Passage 4: To teach is to create a space in which obedience to truth is practiced. Space may sound a vague, poetic metaphor until we realize that it describes experiences of everyday life. We know what it means to be in a green and open field; we know what it means to be on a crowded rush hour bus. These experiences of physical space have parallels in our relations with others. On our jobs we know what it is to be pressed and crowded, our working space diminished by the urgency of deadlines and competitiveness of colleagues. But then there are times when deadlines disappear and colleagues cooperate, when everyone has a space to move, invent and produce with energy and enthusiasm. With family and friends, we know how it feels to have unreasonable demands placed upon us, to be boxed in by the expectations of those nearest to us. But then there are times when we feel accepted for who we are (or forgiven for who we are not), times when a spouse or a child or a friend gives us the space, both to be and to become.
Similar experiences of crowding and space are found in education. To sit in a class where the teacher stuffs our minds with information, organizes it with finality, insists on having the answers while being utterly uninterested in our views, and focuses us into a grim competition for grades, to sit in such a class is to experience a lack of space for learning. But to study with a teacher, who not only speaks but also listens, who not only answers but asks questions and welcomes our insights, who provides information and theories that do not close doors but open new ones, who encourages students to help each other learn, to study with such a teacher is to know the power of a learning space.
A learning space has three essential dimensions: openness, boundaries and an air of hospitality. To create open learning space is to remove the impediments to learning that we find around and within us; we often create them ourselves to evade the challenge of truth and transformation. One source of such impediments is our fear of appearing ignorant to others or to ourselves. The openness of a space is created by the firmness of its boundaries. A learning space cannot extend indefinitely; if it did, it would not be a structure for learning but an invitation for confusion and chaos. When space boundaries are violated, the quality of space suffers. The teacher who wants to create an open learning space must define and defend its boundaries with care. Because the pursuit of truth can be painful and discomforting, the learning space must be hospitable. Hospitable means receiving each other, our struggles, our new-born ideas with openness and care. It means creating an ethos in which the community of truth can form and the pain of its transformation be borne. A learning space needs to be hospitable not to make learning painless, but to make painful things possible, things without which no learning can occur, things like exposing ignorance, testing tentative hypotheses, challenging false or partial information, and mutual criticism of thought.
The task of creating learning space with qualities of openness, boundaries and hospitality can be approached at several levels. The most basic level is the physical arrangement of the classroom. Consider the traditional classroom setting with rows of chairs facing the lectern, where learning space is confined to the narrow alley of attention between each student and teacher. In this space, there is no community of truth, no hospitality, no room for students to relate to the thoughts of each other. Contrast it with chairs placed in a circular arrangement, creating an open space within which learners can interconnect. At another level, the teacher can create conceptual space, space with words, in two ways. One is through assigned reading; the other is through lecturing. Assigned reading, not in the form of speed reading several hundred pages but contemplative reading, opens rather than fills our learning space. A teacher can also create a learning space by means of lectures. By providing critical information and a framework of interpretation, a lecturer can lay down boundaries within which learning occurs.
We also create learning space through the kind of speech we utter and the silence from which true speech emanates. Speech is a precious gift and a vital tool, but too often our speaking is an evasion of truth, a way of buttressing our self-serving reconstructions of reality. Silence must therefore be an integral part of learning space. In silence, more than in argument, our mind-made world falls away and we are open to the truth that seeks us. Words often divide us, but silence can unite. Finally, teachers must also create emotional space in the classroom, space that allows feelings to arise and be dealt with, because submerged feelings can undermine learning. In an emotionally honest learning space, one created by a teacher who does not fear dealing with feelings, the community of truth can flourish between us and we can flourish in it.
The best remedy for shortage lies in
Show Hint
- putting up more pumps in rural areas.
- cleaning up polluted water.
- reducing the waste level of 25-30 percent of the total flow of water.
- constructing large sized dams.
The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
but improving the usability of existing sources by cleaning up polluted water.
Polluted rivers, lakes, and groundwater cannot be consumed without treatment,
and with a significant portion of India's water bodies being contaminated,
restoring these to usable condition is the quickest and most sustainable solution.
Option (a) only extracts more water, not addresses usability.
Option (c) is important but doesn't recover already polluted sources.
Option (d) involves long timelines and massive ecological consequences.
Hence, option (b) is the most practical and immediate remedy.
