PLT Questions
In a history class on the Great Depression, Mr. Andrews has an objective that students are able to recognize a variety of causes for the event. Which of the following would be an appropriate assessment of this goal?
A concept map
Attending educational conferences, reading professional journals and research summaries, subscribing to educational magazines and holding congenial discussions relating to new practices with peer teachers are all ways in which teachers demonstrate the characteristics of
A lifelong learner
Two teachers of 10th grade students at Bayview High School want to collaborate on a unit of study. This is not a practice commonly done at Bayview. The teachers teach science and history and want to combine their subjects to provide students with an interdisciplinary approach to learning. Which of the following should they prepare for to document the effectiveness of teaching and learning?
A measurable outcome
Which of the following would be the best assessment of the effectiveness of a standards-based lecture-style approach to instruction?
A standardized test
Ms. Newcomb is a first year teacher. She wants to develop her own assessments and is concerned with the validity of the tests she gives. Which of the following steps must she take in order to do this?
Align the test to her day to day teaching objectives
Ms. Vazques teaches a Language Arts class using a workshop model. Her students spend a lot of time working on the writing process. At the beginning of the year, she wants to gauge what her students' individual processes for writing are like. Which of the following would be the most appropriate assessment to gain this information?
Asking students to write her a letter explaining how the approach a writing assignment.
There are a number of students in Mr. Williams' English class with very low reading comprehension scores. During the teaching of a novel, which of the following would NOT be an appropriate strategy to help those students comprehend the novel?
Assigning a Cliff Notes or other study guide version
At the beginning of the year in Mrs. Jameson's English class, one of her major objectives is to establish a regular routine of journal writing. Which of the following strategies would be most effective to create such a routine?
Assigning it as in-class work
Write a sentence that uses English words but does not use proper syntax.
Can I has cheeseburger?
________ processes refer to changes in the individual's thought, intelligence, and language.
Cognitive
Ms. Connor has just completed a unit on short stories in her English class that have surprise endings. She assigns an essay in which students are asked to explore the point of the surprise at the end of each story. This assignment will create an opportunity to analyze which type of cognitive response from the students?
Cognitive dissonance
Washington High School has developed an enrichment program for their highest achieving students. Which of the following would be an appropriate component for an in-school enrichment program?
Completing independent projects
Which of the following statements is true about the specialization of function in a hemisphere of the brain?
Complex thinking in normal people is the outcome of communication between both hemispheres of the brain.
________ encompasses the behavior patterns, beliefs, and all other products of a particular group of people that are passed on from generation to generation.
Culture
Mrs. Raj is teaching a unit on development writing. She asks students to brainstorm ideas using two different visual aids. She asks student to develop a traditional outline on their topic and a spider web-style outline on their topic. Which of the following instructional techniques is Mrs. Raj employing?
Developing conceptual thinking
Amy Grant is generally a good student. Her grades usually fall into the B range. In the third quarter of her sophomore year, her grades drop to a level just above failing. Her teacher recognizes that she is trying not to fail, however her efforts are not where they had been. Which of the following would be the least appropriate response to this change in grades?
Discussing with Amy's parents why her grades are slipping
Ms. Hayden is a 9th grade math teacher. She thinks that some of the students in her class are failing because they think math is "un-cool." She understands that the social environment of her students has shifted between middle school and high school, and recognizes her responsibility to bring about an authentic interest and academic achievement in her subject. Which of the following strategies might the teacher use to promote her students desire to achieve?
Extrinsic motivators
Which of the following rights is limited for a high school teenager?
Freedom of the press
________ refers to the match between a child's temperament and the environmental demands the child must cope with.
Goodness of fit
Which of the following resources can be used by a Social Studies teacher during instruction of a unit of study? I) Videos, DVDs, music II) Computers III) Artifacts IV) Guest speakers
I, II, III and IV
During a discussion in Ms. Rose's senior English class, which of the following strategies can be employed to promote critical thinking in her students? I) Challenging her students assumptions II) Suggesting alternative points of view III) Challenging the relevancy of information offered IV) Draw conclusions
I, II, III, IV
Ms. Kelly and Ms. Baker have both been teaching for fewer than three years. They each feel that their classroom management techniques could use improvement and decide to work together to improve their skills. They decide to have a series of classroom visits to observe and provide feedback. Which of the following additional tools can they also employ? I. Invite a veteran teacher they both admire to visit and observer their classes. II. Choose a new technique to try together and compare notes. III. Work together to find a plan that is tailored for their students in their classroom. IV. Choose a book about classroom management to read together like a book club.
