances their literacy by teaching them not just what scientists know, but how scientists think and work.

Hence, the correct answer is Both Assertion and Reason are true and Reason is its correct explanation.

Effective science education goes beyond mere transmission of facts. It emphasizes nurturing curiosity, critical thinking, and a spirit of inquiry in students. This approach aligns with constructivist learning theories, which advocate that learners actively construct their understanding through experiences, exploration, and reflection. 

Key Points

•  Scientific understanding is best developed when students are actively engaged in exploring and questioning, rather than passively receiving information. This reflects the core of effective science instruction, where learners construct knowledge through hands-on experiments, group discussions, and open-ended questioning.
• When students are curious and involved in scientific processes, they develop deeper conceptual understanding, analytical skills, and motivation to learn. This approach not only strengthens their grasp of content but also develops scientific temper and lifelong learning skills.

Hint

• Prioritizing rote memorization undermines the goal of science education, as it promotes surface-level learning. Memorizing facts may help in tests but does not encourage understanding or application.
• Curiosity and inquiry are not secondary; they are fundamental to science, which itself is based on questioning and investigation.
• Direct instruction and lecturing may have a place in clarifying concepts, but relying solely on this method limits students' engagement and conceptual growth.

Hence, the correct answer is Scientific understanding is best developed when students are actively engaged in exploring and questioning, rather than passively receiving information.

In any teaching-learning process, assessment plays a vital role in identifying how well students have understood the concepts taught.

 Key Points

• When a teacher conducts a unit test and notices that many students have made similar mistakes, it signals that there may be some gaps or misconceptions in their understanding.
• Addressing these errors is important to ensure students build a solid foundation before moving forward.
• Identifying misconceptions and using hands-on activities to clarify concepts is the most effective approach in this situation.
• Hands-on activities make abstract ideas tangible and help students actively engage with the content.
• By focusing on the root cause of errors through interactive learning, students can better understand difficult concepts like electricity, leading to improved learning outcome.

Hint

• Repeating the same lecture without any change may not address the students’ confusion since the teaching method has not been adapted to meet their needs.
• Ignoring the mistakes and continuing with the syllabus risks leaving misconceptions uncorrected, which can affect future learning.
• Simply giving additional worksheets emphasizes practice but may reinforce errors if conceptual misunderstandings remain unaddressed.

Hence, the correct answer is identify misconceptions and use hands-on activities to clarify concepts.

Skepticism is a fundamental part of scientific investigations. It encourages scientists to question findings and not accept any conclusion without sufficient evidence.

 Key Points

• This approach ensures that scientific knowledge is reliable and continuously tested.
• Scientists test hypotheses repeatedly and seek verification from different experiments to confirm results.
• The statement that scientists accept conclusions only after repeated testing and verification reflects this cautious and evidence-based approach. It shows that scientific knowledge is built on careful examination rather than blind acceptance.

Hint

• Relying solely on authority, not questioning laws, or basing conclusions on personal opinions contradicts the core principles of scientific skepticism.
• Science thrives on questioning, testing, and evidence, not on unquestioned acceptance or subjective views.

Hence, the correct answer is scientists accept conclusions only after repeated testing and verification.

Science is dynamic, expanding body of knowledge covering ever-new domains of experience. It is an organized system of knowledge that is based on inquiry born out of natural curiosity, logical reasoning, and experimentation. 

• It is this organized knowledge with an inquiry, logical reasoning, and experimentation as its central themes, that we call science. Science may rightly be said to be a domain of inquiry.  

Key Points

Nature of science:

• Science comes out from people and it can not be guaranteed if people are not biased, hence, it can not be surely said that scientists are totally objective in their work.
• There are several methods of conducting research namely action research, experimental research, survey research, etc.
• Science does not rely on belief, rather it is dependent on facts.
• Science is exploited by people, hence it is social in nature.
• One of the most important characteristics of science is that even the most established theories can be modified, or even abandoned if new experimental results do not fit into the existing theories.

Hence, the statement 'science is social in nature' best describes the nature of science.

