TEPC Practice Test 1
Ms. Donahue and the task force consider various professional development options to help teachers interact effectively with the parents or guardians of students whose home language is other than English. Which of the following options would likely be most helpful to teachers in this regard? -A workshop on cultural factors that can affect communication between teachers and parents/guardians -A minicourse focusing on commonly used phrases in the home languages of students enrolled in the school -A seminar on efficient techniques for directing teacher conferences with parents/guardians -A presentation on the history of discrimination in the United States and the negative consequences of cultural stereotyping
A workshop on cultural factors that can affect communication between teachers and parents/guardian
Ms. Morgan decides to contact the local education service center to inquire about opportunities to learn more about issues related to gender stereotyping at the primary level. This decision best illustrates Ms. Morgan's understanding that effective teachers: -Act in accordance with the legal requirements for Texas schools -Willingly assume multiple roles to enhance student learning -Actively seek out opportunities to grow professionally -Recognize how personal factors can affect professional effectiveness
Actively seek out opportunities to grow professionally
Questions 30 - 32 are based on the following scenario: A team of four middle school teachers (English, science, social studies, and mathematics) is assigned to teach a group of 80 diverse eighth-grade students. At the beginning of the school year, the four teachers collaborate on an interdisciplinary unit on the environment. The unit focuses on the study of a small pond located on town property near the school grounds. The first project of the unit is to find out as much as possible about the pond to determine if it is ecologically healthy. Students complete various activities in each of their classes to help them collect and analyze information about the pond. In science class, students collect data for water-quality analysis, study the plants and animals that live in and around the pond, and consider how the plants and animals are affected by the techniques to analyze the data collected in science class. In English class, students present impromptu oral reports and write essays, poems, and short stories about the pond and their activities related to the unit in order to develop their ability to talk and write about their ideas and their work. In social studies class, students work on creating and comparing a variety of different types of maps of the pond area and researching the town's plans for the area. Some of the activities in the unit will be conducted by individual students, while others will involve small groups. The teachers' decision to develop this interdisciplinary unit best reflects their understanding that learners at this developmental level generally: -Have developed the ability to understand the perspectives of others -Are interested in investigating realistic problems and situations -Have developed the ability to recognize their own thought processes -Are interested in exploring broad questions about life and its meaning
Are interested in investigating realistic problems and situations
An eighteen-year-old in Ms. Smith's class volunteers to drive his own car to help transport students to the elementary school. In responding to the student's offer, which of the following steps should Ms. Smith take first? -Determine whether a sufficient number of parent volunteers are available to drive students on the planned date. -Research the availability of district-owned school buses or vans for transporting students on the planned date. -Contact the student's parents to obtain their permission for the student to drive his own car on the planned date. -Check with the high school administration about district guidelines concerning student transportation.
Check with the high school administration about district guidelines concerning student transportation
Which of the following would be the most appropriate and effective way for the science teacher to prevent such behavior problems from happening in the future during outdoor activities? -Reducing significantly the number of outdoor activities associated with the unit and making it clear to students that have lost that privilege -Informing students that their behavior will be counted as a factor when calculating grades for the outdoor activity -Clarifying his expectations for student behavior during outdoor activities and outlining the consequences for individuals who misbehave -Formulating detailed written directions about the activity to hand out to students as soon as they leave the building for an outdoor activity
Clarifying his expectations for student behavior during outdoor activities and outlining the consequences for individuals who misbehave
One morning early in the school year, Jill Morgan, a first-grade teacher, sees Timmy stop Allison from adding a block to a building he and some other boys are constructing. He announces, No girls allowed! Girls don't know how to build! Only boys in the block area! Ms. Morgan monitors the block area over the next week and sees several other boys practicing the same exclusionary behavior toward girls that Timmy demonstrated. She decides to intervene to promote more inclusive behavior in the block area. She also considers how to address the general issue of gender stereotyping in her classroom. Of the following, Ms. Morgan's best motivational strategy for encouraging boys to include girls in their block activities would be to: -Comment approvingly whenever she sees boys and girls working together in the block area -Advise the class that the block area may have to be closed if the boys' behavior continues -Offer privileges, such as being first in line, as a reward to boys who include girls in their block play -Meet with the offending boys as a group and ensure they understand the consequences of continuing their behavior
Comment approvingly whenever she sees boys and girls working together in the block area
