Educational Psychology Exam 1 (Chapters 1-3)

Mrs. Stewart watches Jimmie, one of her students, put art paper in his folder. He then begins to straighten up the paints and brushes in the art area, and in the process, he tips over a jar of paint on the tabletop. Of the following, which would be Mrs. Stewart's best response to Jimmie's initiative, using Erikson's work as your basis for answering?

"Jimmie, I think you were doing a very nice job of straightening up our art area. It certainly needed it. Clean up the paint now and then you can go back to your seat."

You're teaching the concept arthropod (insects, spiders, lobsters, crabs, shrimp, etC.) to your fifth graders. Using Piaget's work as a basis for your decision, which of the following would be the best example for teaching the concept?

A lobster from a fish store

Of the following, what is the best description of a theory?

A series of related patterns that can be used as a basis for explanation and prediction.

Of the following, which type of student is a bully most likely to target?

A student with a disability.

According to Erikson, which of the following is the best definition of a crisis?

A time when individuals are vulnerable to certain psychological challenges.

The process of requiring students to demonstrate that they have met standards, and making teachers responsible for ensuring that students do indeed meet the standards is best described as:

Accountability

Of the following, the best description of the type of research that is most commonly conducted by teachers in their classrooms is:

Action research

Which of the following best describes the trends in our country with respect to family income?

All states in our country have experienced rising rates of low-income students to this point in the 21st century.

You've found that a student is reasoning at Kohlberg's Stage 3, and you want to deter him from inappropriate behavior. Using Kohlberg's work as a basis, which of the following would be the best way to handle an incident?

Ask if his friends encourage or tolerate such behavior.

"Flower!" Bambi insists. The Piagetian concept that most closely relates to Bambi's reaction is:

Assimilation

Aiden generally demonstrates positive personality traits. He is agreeable, open and conscientious. If his personality characteristics are consistent with general patterns identified by research his parents are likely to be:

Authoritative

Keith focuses on a balance between rules and structure and student choose and input in decision making. He uses consequences that are related to the student infraction and tries to be firm but fair. Keith best illustrates which type of classroom management style?

Authoritative

The components of neurons that transmit outgoing messages to other neurons are called:

Axons

The tendency to focus on one perceptual aspect of an event to the exclusion of all others is called:

Centration

According to Piaget, the typical 8-year-old is in which stage of development?

Concrete operational

According to Kohlberg, conventional reasoning depends on:

Concrete operational thought

The idea that the "amount" of some substance stays the same regardless of its shape or the number of pieces into which it is divided is called:

Conservation

Amanda Jones is an educational researcher who investigates the variables that are related to the success of minority students in private colleges. The type of research that Amanda does can be best described as:

Correlational research

Which of the following concepts undergirds Vygotsky's perspective on learning?

Culture and language

A form of peer aggression that occurs when students use electronic media to harass or intimidate other students is called:

Cyberbullying

The use of surveys, interviews, or observations to identify people's opinions and attitudes is best described as:

Descriptive research

This example best illustrates which of the following?

Developmental differences between Suzanne and Delbert.

Mrs. Ortega dresses very professionally for school each day, they Monday she comes in dressed in old torn clothes. The Piagetian concept most closely related to the students' reaction is:

Disequilibrium

The ability to perceive, understand, and manage emotions in ourselves and others, and to use emotional knowledge to enhance cognition (thought) best defines which of the following?

Emotional intelligence

Of the following, which description best outlines the characteristics of a sociocultural view of development?

Emphasis on social interaction, language, and cultural context in influencing development.

Enrique gets along well with his classmates, and his social skills are quite well developed. On the other hand, Carter doesn't get along with the other students and says other students pick on him for no reason. If the boys' attitudes and academic achievement fit patterns identified by research, which of the following is the most valid conclusion?

Enrique will be more satisfied with school than will Carter, and his achievement will be higher.

According to Piaget, people's need for order, structure, and predictability is called:

Equilibrium

Angela is fortunate enough to go to a school that has a full-time school psychologist, school nurse, and small class sizes. Gabrielle's school, however, is overcrowded, and the school psychologist only comes twice a week because he has two other schools for which he is responsible. These influences on personal development would be classified in Bronfenbrenner's model as part of the:

Exosystem

Teachers often comment that they can easily tell which students in their classes have had parents who have worked with them, in comparison with other students whose parents have been less involved. Of the following, the Piagetian concept most closely related to this description is:

Experience

Deshawn Smith is an educational researcher who examines the effects of animated agents in learning from multimedia instructional materials. He randomly assigns participants

Experimental Research

A research study indicating that teachers who use concrete examples to illustrate their topics have students who achieve higher than teachers who represent the ideas abstractly best illustrates what kind of research?

Experimental research

What kind of research is best illustrated in the following statement? "One group of teachers was trained to call on all their students as equally as possible, another group of comparable teachers received no training, and the results indicated that the trained teachers' students achieved significantly higher than the other teachers' students."

