Numerous teachers believe that students' unrelated conversations during lessons hinder educational progress and diminish scholarly concentration. Neve...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
Numerous teachers believe that students' unrelated conversations during lessons hinder educational progress and diminish scholarly concentration. Nevertheless, studies by Dr. Maria Santos, an expert in educational psychology, have demonstrated that student dialogues can promote cooperative reasoning and enhance pupil involvement, resulting in better understanding and memory retention that advantages both students and educators. Consequently, educational institutions should recognize that ______
Which choice most logically completes the text?
pupils who participate in unrelated conversations often have difficulty with conventional classroom teaching.
the cooperative benefits of certain student dialogues might offset the presumed interference with education.
for maximum academic success, instructors should promote continuous conversation among pupils during all lessons.
successful classroom supervision demands reducing every type of student dialogue while teaching.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'Numerous teachers believe that students' unrelated conversations during lessons hinder educational progress and diminish scholarly concentration.' |
|
| 'Nevertheless, studies by Dr. Maria Santos, an expert in educational psychology, have demonstrated that student dialogues can promote cooperative reasoning and enhance pupil involvement,' |
|
| 'resulting in better understanding and memory retention that advantages both students and educators.' |
|
| 'Consequently, educational institutions should recognize that ______' |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: While teachers traditionally view student conversations as disruptive, research shows these dialogues can actually benefit learning, so schools should acknowledge this potential value.
Argument Flow: The passage sets up a contrast between traditional teacher beliefs and research findings. It starts with the common view that student conversations hurt education, then presents Dr. Santos's research showing the opposite - that dialogues can improve cooperative reasoning, engagement, and learning outcomes. This leads to a conclusion that schools should recognize something about the value of these conversations.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The passage creates a clear contrast: teachers think student conversations are bad, but Santos's research proves they're actually good
- The conclusion starting with 'Consequently' needs to acknowledge this finding
- The right answer should acknowledge that there are benefits to student dialogues (from Santos's research)
- Address the teachers' concerns about interference
- Suggest these benefits might outweigh or offset the perceived problems
- So the right answer should recognize that despite teachers' concerns about student conversations being disruptive, the research shows there are cooperative benefits that might balance out those worries
pupils who participate in unrelated conversations often have difficulty with conventional classroom teaching.
✗ Incorrect
- This focuses on students having difficulty with conventional teaching
- Doesn't follow from Santos's positive research findings
- Actually contradicts the evidence showing student dialogues help learning
the cooperative benefits of certain student dialogues might offset the presumed interference with education.
✓ Correct
- Perfectly captures the logical conclusion from our analysis
- Acknowledges both the 'presumed interference' (teachers' concerns) and the 'cooperative benefits' (Santos's findings)
- The word 'offset' creates the balanced conclusion that follows from the contrasting evidence
- Matches our prethinking about benefits outweighing concerns
for maximum academic success, instructors should promote continuous conversation among pupils during all lessons.
✗ Incorrect
- Goes too far by suggesting 'continuous conversation during all lessons'
- Santos's research doesn't support such an extreme recommendation
- Students might choose this because it seems to follow Santos's positive findings, but it overgeneralizes beyond what the evidence supports
successful classroom supervision demands reducing every type of student dialogue while teaching.
✗ Incorrect
- Directly contradicts Santos's research findings
- Would mean ignoring the evidence about cooperative benefits entirely
- Goes against the logical flow established by 'Consequently'