The steps Ms. Smith takes to share her proposal with the principal and SBDM team best illustrate her ability to: -Communicate effectively with other school professionals to accomplish educational goals -Collaborate with other school professionals to define instructional objectives -Motivate other school professionals to create opportunities for multi-disciplinary instruction -Promote her own professional growth by seeking guidance from other school professionals
Communicate effectively with other school professionals to accomplish educational goals
Questions 39 - 41 are based on the following scenario: During a task force meeting, Ms. Donahue points out that although the ethnic and cultural diversity of the student body has broadened substantially over the past few years, this diversity is rarely represented in school activities involving students' families. One teacher suggests, Maybe we're not doing enough to make all families feel comfortable interacting with the school. The task force affirms its commitment to ensure that the school provides an educational environment that is welcoming as well as enriching for all families. The task force considers various ways to encourage all families to become more involved in the school. As a first step, which of the following actions is likely to be most effective in promoting this goal? -Urge parents and guardians to participate in a schoolwide, multicultural festival organized by the teaching staff. -Recruit interested students to serve as outreach representatives who contact families and invite them to participate in school activities. -Provide teachers in school with specific suggestions for enriching the curriculum through multicultural activities. -Conduct a needs assessment to determine appropriate outreach activities to involve parents and guardians in the school.
Conduct a needs assessment to determine appropriate outreach activities to involve parents and guardians in the school
During the discussion, one student suggests that there could be separate times for the girls and the boys to be in the block area. Of the following, the major drawback to this suggestion is that such a policy would: -Require Ms. Morgan to devote excessive attention to which group of students is in the block area at any given time -Seriously limit students' opportunities to learn through observation and modeling of the work of all of their classmates -Encourage unhealthy competition among girls and boys over whose block creations are superior -Contradict the principle of creating a classroom environment that fosters the appreciation and acceptance of others
Contradict the principle of creating a classroom environment that fosters the appreciation and acceptance of others
The Option #2 arrangement is likely to be more effective than Option #1 in facilitating which of the following?-Arrival and departure routines -Learning center activities -Independent research -Cooperative learning projects
Cooperative learning projects
Two teachers plan to share responsibility for a preschool program. One of the teachers will work each morning, and the other will take over each afternoon. Which of the following steps taken by the teachers before the year begins will best help to ensure their program's effectiveness? -Assign each teacher a specified set of administrative responsibilities, with overlap between the teachers' responsibilities minimized. -Identify a teaching style that both teachers are comfortable using and that both will emphasize in meeting the needs of the children in the program. -Reach agreement about how to divide the curriculum between the two teachers, giving each teacher primary responsibility for specified curricular areas. -Create a schedule that allows the teachers time each day to coordinate activities and share information about issues affecting children in the class.
Create a schedule that allows the teachers time each day to coordinate activities and share information about issues affecting children in the class
For each work sample that students include in their portfolios, Ms. Hanson asks them to write a one- to two -paragraph explanation of why they consider it to be among their best work. The most important benefit to students of preparing these written self-evaluations is that it is likely to encourage students to: -Manage their workload more effectively -Learn more about other mediums in which they can express themselves -Develop a reflective and critical attitude toward their own work -Compare their own progress with that of their peers
Develop a reflective and critical attitude toward their own work
After class, some students seem confused about the purpose of the questionnaire activity and ask a number of questions about the playground project. Ms. Smith could have best avoided this communication problem by modifying her introduction to the project in which of the following ways? -Discussing with students a clearly written outline of the planned stages of the project -Meeting individually with students to make sure they understand the planned stages of the project before beginning the questionnaire activity -Making sure that students are paying attention during her initial explanation of the project -Using the first class period to provide a detailed explanation of the playground project
Discussing with students a clearly written outline of the planned stages of the project
The initial open-ended class discussion about playground equipment is likely to benefit students most by encouraging them to: -Evaluate information from a variety of sources -Apply critical-thinking skills when problem solving -Draw on prior experience as a foundation for new learning -Recognize the value of school-community partnerships
Draw on prior experience as a foundation for new learning
Allowing students to choose among a variety of materials to create their model play structures is likely to support learning most by: -Prompting students to reflect on their academic strengths and needs -Encouraging students to analyze the limitations of various options -Creating a classroom climate of mutual respect among students -Encouraging students to assess their own performance
Encouraging students to analyze the limitations of various options