I, II, III, IV
A 9th grade history teacher is giving students their first major project in her class. She offers her students a checklist of steps they should take to accomplish this task completely and on deadline. The study skills she is trying to encourage by doing this would be which of the following? I) Time management II) Monitoring progress III) Setting goals IV) Measuring milestones
I, II, III, and IV
Kevin Stanton is an excellent student who has a presence during oral presentations that impresses all his teachers and all his peers. He shows clear in enjoyment and exceptional skill at public speaking. Which of the following strategies should be employed to support Kevin? I) He should be offered chances to speak publicly at school events II) He should be offered opportunities for presenting material in class III) He should be given extra educational tools to enable his success IV) He should be reminded that he is just one of many students in the class
I, II, and III
Mr. Agudelo has a student in his class who is highly gifted. All the other students are aware of the academic talents of this student and are very supportive of him. Which of the following strategies might Mr. Agudelo employ with this student? I) Providing opportunities for enrichment to him II) Offering him opportunities to teach the class III) Offering him additional assignments to complete
I, II, and III
Mr. Fischer who teaches math to 9th and 10th graders, has as an objective to help his students' develop their self-motivation. Which of the following strategies should he employ for this objective? I) Assigning meaningful work II) Offering positive reinforcements III) Offering discovery learning opportunities IV) Overemphasizing achievement
I, II, and III
There is always a lot of class discussion in Mrs. Abel's English class. Mrs. Abel uses a Socratic approach in hopes that discussions flow naturally from her students. She bases a significant portion of the classroom participation grade on these discussions. However, she notices that the girls in her class are less willing to speak than the boys. What two approaches might work to remedy this situation? I) Telling the girls that they should participate more II) Raising questions during discussion about how genders are similar and different III) Reminding students of her grading system IV) Having individual conferences with her students and privately discuss participation issues
II and IV
The American Disabilities Act protects students who have a variety of physical and learning disabilities. Many students with disabilities may require accommodations during assessments. Which of the following would NOT be an acceptable accommodation for a student with a disability? I) Providing the student with three times the amount of time required on a timed test II) Providing the student with a one-on-one setting in which to take the test III) Providing the student with a separate location to take the test IV) Providing the student with a portion of the answer so he/she can determine the correct answer
IV
Ms. Jenks has students keep meticulous notes in her English class on the books they are reading, and the discussions held in class. During class one day, she asks students to review their notes and highlight the ideas that are most interesting to them. She then instructs students to generate questions to tackle in an essay assignment. This assignment would be an example of which type of learning?
Inquiry learning
Which of the following statements is true of chronological age?
It has become a less accurate predictor of life events in American society when compared with other conceptions of age.
Ms. DeMarco notices in her analysis of test scores for students in her socioeconomic bracket, that reading comprehension levels are low. Consequently, she plans to refine her objectives so that there is more emphasis on reading comprehension. Which of the following strategies should she put in place to accomplish this goal?
More scaffolded assignments
Self-efficacy is the belief in one's ability to succeed in a given situation. There are many ways a student can learn this ability; which of the following is least likely to bring about the outcome of self-efficacy?
Negative reinforcement
An IQ, or Intelligence Quotient test assesses one person's intelligence in comparison to others. This type of assessment would be which of the following?
Norm-referenced assessment
During her teacher preparation, Ms. Agis learned about a variety of major educational theorists. In her freshman social studies class she wants to use the ideas of Lev Vygotsky because she is concerned about her under-performing students. Which of the following ideas might she employ?
Pairing up low-performing students with high-performing students on certain assignments
2) ________ means the capacity for change.
