Meaning and Definition of Teaching Task

-    In its simple meaning, the term ‘teaching task’ stands for all theose activities that are carried out by teacher in his act of teaching in real teaching learning situation. A teaching task, thus, essentially involves the act or process of teaching aimed at achieving certain teaching objectives.

-        The act or process of teaching in a formal education set-up is always initiated and organized by a person known as a teacher or instructor.

Carter V. Good (1959)

-      -   The term task of teaching simply refers to the act of teaching or imparting instruction on educational institutions. However, in this broader meaning it implies the total management of the teaching-learning situations by a teacher involving:

         1.)    Direct interaction between the teacher and the learner sing instructional materials, methods and devices in a particular teaching-learning environment. 

         2.)    The pre-active initiation involving the process of planning, designing, preparing the materials for the teaching-learning conditions ,and 

         3.)    Post-active redirection (evaluation, redesign and dissemination).
The broader meaning of the term teaching task, as emphasized above  may lead us to draw some important inferences as follows:

 1.)    The task of teaching involves a set of variable comprising teacher, pupils and other content, methods and environment related variables.

 2.)    The task of teaching is carried out in some distinct stages or phrases.

 3.)    It may need to be arranged or planned at some specific levels as per need of the teaching-learning situation and characteristics of learners.

Variables Involved in a Teaching Task

   1.)    Independent Variable

   2.)    Dependent Variable

   3.)    Intervening or Mediating Variables

Functions of Teaching Variables

-      -  In teaching process, the active or functional part is played by the independent and dependent variables. Mainly following three types of functions are performed by these variables:

                 1.)    Diagnostic Functions

                 2.)    Prescriptive Functions 

                 3.)    Evaluate Functions

Diagnostic Functions

-       - The goal is to bring the desirable changes in the behaviour of the students.


Accordingly, a teacher has to perform the following diagnostic functions:

 1.)    He has to diagnose the entering behavior of the student.

 2.)    He has to diagnose and formulate specific educational objectives.

 3.)    He has to analyze the content, instructional material and environmental facilities available for carrying out his task.

 4.)    He has to diagnose his own potential and capabilities and bring desirable improvement in his own behavior for the success of his own mission.
             Although the teacher, as independent variable, is more active in exercising diagnostic functions, yet the role of the student as a dependent variable cannot be underestimated. He has also to perform certain important diagnostic functions on the basis of his perception for his abilities and responses as follows:    
1.)    He has to diagnose he strength and weaknesses of his entry behavior   
  2.)    He has to assess himself in terms of the tools of learning like language and comprehension,  power of expression, ability to think and analyze, psychomotor skill and emotional behavior. 

   3.)    He has to make of the content and instructional material for the purpose of initiation and response on his part.

Perspective Functions

-        The teacher takes decision about the needed prescription for achieving the stipulated objectives.
Accordingly, he has to perform the following functions:

1.)    Selecting appropriate contents and organizing them into proper sequence. 

2.)    Selecting proper teaching techniques, strategies and feedback devices in view of the individual differences among students.

 3.)    Seeking essential cooperation from the students for a purposeful interaction.

Evaluative Functions

-        It concerns with the tasks of evaluating the progress and outcomes of the prescriptive functions that may be decided in the form of realization of the stipulated objectives. The failure in the realization of the objectives in essentially a failure in the perspective functions improper diagnosis or some serious mistakes in prescribing or carrying out the treatment task.

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