After students complete their study of the pond, they will conduct a similar study of a creek across town. Students will use the concepts and methods they have learned from their pond study to collect and analyze data about the creek. They will then compare the findings of their study of the creek to the findings of their pond study. The English teacher plans to accompany the science teacher on the trip to the creek. Before the field trip to the creek, the science teacher plans to engage students in a discussion in which they explore how the creek's ecology is likely to differ from that of the pond. This discussion is most likely to facilitate student learning during the field trip by: -Encouraging students to make predictions they can test during the trip -Highlighting the rationale for guidelines students must follow on the trip -Supplying students with background information about the trip -Helping students understand how their participation in the trip will be assessed
Encouraging students to make predictions they can test during the trip
Of the following, the most important first step for Ms. Morgan to take in her effort to create a classroom environment that is as gender-equitable as possible would be to: -Review all books in the class and remove all those containing text or illustrations that could be viewed as reinforcing gender stereotypes -Ensure that classroom aides, helpers, and guest presenters are representative of both genders -Make large, colorful posters to hang in the room that depict various gender-stereotyping behaviors to avoid -Ensure that she does not model behaviors or attitudes that reflect unconscious gender stereotyping
Ensure that she does not model behaviors or attitudes that reflect unconscious gender stereotyping
Some students are well versed in the use of computer technology, while others have little or no experience with computers. It would be most appropriate for the teachers to try to increase students' motivation to improve their computer skills by: -Establishing work partnerships between students with strong computer skills and students whose skills are more limited -Giving students extra credit for turning in assignments that were completed on the computer -Requiring after-school tutorials for students who cannot perform at a certain level of proficiency on the computer -Praising in front of their peers those students who are highly skilled in using computers
Establishing work partnerships between students with strong computer skills and students whose skills are more limited
When planning how to implement computer instruction in a preschool classroom, the teacher should focus primarily on promoting children's: -Application of computer technology for practical purposes -Exploration of the computer's uses and capabilities -Ability to create pleasing final products -Acquisition of computer skills at a relatively steady pace
Exploration of the computer's uses and capabilities
Questions 21 - 23 are based on the following scenario: Ms. Smith's students participate in the following activities to design their play structures. Activity #1: Students review the results of the questionnaire and informal interviews, discuss the findings, and draw some general conclusions about the kinds of play equipment elementary-age children like best. Activity #2: In small groups, students develop a list of realistic criteria for designing a play structure (e.g., safety, cost, variety, age-appropriateness), then refine the criteria during whole-group discussion. Activity #3: Students rejoin their small groups to research the characteristics (e.g., strength, durability, flexibility) of various construction materials that could be used to construct a play structure. They compare the quality of the different materials with the materials' estimated costs to determine which materials are likely to be most cost-effective in the long run. Activity #4: Students decide whether to work individually, in pairs, or in small groups to design model play structures for the planned community playground. Activity #5: Students use a variety of materials and resources available in the classroom (e.g., wood, metal, plastic, computer graphics programs), to build a model of a play structure that addresses the needs and interests of children as well as the other criteria defined by the class. Activity #3 is most likely to address which of the following instructional objectives? -Fostering students' ability to make connections across different content areas -Helping students become self-motivated when addressing new challenges -Fostering the development of students' critical-thinking and problem-solving skills -Helping students use prior knowledge to formulate conclusions
Fostering the development of students' critical-thinking and problem-solving
Ms. Miller plans to have several Visitor Days throughout the year, to which students will invite parents, guardians, siblings, other caregivers and relatives, and friends. Visitor Days will provide opportunities for family and friends to observe in class and for students to share what they are learning. Ms. Miller outlines the following plan for Visitor Days. Visitor Days will be scheduled from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. to accommodate the different lunch hours visitors may have. At the beginning of the school year, students will take home a Visitor Days schedule for the year. Ten days before each Visitor Day, students will make and take home invitations. Two weeks before each Visitor Day, students will begin planning Visitor Day activities and presentations. Each student will have a clipboard on which to write ideas that have been discussed or new ideas to share with the class. On the day before Visitor Day, students will list on their clipboards the things they want to show their visitors. On Visitor Day, the clipboards will be place at each student's desk, along with other work such as projects and writing portfolios, ready to be shown to the visitors. Having family and friends visit the class during the school day is most likely to motivate students to do well in school by: -Promoting their appreciation of the intrinsic value of learning in and out of school -Giving them the sense that their work in school is valued by the important people in their lives -Making them feel successful no matter how well they perform in school -Providing them with increased opportunities to relate classroom learning to real-life situations