Experimental research

A person who is highly knowledgeable or skilled in a particular domain, such as physics, anesthesiology, or teaching is best described as a:

Expert

Of the following, the best description of the use of theories is to:

Explain and predict

Research suggests that homosexuals go through a three-phased sequence in attempting to understand their sexuality. The first phase of this sequence is:

Feeling different

Ms. Ramsay is discussing the Civil War with her students. She poses the question, "What would life have been like as a child during this time?" Her students are able to generate some plausible explanations. At which stage of development, according to Piaget, are her students engaged?

Formal operational

A knowledge of content.

General pedagogical knowledge.

As a fifth-grade teacher, your best application of Erikson's theory would be to:

Help the children experience as much success as possible to help them develop a sense of accomplishment.

Of the following, which best describes Carol Gillian's criticism of Kohlberg's work?

His work fails to adequately consider the ways in which gender influence morality.

One eight grader is a young woman, physically and emotionally mature, whereas her classmate is still a "little girl," both physically and emotionally. Which of the following principles of development does this example best illustrate?

Individuals develop at different rates.

Initiative vs. guilt for the preschool-aged child is analogous to which stage for the elementary-aged child?

Industry vs. inferiority

Of the following, positive peer influences on social development are most likely to occur in which setting?

Infrequent discussions with older peers OR Interactions with peers in social media, such as Facebook.

The process through which learners incorporate external, society-based activities into internal cognitive processes is best described as:

Internalization

"I have an absolute rule that is inviolable in my class," an eighth-grade English teacher comments to a colleague. "They may not say or do anything to hurt one of their classmate's feelings. Kids need to feel safe, or they won't be willing to speak up." If we view this as an ethical matter, the English teacher is operating at which moral stage?

Interpersonal harmony

Consider the example of a person who picks up a beer for the road in spite of an open container law. "I don't think it's a good idea anymore" "I don't want to set a bad example for the kids." His reasoning in this case would be best described as being at what stage?

Interpersonal harmony

Jon, while with Bill and Ken, steals a canned soft drink in a convenience store after school, but he sincerely regrets it when the incident is revealed in a conversation with his parents, and they appear very hurt over the incident. In the absence of any further information, which of the following best describes the stage of moral development at which Jon is reasoning?

Interpersonal harmony

The two Kohlberg stages that are based on the following social conventions and norms are:

Interpersonal harmony and law and order.

Which of the following statements best describes the role of random assignment in research?

It is used to ensure that groups used in research studies are comparable.

Of the following, which statement best describes how Erikson's term psychosocial was derived?

It was derived from an integration of identity and Erikson's belief that a primary motivation for human behavior was social and reflected a desire to connect with other people.

Sandy wants to strengthen her United States History teaching this Sumer. She has enrolled in a master's-level course for history major on the Underground Railroad. By enrolling in the course, Sandy illustrates her desire to increase her:

Knowledge of content

Research indicates that effective teaching requires four kinds of professional knowledge. They include:

Knowledge of content, pedagogical content knowledge, general pedagogical knowledge, and knowledge of learners and learning.

Maintaining an orderly society is characteristic of which stage of moral reasoning?

Law and order

Montel, in response to reading about the declining morals in this country, states, "I'm going to pay my income tax anyway. What would happen to the country if everybody cheated?" His reasoning best illustrates which stage?

Law and order

Of the following, which is the most likely explanation for the differences between Jack's and Luca's approaches to teaching?

Lucas possesses more professional knowledge than does Jack.

We don't try to teach algebra to second graders. Based on Piagetian theory, which of the following best explains why we don't?

Maturation: Students' thinking isn't mature enough to cope with the abstraction in algebra.

In Bronfenbrenner's model, the people and activities in the child's immediate surroundings, which include parents peers, school, and other influences such as television and the internet, make up the:

Microsystem

As teachers we want to try and promote healthy personality development in our students. Which of the following is the most effective way to promote this personality development?

Model desirable personality traits, such as openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.

Many people believe that teaching is primarily a process of presenting information to students in succinct and organized ways. Of the following, the most likely reason for this belief is:

Most of their experiences with teaching involved teachers presenting and explaining information.

Of the following, which type of aggression is most common in boys?

Physical aggression

According to Piaget, at which stage does symbolic thought emerge?

Preoperational

At what stage of cognitive development does the child tend to have a scheme for tree but not for electricity?

Preoperational

The process of an individual using language to describe the steps needed to reach a goal is called:

Private Speech

Jonas was employing a strategy for problem solving while doing his homework. He talked it out in his head. This best illustrates which of Vygotsky's concepts?

Private speech

The body of information and skills that is unique to an area of study, such as law, medicine, or teaching is best described as:

Professional knowledge

Which of the following is the best definition for scaffolding?

