PrepTest 126, Section 1, Question 11
In comparing different methods by which a teacher's(48 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(11 more words not shown)
- AChildren can usually(26 more words not shown)
- BPeople are generally(27 more words not shown)
- CAn actor can(25 more words not shown)
- DThe opinions reached(29 more words not shown)
- EIt is easier(35 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
“Here's what you could do better” lands differently from “Everything that went wrong is your fault.”
The researchers' finding is about giving teachers feedback along with a reminder that they aren't the only factor in students' results. A student might pay little attention despite a teacher's efforts. Another might arrive already knowing a lot and do well partly for that reason. Teachers matter, but a student's success or failure isn't entirely theirs to claim.
That reminder doesn't excuse a teacher from improving. It puts the criticism in context: we're addressing your part of a larger situation. I can see why that might make useful feedback easier to act on. The researchers say this combination improves outcomes; they don't say it's the only way feedback could help.
What we’re looking for
We're looking for another situation that illustrates the same principle. I'd expect criticism to help someone improve when it's clear that the person isn't being blamed for the entire problem. Match that relationship, rather than looking for another answer about schools.
Working the answers
- A
This gives children an incentive to master material: earning their peers' respect. It doesn't involve criticism presented alongside a reminder of shared responsibility. An answer can concern education while missing the relationship we're trying to match.
- B
These people accept criticism of a group because they don't think they belong to it. The teachers aren't being told that the criticism concerns some other group and has nothing to do with them. They remain responsible for their part; they just aren't solely responsible for the outcome. B removes the person from the criticized group rather than putting personal criticism in a broader context.
- C
This involves evaluating your own performance while imagining it's someone else's. We aren't asking teachers to pretend that the feedback concerns another teacher. We're giving them feedback about their actual work and explaining that other factors also affect the results. C's change of perspective is a different technique.
- D
This concerns the objectivity of someone making an evaluation from outside a society. Our finding concerns improving the response of someone receiving criticism. D never supplies the shared-responsibility message that accompanies that criticism.
- ECorrect
The athlete receives criticism of his own mistakes, just as the teacher receives criticism of teaching. He also learns that this is part of an effort to improve the whole team, rather than an accusation that the entire team's trouble is his fault. That broader context makes his mistakes easier to correct. Individual improvement within a larger effort matches the researchers' finding.
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