The task of creating learning space with qualities of openness, boundaries and hospitality is multidimensional. It involves operating at
Show Hint
- psychological and conceptual levels.
- physical, perceptual and behavioral levels.
- physical, conceptual and emotional levels.
- conceptual, verbal and sensitive levels.
The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
The passage says the task "can be approached at several levels". It names: "The most basic level is the physical arrangement of the classroom"; "the teacher can create conceptual space, space with words" (through assigned reading and lecturing); the kind of speech and silence; and finally "teachers must also create emotional space in the classroom". So the levels are physical, conceptual and emotional.
Step 2: Check each option:
Option (1), "psychological and conceptual levels.": "psychological" is never used as a level, and the physical level is left out.
Option (2), "physical, perceptual and behavioral levels.": "perceptual" and "behavioral" levels are not named in the passage.
Option (3), "physical, conceptual and emotional levels.": physical, conceptual and emotional space are exactly the three levels the passage names.
Option (4), "conceptual, verbal and sensitive levels.": "verbal" and "sensitive" are not named as levels, and the physical level is left out.
Final Answer:
The correct option is (3): physical, conceptual and emotional levels.
The statement 'the openness of a space is created by the firmness of its boundaries' appears contradictory. Which of the following statements provides the best justification for the proposition?
Show Hint
- We cannot have a space without boundaries.
- Bounded space is highly structured.
- When space boundaries are violated, the quality of space suffers.
- A teacher can effectively defend a learning space without boundaries.
The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
The passage says: "The openness of a space is created by the firmness of its boundaries. A learning space cannot extend indefinitely; if it did, it would not be a structure for learning but an invitation for confusion and chaos. When space boundaries are violated, the quality of space suffers." The justification is that violating boundaries damages the quality of the space, so firm boundaries are what keep the space open and useful for learning.
Step 2: Check each option:
Option (1), "We cannot have a space without boundaries.": it says boundaries are necessary, but it does not explain why firm boundaries make the space more open.
Option (2), "Bounded space is highly structured.": being highly structured seems to go against openness, so it does not remove the apparent contradiction.
Option (3), "When space boundaries are violated, the quality of space suffers.": it gives the reason in the passage: without firm boundaries the quality of the space (its openness) suffers.
Option (4), "A teacher can effectively defend a learning space without boundaries.": the passage says the teacher must define and defend the boundaries, so this is the opposite.
Final Answer:
The correct option is (3): When space boundaries are violated, the quality of space suffers.
According to the author, learning is a painful process because
Show Hint
- it exposes our ignorance.
- our views and hypotheses are challenged.
- it involves criticizing the views of others.
- All of the above reasons.
The Correct Option is D
Solution and Explanation
The passage says: "Because the pursuit of truth can be painful and discomforting, the learning space must be hospitable ... to make painful things possible, things without which no learning can occur, things like exposing ignorance, testing tentative hypotheses, challenging false or partial information, and mutual criticism of thought." Exposing ignorance is option (1), testing hypotheses and challenging information is option (2), and mutual criticism is option (3). So all three are reasons.
Step 2: Check each option:
Option (1), "it exposes our ignorance.": exposing ignorance is one of the painful things listed.
Option (2), "our views and hypotheses are challenged.": testing hypotheses and challenging information are listed.
Option (3), "it involves criticizing the views of others.": mutual criticism of thought is listed.
Option (4), "All of the above reasons.": since (1), (2) and (3) are all given, "all of the above" is correct.
Final Answer:
The correct option is (4): All of the above reasons.
Understanding the notion of space in our relations with others is
Show Hint
- to acknowledge the beauty of a poetic metaphor.
- exclusively rooted in our experiences of physical space.
- to accept a spiritual dimension in our dealings with our peers.
- to extend the parallel of physical space to our experiences in daily life.
The Correct Option is D
Solution and Explanation
The passage opens: "Space may sound a vague, poetic metaphor until we realize that it describes experiences of everyday life. ... These experiences of physical space have parallels in our relations with others." So understanding space in our relations with others means carrying over the parallel of physical space (open field, crowded bus) into everyday life.
Step 2: Check each option:
Option (1), "to acknowledge the beauty of a poetic metaphor.": the author says space only "may sound" like a poetic metaphor, and that it is more than that.
Option (2), "exclusively rooted in our experiences of physical space.": "exclusively" is too strong. The relation is a parallel, not a matter rooted only in physical space.