Giving them the sense that their work in school is valued by the important people in their lives
A preschooler has a pitcher of milk. After pouring milk from the pitcher into three cups, the preschooler announces that she now has more milk. The teacher's best assessment of this incident would be that the student: -Appears to be showing signs of a developmental delay -Has not grasped the concept of conservation of volume -Appears to be showing signs of a visual disability -Has not developed the concept of object permanence
Has not grasped the concept of conservation of volume
Questions 25 - 29 are based on the following scenario: Ms. Morgan decides to hold a class meeting to address the problem in the block area. During her opening remarks, Ms. Morgan also describes other instances where she has seen boys and girls excluding each other, as well as derogatory comments that she has overheard boys and girls make about each other. She then guides students in a discussion of why people might act like this, how exclusion and mean comments make people feel, and what the class might do to encourage everyone to treat each other more considerately. Ms. Morgan's decision to conduct a class discussion of the situation demonstrates her understanding that teachers in Texas have a responsibility to: -Ensure that students are given the opportunity to participate in all decisions that affect them directly -Help students recognize issues of fairness and equity and develop the tools for dealing with these issues -Respond effectively to the unique needs of individual students in their classrooms -Mediate equity-related conflicts swiftly and in a non-directive manner
Help students recognize issues of fairness and equity and develop the tools for dealing with these issues
How could Ms. Morgan best make use of community resources to reinforce her goals for students in regard to eliminating gender stereotyping in the classroom? -Invite men and women in the community who work in nontraditional roles to come to the class to discuss and demonstrate what they do. -Ask students to interview their parents about their experiences of gender stereotyping and summarize their interviews for the class. -Invite a member of the city government to speak to the class about federal and state laws against gender discrimination in the workplace. -Ask students to take note of men and women who do various jobs in their neighborhoods and present a report to the class on their observations.
Invite men and women in the community who work in nontraditional roles to come to the class to discuss and demonstrate what they do
One member of the task force comments that parents and guardians often seem confused about the purpose and process of standardizing testing. As a first step, which of the following actions would best help teachers address this problem? -Arrange for a testing expert to present a lecture to parents and guardians about standardized testing. -Inform parents and guardians that the school counselor is available to answer specific questions about standardized testing. -Conduct a telephone survey of parents and guardians to gauge their understanding of testing principles. -Invite parents and guardians to attend a school-sponsored question-and-answer forum about standardized testing.
Invite parents and guardians to attend a school-sponsored question-and-answer forum about standardized testing
The teachers begin the unit by outlining for students what they should expect to learn from the unit. This procedure best demonstrates the teachers' understanding that: -Learning is enhanced when students can apply what they learn through instructional activities -Instructional activities should be responsive to student interests and needs -Learning is enhanced when students understand the goals and purposes of instructional activities -Instructional activities should include incentives for student participation
Learning is enhanced when students understand the goals and purposes of instructional activities
Questions 42 & 43 are based on the following scenario: Ms Donahue works with the task force to identify a variety of opportunities for parents and guardians to interact with student and staff in the classroom or in other school settings. Members of the task force agree that when parents or guardians volunteer in the classroom, they should play responsive rather than directive roles in relation to students. This recommendation best reflects an understanding that adolescents students: -Tend to be reflective and introspective -Often resist adult authority in order to assert their independent identities -Tend to resist individuality while striving to conform to their peer group -Often experiment with assuming a variety of roles and identities
Often resist adult authority in order to assert their independent identities
Joshua is a three-year-old boy who often chooses to play in the block corner during free playtime. For several weeks, Joshua's block constructions have consisted primarily of repetitive rows made by placing the blocks end-to-end horizontally or by stacking them vertically. Based on the information, the best assessment of Joshua's play with the blocks is that he is: -Too limited in his approach and needs to be stimulated to explore other types of block construction -Passing through a predictable stage in his exploration of the block medium -Exhibiting signs of cognitive delay and should be tested for possible cognitive deficits -Showing the effects of a home environment in which materials other than blocks are used to provide cognitive stimulation
Passing through a predictable stage in his exploration of the block medium
Ms. Smith notices that several students seem apprehensive about their role during the planned visit. She decides to give students the option of working with a partner to observe and interview children on the playground. This strategy best demonstrates Ms. Smith's understanding that adolescent students are likely to benefit from: -Peer support in unfamiliar social contexts -Interacting with peers during instructional activities -Modeling from the teacher when developing new skills -Instructional activities that involve peer assessment
Peer support in unfamiliar social contexts