Evaluation is a systematic process of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting evidence of students’ progress and achievement. The evaluation approach is an innovation in the field of education. B.S. Bloom has given this approach to the teaching-learning process.

Key Points

• Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) in science refers to evaluating all aspects of a student's development in science, not just academic performance.
• This includes cognitive, emotional, and psychomotor skills.
• CCE emphasizes a holistic approach to assessment, where both academic and non-academic areas are considered.
• Comprehensive: Covers all aspects of learning, including knowledge, understanding, application, and skills in science.
• Continuous: Ongoing evaluation throughout the academic year, through different methods like projects, lab work, activities, and quizzes.

Hint

• While summative and formative assessments are part of the process, CCE is broader, focusing on the overall development of the student across various dimensions of science education,.

Hence, from the above-mentioned points, it becomes clear that continuous and comprehensive evaluation in science means evaluation of all aspects of science.

The correct answer is Global System for Mobile.

• GSM technology is used in mobile phones.
• The full form of GSM is Global System for Mobile.

Key Points

• ETSI (European Telecommunication Standard Institute) has developed this technology.
• The protocols for second-generation digital cellular networks are described by the GSM technology.
• In 1991, Finland was the first country of deploying GSM.
• The global system of mobile communication became a global standard for mobile communications in 2010.
• It achieved a market share of 90% at that time.
• A digital circuit-switched network that was optimized for full-duplex voice telephony was described by GSM global technology.
• The GSM associations own the trademark of GSM.
• It is a secured wireless system.
• A pre-shared key is used for user authentication.
• Several cryptographic algorithms for security are used in GSM technology.

Assessment tools and techniques for determining the student's academic capabilities, fluency, and skills in a particular subject area, as well as their progress towards academic proficiency in that subject area. It includes quizzes, portfolios, observations, rating scales, anecdotal records, etc.

Key PointsAnecdotal records- It is a thorough descriptive narrative that is recorded after a specific behavior or interaction of children.

• It helps the teacher in planning learning activities, providing information to families, and recognizing the learning gaps of children.
• It is used to keep track of specific observations of students' actions, skills, and attitudes.

Hence, we conclude that their behavior of Shyam will be recorded in the anecdotal records.

Additional Information

• Rating scale- It is used for measuring the attitude of students in any situation.
• Observation- It means watching purposefully. It is important for understanding the student's behavior and needs.
• Portfolio- It is a systematically arranged compilation of students' work in a specific period of time.

Scientific method is a series of steps to collect information or solve problems. It is a process with the help of which scientists try to investigate, verify or construct an appropriate version of any natural phenomena.

• They are defined as controlled, systematic investigations that are rooted in objective reality and that aim to develop general knowledge about natural phenomena.
• The scientific method involves reflective thinking, reasoning, and results from the achievement of certain abilities, skills, and attitudes. 

Key PointsThe scientific method is based on the following steps:

•  Making an observation:  These observations are based on what has already happened and can be verified as right or wrong.
•  Forming a hypothesis: A hypothesis is a statement that provides an educated prediction or proposed solution.
• Testing the hypothesis/conducting experiment: This is when an activity is created to confirm (or not confirm) the hypothesis.
• Verification of Hypothesis: Once the experiment is completed, the results can be analyzed. The results should either confirm the hypothesis as true or false.
• Drawing a conclusion: It is the last step of the problem-solving, a conclusion is drawn when all information is collected.

Thus, it is concluded that the first step of the scientific method is making an observation.

Co-curricular activities refer to the activities that complement classroom learning experiences of students, maybe organized inside or even outside of the school premises.

• Co-curricular activities should be organized in the school as they help in the overall development of the child. 
• The overall development of a child demands co-curricular activities to be included in the curriculum.

Key Points

Co-curricular activities are mostly related to all-round development of students as co-curricular activities make learning meaningful by:

• ensuring the overall development of learners.
• providing a practical approach towards the topics.
• making learners apply theoretical concepts practically.
• stimulating interest in activities beyond routine classwork.

Co-curricular activities include:

• Social welfare activities
• Visiting parks and museums
• Excursion and sports activities
• Involvement in poster making and dramas
• Participation In Science Clubs And Associations, etc.