Option (3), "to accept a spiritual dimension in our dealings with our peers.": no spiritual dimension is mentioned.
Option (4), "to extend the parallel of physical space to our experiences in daily life.": the author draws a parallel between physical space and our relations with others in everyday life.
Final Answer:
The correct option is (4): to extend the parallel of physical space to our experiences in daily life.
Which of the following statements best describes the author's conception of learning space?
Show Hint
- Where the teacher is friendly.
- Where there is no grim competition for grades.
- Where the students are encouraged to learn about space.
- Where the teacher provides information and theories which open new doors and encourages students to help each other learn.
The Correct Option is D
Solution and Explanation
The passage describes the teacher who creates a learning space as one "who not only speaks but also listens, who not only answers but asks questions and welcomes our insights, who provides information and theories that do not close doors but open new ones, who encourages students to help each other learn". Option (4) repeats the last two features and is the fullest description. The other options give only part of the picture or something unrelated.
Step 2: Check each option:
Option (1), "Where the teacher is friendly.": friendliness is not discussed. The key features are listening, questioning and welcoming insights.
Option (2), "Where there is no grim competition for grades.": absence of grim competition for grades is part of what a crowded class lacks, but it is only a small part of the idea.
Option (3), "Where the students are encouraged to learn about space.": "space" here is not outer space or a subject of study; it is a metaphor for freedom to learn.
Option (4), "Where the teacher provides information and theories which open new doors and encourages students to help each other learn.": it matches the author's description of the teacher and the learning space most fully.
Final Answer:
The correct option is (4): Where the teacher provides information and theories which open new doors and encourages students to help each other learn.
According to the author, silence must be an integral part of learning space because
Show Hint
- silence helps to unite us with others to create a community of truth.
- silent contemplation prepares us to construct our mind-made world.
- speaking is too often an exercise in the evasion of truth.
- speaking is too often a way of buttressing our self-serving reconstruction of reality.
The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
The passage says: "Speech is a precious gift and a vital tool, but too often our speaking is an evasion of truth, a way of buttressing our self-serving reconstructions of reality. Silence must therefore be an integral part of learning space. In silence, more than in argument, our mind-made world falls away and we are open to the truth that seeks us. Words often divide us, but silence can unite." Options (3) and (4) are two halves of the same single remark about the faults of speech, so they cannot be told apart and cannot both be the intended answer. Option (2) is false, since in silence the mind-made world "falls away". Option (1) is the positive reason: silence opens us to truth and unites us, which is what a "community of truth" needs.
Step 2: Check each option:
Option (1), "silence helps to unite us with others to create a community of truth.": "silence can unite" and the learning space is meant to form a "community of truth". This is the benefit of silence that the author names.
Option (2), "silent contemplation prepares us to construct our mind-made world.": the opposite is said: in silence our mind-made world "falls away".
Option (3), "speaking is too often an exercise in the evasion of truth.": this says what is wrong with speech. It is true to the passage, but it is the same remark as (4), so it cannot be the single intended answer.
Option (4), "speaking is too often a way of buttressing our self-serving reconstruction of reality.": this also describes the fault of speech, and is the second half of the same sentence as (3).
Final Answer:
The correct option is (1): silence helps to unite us with others to create a community of truth.
Another way of describing the author's notion of learning space can be summarized in the following manner
Show Hint
- It is vital that learning be accompanied by unlearning.
- Learning encompasses such elements as courage, dignity and endeavour.
- An effective teacher recognizes the value of empathy.
- Encourage good learners, discourage indifferent ones.
The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
The author says hospitality "means receiving each other, our struggles, our new-born ideas with openness and care", wants a teacher who "welcomes our insights" and "does not fear dealing with feelings", and says submerged feelings can undermine learning. All this is about understanding and sharing the feelings of learners, that is, empathy. Option (3) captures this. Unlearning, courage-dignity-endeavour and discouraging indifferent learners are not ideas in the passage.
Step 2: Check each option:
Option (1), "It is vital that learning be accompanied by unlearning.": unlearning is not mentioned.
Option (2), "Learning encompasses such elements as courage, dignity and endeavour.": courage, dignity and endeavour are not mentioned.
Option (3), "An effective teacher recognizes the value of empathy.": the author's emphasis on care, hospitality and dealing with feelings amounts to recognising the value of empathy.