Plasticity
Middle Vale High School works hard to prepare their students for standardized tests like the PSAT and SAT. In the 9th grade year, all students are given a standardized test to determine their current abilities. Once the students have taken the test, the tests are first graded to see the original data that each student has generated. The score associated with this grading system would be which of the following?
Raw score
A teacher using a constructivist approach based on the theories of Jerome Bruner requires which of the following strategies during instruction?
Reliance on prior knowledge
Washington High School is a very large school. There are six sections of senior English and the department faculty wants to make sure that all students are succeeding to the standards set as a department rather than the standards of any one teacher. Which of the following actions would be best suited for the department to undertake?
Review of departmental objectives and assessment standards
Mrs. Marlowe is teaching a unit on how government works. She provides diagrams to show the structure of the US government to her 7th graders. One of her objectives is to teach her students to be able to see the structure within the information she is teaching. What she is trying to reinforce is referred to as:
Schema
________ processes involve changes in the individual's relationships with other people, changes in emotions, and changes in personality.
Socioemotional
Meadow Hill High School is located in an urban district that has underperforming students, a very high dropout rate, and a very low attendance rate at post-secondary schools. A community- based organization has begun to develop after-school programs and are now locating those at the school. The program is a mess. The kids do not participate, they run out of the classroom, they disrupt teaching efforts and the staff turnover is alarmingly high. What measures might the administrators take to remedy the situation?
Speak to the parents of the students in the after school program
At the end of the unit on laws of motion, Mr. Condor wants to determine what the students have learned. He plans to give an assessment based on the class experience with lab activities and readings he provided. This type of assessment would be called which of the following?
Summative Assessment
A school modeled in an essentialist tradition would employ which of the following strategies during instruction?
Teacher-centered instructional methods
Assessments that rank the achievement and ability in a subject of each child in a grade, provides data that is most useful to which of the following groups of people?
Teachers
________ involves individual differences in behavioral styles, emotions, and characteristic ways of responding.
Temperament
Ms. Chatterjee is a science teacher at a school that follows a standards-based approach to teaching and learning. She would like to see her students use a form of authentic assessment that would allow them to design a science project. She has sought the approval of her department and next hopes to generate interest in cross-disciplinary teaching. Which of the following parties should Ms. Chatterjee direct this line of inquiry to?
The principal during a private meeting
Which of the following is a reason that school districts use statewide standards for instruction?
The standards are aligned to the statewide mandatory assessment
Which of the following is a criticism of standardized tests?
They assume a person's behavior is consistent and stable.
At the beginning of the school year, Middle Vale High School gives a standardized test to all 9th graders. The purpose of this test is to determine the grade-level equivalencies for each student. The school makes the test a "No-Stakes Test," meaning it has no impact on the students' grades, and just asks the students to do their best. What would be the most useful purpose of such a test?
To provide teachers with grade-level equivalents for their students.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress is an assessment administered to a sampling of 4th, 8th and 12th grade students. It has no bearing on the grades or scores of a student. Individual results are not calculated or returned. The information assesses an entire state and reports findings on a statewide basis, not a student- by -student or district- by -district basis. Which of the following is the purpose of a no-stakes assessment like the National Assessment of Educational Progress?
To understand what students know and can do
A group of people who are born at a similar point in history and share similar experiences as a result is referred to as
a cohort.
Jean Piaget believed that children
actively construct their own cognitive worlds.
Which of the following is a requirement for joint attention?
an ability to track another's behavior
Cues and prompts are examples of ______.
antecedents
Andy is nine months old, but he seems to be struggling with following another's gaze and directing adults' attention. These could be early indicators of
autism
Development can be defined as the pattern of movement or change that:
begins at conception and continues through the human life span.