Hence, it could be concluded that Co-curricular activities should be organized in the school as they help in the overall development of the child. 

Science as a discipline has its unique perspective. Science is not limited to observation, experimentation, and analysis only rather it is a way of life. Science is an expanding body of knowledge through the process of inquiry.

 Key Points

Nature of Science:

• Science is socially and culturally embedded.
• Science is inferential, imaginative, and creative. It is subjective and theory-laden.
• Science is empirical (based on or derived from developed observation of the natural world).
• Science is not merely a collection of evidence of happenings rather it attempts to understand happening through analysis, testing, and verification.

Important Points

• The value of science comes from its economical and political importance,  but science seeks the truth by observing important values: a scientist must be honest, modest, always critical, rejecting any dogmatism and any fraud,  but also creative, imaginative, and able to work collectively.
• The main values of science to be rigorous, rational, honest, critical, creative, etc. can explain how science aims as far as possible at the truth (even if the scientific knowledge is always under construction) but it is impossible to say that science is the only truth in our world.

Thus, it is concluded that Reality is the value of science for nature.

Expository Approach:

• It is also known as the Transmission Approach.
  In this approach, the teacher is communicating maximum information to the students in a minimum of time.
• This approach helps the teacher to cover the content to be taught to the students.
• This approach is widely used across all subjects and different levels of education by the teacher. 
• The main proponent of this method is David P. Ausubel.
• In the expository approach all the cues provided by the teacher while teaching, the deductive thinking wherein abstract content is differentiated by the teacher giving appropriate examples to the students.
• The teaching Learning process is totally controlled by the teacher.

Hence, the Expository transmission approach in the classroom is completely teacher-centered.

Assessment is a process of collecting relevant information on student learning. It is an integral part of the teaching-learning process. Assessment is conducted in different phases of the teaching-learning process.

• In learner centered assessment the ‘learner’ or ‘child’ and not the ‘teacher’ is the main focus of the educational programme. 
• The overall goal is the all-round development of the child and not only that of acquiring knowledge. 

Key Points

Tool for Learner Centered Assessment: Portfolio, concept mapping, rating scale, Journal writing, and anecdotal records, etc. are the tools for learner centered assessment.

• Portfolio: It contains samples of the learner's work like project reports, assignments, etc to evaluate academic achievement and learning progress over time. It is used for learner centered assessment.
• Concept Mapping: It is a pedagogic technique to help students to check explicitly how new concepts can be related to previously learned concepts. Concept maps are graphical tools for organizing and representing knowledge. It can be in the form of flowcharts, tables, Venn diagrams, etc.
• Journal Writing: It refers to a form of writing, written by learners to record their insights, perceptions, experiences, etc on a specific topic. It helps them in organizing their thoughts and allows them to reflect on themselves. It is used for learner centered assessment.
• Field Trip: It refers to a learning approach that ensures the active involvement of learners in the learning process by taking them at a certain place where they earn knowledge by engaging with real situations.
• Project Work: It refers to a series of task that needs to be done by a group of learners to achieve a particular goal. It promotes the voluntary participation of learners and emphasizes active learning. It is used for learner centered assessment.

NOTE: Paper-Pencil test is used to measure relevant factors of participants' visuospatial ability.

Hence, from the above-mentioned points, it becomes clear that Portfolio, Concept mapping and Journal writing are the tools for learner centered assessment.

Science is derived from the Latin word ‘Scientia which means ‘to know. So, science is limited not only to observation, experimentation, and analysis but also to knowing ways of life. It should be noted that:

Key Points

• The Product of Science is obtained after processing methods of science which are to observe infer, measure, communicate, classify, predict, and use number-space-time relationships and integrated process skills (to control variables, define the operation, formulate a hypothesis, interpret data and, experiments are dealt with in detail).
• The basic components of knowledge that are gathered after applying the above process are fact (24 hours in a day), principle (Archimedes principle), theory or scientific law (Newton’s law), and, concept (speed is distance per unit of time).

Hence, we conclude that scientific laws are the product of science.