Questions 1-3 are based on the following scenario: Laura May Hanson teaches art in a middle school with a diverse student population. She includes the following art appreciation activity in her eighth-grade unit on painting. She shows students slides of paintings exemplifying each of the following three genres: portraits, landscapes, and still-lifes. Afterward, students engage in a small group activity in which they are given 20 numbered postcards displaying reproductions of painting and are asked to classify the painting by genre. Ms. Hanson tells them to make their choices based on observations they made during the slide presentation. She then asks each group to complete the following two task sheets as they work through the activity. Activity: Identify the genre of paintings TASK 1: Examine each of the reproductions in your set of 20 postcards, and classify each painting according to its genre. Use the Other category for paintings that appear to represent more than one genre OR that do not fit any of these categories. For all the paintings, explain why you think the painting belongs in that category. Card # Portrait Landscape Still-Life Other, Explain why your group thinks this painting belongs in this genre 1 2 Activity: Identify the genre of paintings TASK 2: When you are finished categorizing the reproductions, go back and review all the paintings in each category. Describe the characteristics those paintings have in common. When two or more of the Other paintings have features in common, make up a name for this genre, and describe the common characteristics of the paintings in this category. Name and describe all the new genres you noticed. Genre Common Characteristics All Portraits: All Landscapes: All Still-Lifes: All ______: By introducing the unit on painting with the classification activities, Ms. Hanson best demonstrates an understanding that adolescents tend to: -Enjoy questioning traditionally accepted norms and values -Prefer constructing knowledge to receiving information passively -Be reflective and introspective in their thoughts and feelings -Depend on peers for a sense of personal identity and acceptance
Prefer constructing knowledge to receiving information passively
Questions 13 & 14 are based on the following scenario: Kay Smith, a high school industrial technology teacher, learns that a local business has announced plans to build a community playground in the neighborhood. The company is donating property for the project and financing construction of a large play structure. Company officials have hired an architect for the project and have announced their desire for community input on the design of the play structure. Ms. Smith shares with the principal and the school's site-based decision-making (SBDM) team the following proposal to involve students in her twelfth-grade industrial technology classes with the project. The students would prepare a questionnaire for children in a nearby elementary school about their preferences in play equipment. Interested teachers at the elementary school would administer the questionnaire to their students, and Ms. Smith's students would analyze the results. Ms. Smith's students would visit the elementary school to observe and interview children at recess. The students would then create their own designs for a play structure addressing the children's needs and interests, and forward their suggestions to the architect in charge of the project. The principal and members of the SBMD team are enthusiastic about the proposal and encourage Ms. Smith to contact company officials and to implement the plan. Ms. Smith's decision to design instructional activities that relate directly to the community-based playground project is most likely to benefit her students in which of the following ways? -Helping students cope with community problems that could affect their lives -Promoting an understanding of city government and other community agencies -Helping students recognize how specific community issues are viewed by others -Promoting mutually supportive interactions between the school and the community
Promoting mutually supportive interactions between the school and the community
Jamie is a student in Ms. Hanson's class who has a learning disability that is likely to make it difficult for him to participate fully in the group classification activity. Ms. Hanson can best fulfill her legal and professional responsibilities toward this student by taking which of the following steps first? -Providing Jamie with a related alternative activity that he could work on independently and complete successfully -Arranging for Jamie to complete the activity in the resource room with the support of the special education teacher -Developing roles and responsibilities for the members of each group so as to involve Jamie productively in the group activity -Assigning a partner to work with Jamie during the activity who will help guide him to the correct answers
Providing Jamie with a related alternative activity that he could work on independently and complete successfully
Ms. Smith invites the architect in charge of the community playground to visit the class and talk with students about the project. This visit is most likely to foster student growth by: -Raising students' awareness of possible connections between their current classroom learning and future career opportunities -Educating students about available resources and strategies to address problems in the local community -Helping students recognize that people from many different backgrounds are responsible for the functioning of the community -Enhancing students' appreciation for the rigorous requirements of various professions
Raising students' awareness of possible connections between their current classroom learning and future career opportunities
Questions 18 - 20 are based on the following scenario: Ms. Smith makes plans for her industrial technology students to visit the elementary school to observe and interview children on the playground about their preferences in play equipment. She begins by calling the principal of the elementary school to work out details of the planned visit. When dealing with the administration, teachers, and students at the elementary school, Ms. Smith should pay particular attention to her primary role as: -Developer of innovative instructional strategies -Organizer of community-based initiatives -Coordinator of the dual-campus activities -Representative of the high school learning community