Option (4), "Encourage good learners, discourage indifferent ones.": discouraging learners goes against the idea of a welcoming space.
Final Answer:
The correct option is (3): An effective teacher recognizes the value of empathy.
According to the author, an effective teacher does not allow
Show Hint
- feelings to arise within the learning space.
- silence to become an integral part of the learning space.
- learning space to be filled by speed reading of several hundred pages of assigned reading.
- violation of learning space boundaries.
The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
The author says the teacher can create conceptual space through assigned reading, "not in the form of speed reading several hundred pages but contemplative reading, [which] opens rather than fills our learning space." So an effective teacher does not let the space be filled by speed reading of several hundred pages. Options (1) and (2) are wrong because the teacher must allow feelings to arise and must make silence an integral part. Option (4) is also in line with the passage (the teacher must "define and defend its boundaries"), but option (3) is the one that repeats the passage's specific contrast about what the teacher avoids.
Step 2: Check each option:
Option (1), "feelings to arise within the learning space.": the teacher must create emotional space "that allows feelings to arise and be dealt with".
Option (2), "silence to become an integral part of the learning space.": the author says silence "must therefore be an integral part of learning space".
Option (3), "learning space to be filled by speed reading of several hundred pages of assigned reading.": the author rejects speed reading of several hundred pages in favour of contemplative reading.
Option (4), "violation of learning space boundaries.": the teacher does defend the boundaries, so this is also consistent with the passage, but it is a general point, while (3) is the specific contrast the author draws.
Final Answer:
The correct option is (3): learning space to be filled by speed reading of several hundred pages of assigned reading.
An emotionally honest learning space can only be created by
Show Hint
- a teacher committed to joining the community of truth.
- a teacher who is not afraid of confronting feelings.
- a teacher who takes care not to undermine the learning process.
- a teacher who worships critical silence.
The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
The passage ends: "In an emotionally honest learning space, one created by a teacher who does not fear dealing with feelings, the community of truth can flourish between us and we can flourish in it." So the emotionally honest space is created by a teacher who is not afraid of dealing with (confronting) feelings.
Step 2: Check each option:
Option (1), "a teacher committed to joining the community of truth.": the community of truth flourishes in such a space, but it is not what creates the space.
Option (2), "a teacher who is not afraid of confronting feelings.": this repeats "a teacher who does not fear dealing with feelings".
Option (3), "a teacher who takes care not to undermine the learning process.": this is too general and is not what the passage says about emotional honesty.
Option (4), "a teacher who worships critical silence.": "worships critical silence" is not in the passage.
Final Answer:
The correct option is (2): a teacher who is not afraid of confronting feelings.
Conceptual space with words can be created by
Show Hint
- assigned reading and lecturing.
- speed reading and written comprehension.
- gentle persuasion and deliberate action.
- creative extrapolation and illustrations.
The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
The passage says: "At another level, the teacher can create conceptual space, space with words, in two ways. One is through assigned reading; the other is through lecturing." So conceptual space with words is created by assigned reading and lecturing.
Step 2: Check each option:
Option (1), "assigned reading and lecturing.": assigned reading and lecturing are the two ways named in the passage.
Option (2), "speed reading and written comprehension.": speed reading is rejected by the author, and written comprehension is not mentioned.
Option (3), "gentle persuasion and deliberate action.": persuasion and deliberate action are not mentioned.
Option (4), "creative extrapolation and illustrations.": extrapolation and illustrations are not mentioned.
Final Answer:
The correct option is (1): assigned reading and lecturing.
Top CAT Questions
- Compare and contrast between Portia and Jessica characters in Merchant of Venice.
- In a triangle ABC,AB=AC=8cm. A circle drawn with BC as diameter passes through A. Another circle drawn with center at A passes through B and C. Then the area,in sq.cm,of the overlapping region between the two circles is
- The simple interest accrued on an amount of Rs.25,000 at the end of three years is Rs.7,500. What would be the compound interest accrued on the same amount at the same rate in the same period?
- What is the sum of all roots of the equation \(|x+4|^2–10|x+4|=24\)?
- A solid metal sphere is melted and smaller spheres of equal radii are formed. 10% of the volume of the sphere is lost in the process. The smaller spheres have a radius which is \(\frac{1}{9}\text{th}\) the larger sphere. If 10 litres of paint were needed to paint the larger sphere,how many litres are needed to paint all the smaller spheres?