Changes in motor skills, nutrition, exercise, the hormonal changes of puberty, and cardiovascular decline are all examples of ________ processes that affect development.
biological
A teacher trying to understand the reason for her students' high levels of anxiety during the month of high-stakes standardized tests may find the explanation by considering ______.
classical conditioning
Hidalgo, eight, is very good at addition and subtraction, but he has a hard time understanding the complex algebraic problems that his 14-year-old sister does. Hidalgo is currently in which of Jean Piaget's stages of development?
concrete operational
Vygotsky's theory emphasizes how ________ guides cognitive development.
culture and social interaction
Jenny is 4 years old. She becomes self-sufficient and develops school readiness skills. In this scenario, identify the developmental period that Jenny is most likely in.
early childhood
The idea that no singular theory can explain life-span development as a whole, but that each theory plays an important role, is referred to as a(n)
eclectic theoretical orientation
Trenton was playing in a sandbox. He was pouring sand from a short and wide container into a tall and narrow container. When he poured the sand into the tall and narrow container, it appeared as if it had more sand in it. Trenton could not figure out where the extra sand came from and how it got into his container. As Trenton continued to try to solve this puzzle, he experienced considerable movement between states of cognitive ________ and ________ to produce cognitive change.
equilibrium; disequilibrium
When researchers use surface labels such as "Blacks," "Hispanics," and "Caucasians," they underrepresent the differences that exist among people within the same racial group. This practice is referred to as
ethnic gloss.
June knows the names of all the states that comprise the United States. The names of the states are part of June's ________ memory.
explicit
When reinforcement is no longer given for a behavior, ______ is likely to occur.
extinction
The ________ includes the cerebral cortex and several structures beneath it.
forebrain
In the brain, the ________ lobe is involved in voluntary movement, thinking, personality, and intentionality or purpose.
frontal
In Pavlov's classical conditioning experiment, the ringing of the bell demonstrates which idea?
how a neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus
Juno is riding a bike. Riding a bike requires Juno to use her memories of skills and routine procedures that are performed automatically; this type of memory is referred to as ________ memory.
implicit
Renee remembers very little about the first three years of her life. Psychologists find this normal and refer to it as
infantile/childhood amnesia.
Someone with a vocabulary of only 200 words can recombine the words in different ways to say thousands of different things. This aspect of language is referred to as
infinite generativity
Amber got locked out of class the first week of the semester for being late, so she makes sure to get to class every day at least five minutes early. The behavior of getting to class on time has been ______.
negatively reinforced
Danny's mother is even-tempered, fair, and tactful. Seeing this, Danny is growing up to be a polite, good-natured boy too. This imitation or modeling of behavior mirrors the concept of ________ in Bandura's social cognitive theory.
observational learning
Peter uses phrases and words such as "May I," "Please," and "Thank you" and a respectful tone while speaking to his teachers. In the context of the five systems of rules involved in language, this scenario indicates that Peter has knowledge of
pragmatics
All of the following are processes in classical conditioning EXCEPT ______.
prompting
When babies engage in physical activity or use language, some synaptic connections will be strengthened, while the unused ones will be replaced by other pathways or disappear. A neuroscientist would identify this process as
pruning.
B. F. Skinner, a behaviorist, would argue that the most important things that shape development are ________.
rewards and punishments
The technique that involves reinforcing small steps that move toward a complete behavior is known as ______.
shaping
Which of the following words is an example of a word with a single morpheme?
shoe
In predicting an adult woman's behavior, it may be more important to know that she is the mother of a 3-year-old child than to know whether she is 20 or 30 years old. This reflects the concept of
social age.
The question of whether a fun-loving, carefree adolescent is bound to have difficulty holding down a 9-to-5 job as an adult most likely reflects the
stability-change issue.
In the context of the five systems of rules involved in language, which of the following is the system that involves the way words are combined to form acceptable phrases and sentences?
syntax
"Easy child," "difficult child," and "slow-to-warm-up child" are three basic types of ________ identified by psychiatrists Alexander Chess and Stella Thomas.
temperament
Between 6 months to 1 year, infants find an adult to be their primary attachment figure. This person is likely to be
the baby's mother who stays home with the baby.
Which of Urie Bronfenbrenner's environmental systems consists of the patterning of environmental events and transitions over the life course, as well as sociohistorical circumstances?
the chronosystem
Contiguity learning involves an association between stimuli or events ______.
through repeated pairings and associations
Kelly responds to her infant's needs in a consistent and timely way. When he is tired she puts him down for a nap, and when he is hungry she feeds him. Erikson would say that Kelly is helping her son to develop a sense of
trust