Representative of the high school learning community
Questions 33 & 34 are based on the following scenario: The science teacher is new and has limited experience with classroom management. The first time he brings a large group of students to the pond to collect samples, a number of them have difficulty staying focused. Though the teacher repeatedly instructs students to stay out of the water, some students begin to splash and wade into the pond. One piece of equipment is dropped into the water and lost.In reflecting on the students' behavior at the pond, the science teacher should be aware that students' social-emotional development at this age often tends to make them: -Insecure about sharing their thoughts and feelings with others -Resistant to adult authority -Self-conscious in new social settings -Sensitive to criticism from adults
Resistant to authority
Both of the room arrangements Ms. Miller is considering could best be improved by including a: -Food preparation area -Separate area for working with individuals or small groups -Larger pet center -Meeting area for students who have completed their assignments
Separate are for working with individuals or small groups
Linda Donahue is a high school English teacher. During the third quarter of the school year, she reflects on the lack of school involvement by parents and guardians. Memberships in the PTA has dwindled this year, and only a few parents and guardians have volunteered in the classroom or in other school settings. Attendance at school-sponsored family events remains poor, and some teachers have reported difficulty in getting parents and guardians to come in for parent/teacher conferences. Raising her concern at a faculty meeting, Ms. Donahue suggests that a school-wide effort is needed to motivate parents and guardians to become more involved in the school. The faculty approves of her suggestion, and she takes it to the principal and the site-based decision-making (SBDM) team. These consultations result in the creation of a special faculty task force on family outreach headed by Ms. Donahue. The task force is charged with collecting and summarizing faculty recommendations for increasing family involvement now and in the next school year. A comprehensive survey of the school's faculty reveals that few teachers establish a means for regularly communicating with parents and guardians and fewer still send parents/guardians any form of introductory communication at the beginning of the school year. The task force considers ways to involve students in encouraging parents and guardians to take a more active role in the school. Which of the following is likely to be the most effective strategy for this purpose? -Teachers help students draft a list of classroom and school tasks for which parents and guardians will be asked to volunteer. -Students work together to design a contract for parents and guardians to sign to show their commitment to participate in school activities. -Teachers meet individually with students to suggest ways they can encourage their parents/guardians to be more involved in the school. -Students participate in preparing a monthly calendar of class and school activities to which parents and guardians are invited.
Students participate in preparing a monthly calendar of class and school activities to which parents and guardians are invited
In the sample sets given to each group, Ms. Hanson includes reproductions of paintings created in a wide range of time periods and cultural traditions, including cultures represented by students' own backgrounds. By doing this, Ms. Hanson best demonstrates an understanding of the importance of: -Taking advantage of the diversity within and beyond the classroom to create a classroom environment that respects and celebrates differences -Fostering students' view of learning as a purposeful pursuit that is meaningful to them -Taking into account students' individual strengths and learning styles in order to design instruction that maximizes learning for a diverse student population -Helping students make connections between their prior learning experiences and those that are new to them
Taking advantage of the diversity within and beyond the classroom to create a classroom environment that respects and celebrates differences
Four-year-old Tamara, whose parents were recently divorced, divides her time each week between her parents' homes. Early each morning, Tamara is left with a babysitter, who drops her off at preschool at 9:00. Tamara stays at the preschool until noon. Two days a week, Tamara is taken to a playgroup after preschool. For the remaining three days each week, Tamara goes to the babysitter's house until one of her parents picks her up at dinnertime. Tamara's preschool teacher is considering how to meet Tamara's needs. Based on the information provided, the teacher should give the highest priority to ensuring that: -Preschool staff encourage Tamara to make one or two very close friends at the preschool with whom she can interact on a regular basis -Tamara's preschool program is characterized by predictability in teacher practices and daily classroom routines -Preschool staff regularly find ways to reinforce with Tamara basic concepts related to families and their functioning -Tamara's preschool program sets aside a block of time each day for children to express and explore their feelings
Tamara's preschool program is characterized by predictability in teacher practices and daily classroom routines
Which of the following best describes the role that parents/guardians should play in assessment in an early childhood classroom? -Teachers should ask parents/guardians to serve as advisors as to what tests should be administered to their children and under what conditions. -Parents'/guardians' role in assessment should focus on a child's personal growth rather than the child's cognitive or academic. -Parents/guardians should be urged to provide and help interpret information about their child's educational program. -Teachers should not expect parents/guardians to play a role in assessment.