Providing instructional assistance that allows a learner to proceed through the zone of proximal development.

Joe has just learned the characteristics of a circle and looks at his family as a circle, his friends as a circle, the loop around the city as a circle. This best illustrates Piaget's concept of:

Scheme

Of the following, which is the greatest protective factor against student abuse of alcohol and drugs?

School connectedness, the belief by students that adults and peers in the school care about both their learning and them as individuals.

People's cognitive assessment of their physical, social, and academic competence best describes their:

Self concept

Researchers generally describe personality as being composed of five relatively independent traits. Which of the following is not one of those traits?

Self-absorption

The stage in which children are unable to remember physical objects that are no longer visible is called the:

Sensorimotor stage

The process of ordering objects according to increasing length, weight, or volume is called:

Seriation

Sophia handles difficult social situations well, is empathetic, and is well liked by her peers. Of the following, which is the most valid conclusion we can make about her?

She is skilled at perspective talking.

Liesha is in kindergarten and is a bit behind her classmates academically in math and reading. If she is typical for children her age, which of the following will be her most likely assessment of herself?

She will have a positive self-concept of her ability and high self-esteem.

Piaget's theory suggests that children are totally egocentric when they're born and they egocentricity gradually declines as they develop. Of the following, the factor most influential in helping to reduce egocentricity would most likely be:

Social interaction

Which of the following are essential to Vygotsky's view of development?

Social interaction and activity

According to Piaget, which of the following best describes the role of social interaction in cognitive development?

Social interaction provides a mechanism for learners to test their schemes against the schemes of others.

Statements that describe what students should know or be able to do at the end of a prescribed period of study are best described as:

Standards

According to research examining bullying, which of the following groups is most likely to bully other students?

Students in the middle of the social hierarchy.

When conducting action research, after identifying and diagnosing a problem that is important to you, the next step is to:

Systematically plan and conduct a research study.

According to Vygotsky, students can benefit from help if:

Tasks are in their zones of proximal development.

Of the following, which best describes Vygotsky's concept of zone of proximal development?

Tasks learners can complete if they're given help

Which of the following best describes effective teachers?

Teachers who are able to produce more learning in their students than would be expected for the students' background and ability.

Which of the following best describes experts' estimates of the impact that technology will have on education over the next several years?

Technology will present both potential benefits and challenges for teachers, and the extent to which it influences learning will depend on the expertise of the teacher using it.

Of the following, which is the best definition of social problem solving?

The ability to resolve conflicts in ways that benefit everyone involved.

Ethical reasoning that concerns the judgements and opinions of others is characteristic of:

The conventional level of ethics.

If the schools' results are consistent with patterns identified by research, which of the following is the most likely outcome?

The effectiveness of either approach depends on the knowledge and skills of the teacher implementing the program; one is not necessarily better than the other.

At the center of Bronfenbrenner's model is/are:

The individual

People who make ethical decisions based on the consequences for themselves are operating at:

The preconventional level of ethics.

Neuroscientists, psychologist, and educators generally believe that teenagers need firm and consistent home and school environments that support learning and development. Which of the following components of the physiology of our brains and nervous systems is most closely related to this conclusion?

The prefrontal cortex

Reflective practice is defined as:

The process of conducting a critical self-examination of one's practice and thinking.

Which of the following is the best definition of research?

The process of systematically gathering information in an attempt to answer professional questions

Of the following factors, which contributes most to students' learning and development?

The students' teachers.

When young people feel ashamed or guilty about something that they have done, which of the following is the most valid conclusion?

Their moral development has advanced.

Of the following, which is the best description of the state of typical kindergartners' cognitive development?

Their thinking is dominated by their perception of concrete objects.

According to Piaget's theory together with research examining the theory, which of the following best describes the thinking of adolescents?

They are formal operational in their thinking, but research indicates that a majority remain concrete operational outside their areas of expertise.

The concepts and symbols, such as numbers and language, that allow people to think, solve problems, and function in a culture are best described as:

Types of cognitive tools.

Which of the following is the best description of an important difference between Piaget's and Vygotsky's views of development?

Vygotsky's notion of active experimentation is absent from Piaget's framework for learning and development. OR Piaget believed language merely aided in disrupting equilibrium, whereas Vygotsky felt it directly caused an advance in development.

Billy gives Cal a candy bar in return for a comic book. If Billy were at Kohlberg's Stage 3, he would view the behavior as "ethical" if it was:

What he thought was expected of him.

Of the following, which set of characteristics are we most likely to see in children of authoritarian parents?

Withdrawn, discontented, worried

Bob has been teaching fifth grade for five years. He knows his students have difficulty understanding the different potential geologic plate movements of the earth. Knowing this, he has developed a series of hand movements the children can use to illustrate the different potential relationships among plates. By recognizing that his students have difficulty with this concept and by finding a way to better assist their learning, Bob is specifically illustrating his:

pedagogical content knowledge