Teachers should ask parents/guardians to serve as advisors as to what tests should be administered to their children and under what conditions
When sending school notices to the parents or guardians of students whose home language is other than English, teachers should make every effort to ensure that: -An interpreter calls parents or guardians to verify their understanding of the notices -Students translate the school notices for their parents or guardians -The notices are written in the home language of the students' parents or guardians -An interpreter makes home visits to translate the notices for parents or guardians
The notices are written in the home language of the students' parents or guardians
Ms. Miller decides to arrange the room according to Option #2. She also decides to have students begin the school year with assigned seats. When making seat assignments, which of the following would be most important for Ms. Miller to consider? -The potential for rivalry or behavior problems among students in different clusters of desks -The special needs of students with physical or emotional disabilities -The types of friendships that are likely to be formed among students in each cluster of desks -The value of seating students with peers of similar academic ability
The special needs of students with physical or emotional disabilities
Ms. Donahue and the task force talk about ways for teachers to foster greater involvement of parents and guardians by recommending activities that could be done at home to complement and extend students' classroom work. The task force suggests that teachers inform parents and guardians that throughout the school year they will be recommending various learning activities that could be done at home. When teachers initially raise this subject with parents/guardians, which of the following points should they emphasize first? -The need for parents and guardians to identify an appropriate work space for students in the home -The value of providing consistent feedback to students -The valuable role parents and guardians play as teachers in the home -The importance of encouraging good study habits
The valuable role parents and guardians play as teachers in the home
Questions 6 & 7 are based on the following scenario: Following the art appreciation unit about painting, Ms. Hanson's students study various techniques and materials to use in their own paintings. For this unit, Ms. Hanson's students will maintain portfolios in which they will include a selection of the paintings they create in class. Throughout the unit, students will select samples of what they consider represents their best work to include in their portfolios. The student portfolios will be evaluated and count as part of students' grade for the marking period. Ms. Hanson can most effectively avoid any appearance of bias or arbitrariness in her evaluation of students' portfolios by: -Using evaluative criteria that students understand and agree on -Establishing a minimum number of items for students to include in the portfolios -Evaluating portfolios on a credit/no credit or pass/fail basis -Providing a written evaluation to each student
Using evaluative criteria that students understand and agree on
During the class discussion, one issue that stimulates a great deal of interest and enthusiasm among the students is the way in which painting styles vary from time to time and from place to place. Following is an excerpt from the discussion. Jeff: I like the way they used all that gold in medieval paintings in Europe, but I don't understand why everything looks so flat! And look how big this guy is compared to the house! (holds up a postcard his group studied during the activity) Did they really see things that way back then? Ms. Hanson: That's a good point, Jeff. Can anybody help Jeff answer his question? Jamal: I think it was because they didn't know how to use perspective back then. Or maybe they just didn't care about perspective. Ms. Hanson: That term sounds familiar, Jamal. Could you remind the class what is meant by using perspective? Jamal: You know, making something look three-dimensional. Like when we learned how to draw cubes last month. The back of the cube should be smaller than the front. And you need to use the right shading. I don't think they knew how to do that. Ms. Hanson Yes, you're right, Jamal. It wasn't until later that painters in Europe learned to use the mathematical laws of perspective to create the illusion of space. Can anyone show us an example of a painting in which the painter used perspective to make the composition look more three-dimensional, like Jamal described? During the discussion, Ms. Hanson promotes a supportive classroom environment primarily by: -Adapting instruction to address individual students' strengths and needs -Clearly explaining her expectations -Providing opportunities for students to make their own decisions -Validating students' ideas
Validating students' ideas
During the slide presentation and the explanation of the activity, students sit in rows of chairs facing the front of the room. After Ms. Hanson has finished giving the instructions for the activity, each group of students moves to a round table at the back of the room with the postcards and task sheets. During the next class meeting, Ms. Hanson arranges students' chairs in a semicircle so students can all see one another. She selects a representative from each small group to report to the rest of the class on the group's findings. During each representative's report, the other members of the group display or pass around each postcard for the rest of the class to see. Once each group's findings have been reported, Ms. Hanson engages the whole class in a discussion of issues and questions that have emerged from the painting-classification activity. Throughout this sequence of events, Ms. Hanson demonstrates which of the following aspects of effective classroom management? -Establishing consistent routines to minimize student confusion -Varying the pace of instruction to accommodate all students -Establishing high standards of behavior to minimize disruptions -Varying the physical setting to achieve different instructional goals
Varying the physical setting to achieve different instructional goals
Questions 35 & 36 are based on the following scenario: The school has recently completed the construction of a new library media center that offers students and teachers the benefits of CD-ROM, videodisk technology, electronic spreadsheets, word processing software, and Internet access, in addition to a wide variety of more traditional audiovisual equipment. Given the new media center's resource's, the teachers can best promote beneficial interaction between students and members of the community by suggesting that students: -Use word processing software to produce a summary of the pond unit activities for distribution to parents and guardians -Videotape a simulated news broadcast on the condition of the pond to be made available for parents and guardians to borrow from the school's library media center -Use spreadsheet software to graph the pond water analysis and send the results to relevant officials in the town government -Use the Internet to exchange information and establish contacts with others who are interested in environmental issues
Videotape a simulated news broadcast on the condition of the pond to be made available for parents and guardians to borrow from the school's library media center
Questions 8 - 11 are based on the following scenario: Anita Miller, a new third-grade teacher, has received her class roster for the upcoming school year. She notes that the twenty-four students in her class are culturally diverse and that several children have special needs (e.g., visual impairment, mild hearing loss, attentional problems). After making an inventory of the furniture, she sketches out the following two options for arranging the room. Which of the following questions would be most important for Ms. Miller to ask when deciding between the two room arrangements? -What types of instructional approaches am I planning to use with students? -How accessible are the display areas and various equipment? -What kinds of discipline issues am I likely to encounter with this group of students? -How well will students be able to keep track of their belongings?
What types of instructional approaches am I planning to use with students?
Questions 15 - 17 are based on the following scenario: Before introducing students to the playground project, Ms. Smith considers various factors that could influence the effectiveness of the questionnaire. She decides to contact Mr. Green, an experienced teacher at the elementary school, to discuss how to frame age-appropriate survey questions. Mr. Green gives her some examples of wording that would be understandable to young children. The students in Ms. Smith's industrial technology class respond enthusiastically when she describes the playground project. One student makes a comment about play equipment he enjoyed when he was in elementary school, and other student join in, recalling their favorite recess activities. Ms. Smith encourages the discussion, prompting student to focus on specific types of playground structures they liked (e.g., swings, monkey bars, rope ladders) or disliked (e.g., wooden structures with splinters, metal slides that burned on hot days). Students then divide into small groups to compose questions for the questionnaire. Later the class reconvenes as a whole group, and Ms. Smith uses the information she learned from Mr. Green to help guide students' discussion and decisions about the final versions of the questions. Ms. Smith's decision to contact an elementary school teacher to discuss the playground project demonstrates her commitment to: -Acknowledge the accomplishments of colleagues when team teaching with other professionals -Work cooperatively with colleagues to enhance learning -Share effective instructional materials with colleagues -Comply with legal constraints of the Texas education system
Work cooperatively with colleagues to enhance learning
To ensure the success of the interdisciplinary unit, it is most important for the teachers to: -Meet together to establish the same grading scale for unit tests and projects -Observe each other's teaching of unit lessons -Provide each other with tutorial materials in the respective content areas -Work together to coordinate their instructional plans
Work together to coordinate their instructional plans
