OAE Early Childhood

According to the theoretical framework developed by Lev Vygotsky, a young child's cognitive development is most strongly influenced by which of the following factors?

• encounters with conflicting ideas that lead to disequilibrium and motivate change

• positive reinforcement from key individuals in the child's life

• genetically programmed characteristics that unfold gradually throughout childhood

• conversations and other interactions with adults or more able peers

As part of a science unit on living things, a first-grade class germinates seeds in damp paper towels and carefully transplants the sprouted seeds into peat pots. The students care for the young plants in the classroom and make observations throughout the process, including noting that several of the plants fail to survive. Before concluding the activity, the teacher plans to ask the students questions about what they have learned about seeds and plants. Which of the following questions asked by the teacher would best help promote the students' use of higher-order thinking skills?

• What do seedlings need in order to grow into healthy plants?

• What would you do differently the next time you plant seedlings to help all of them survive?

• Do you think it is easy or difficult to care for seedlings?

• Do seedlings planted indoors grow differently from seedlings planted outdoors?

An elementary student who has a mild cognitive impairment is likely to experience the most difficulty in which of the following areas?

• generalizing learned skills to new contexts

• following classroom routines

• working with a peer on a class activity

• identifying personal interests

A teacher regularly gives students brief quizzes of three to five questions covering material taught in the current or preceding lesson. Which of the following is likely to be the primary benefit of this practice?

• helping improve instruction through ongoing feedback on teaching effectiveness

• minimizing the amount of reteaching required for students to master curricular content

• ensuring that the teacher has adequate performance data to assign students a fair grade for the

  class

• enhancing students' engagement in the learning process and recognition of key learning goals

A teacher is planning lessons for a new instructional unit. The teacher can best ensure the effectiveness of these lessons by considering which of the following questions first?

• What is the fairest and most efficient way to evaluate students' achievement of unit objectives?

• Which unit activities are best completed individually and which activities are best done in a group?

• What background knowledge and experience do students already have with regard to the unit

  topic?

• In what ways does the unit support the goals of the district curriculum in this subject area?

Which of the following strategies would likely be most effective in improving the quality and effectiveness of cooperative learning experiences for elementary students?

• allowing students to choose their own group members for group activities

• providing students with direct instruction and guided practice in group-process skills

• delaying group work until students have had a chance to get to know each other well

• giving students verbal feedback on their group work instead of assigning them a grade

Students in an early elementary class are completing a unit about their community. Which of the following teacher questions related to the unit would best promote the students' use of divergent thinking?

• What was one important thing you learned about your community during the unit?

• What do police officers do to keep people in your community safe?

• What are some things you can do on your own to keep your community clean and attractive?

• What do people use your community's public library for?

Two kindergartners, Jack and Leilani, are building a castle in the block area. Liam, a classmate, sits down to play with them. Jack and Leilani tell Liam that he cannot join in their project because it is almost done and they have a special plan for the castle that they decided on together. Liam says they have to let him play, and soon the children are arguing and pushing each other. Their teacher has noticed that Jack and Leilani often choose to play together and prefer not to include other children. Which of the following strategies should the teacher try first to facilitate conflict resolution among the children?

• meeting with Jack’s and Leilani’s parents to let them know of the children's refusal to include Liam and other children and to work on a plan to help them learn to include others

• telling Jack and Leilani that they must let Liam join them in their project or they will have to leave the block area

• posting illustrated rules for cooperative play where they are easy to see and asking Jack, Leilani, and Liam to refer to them often

• having Jack, Leilani, and Liam describe their feelings about the present situation and helping them generate some potential solutions to the problem

As a new school year begins, a second-grade teacher is making plans to hold a conference with the parent(s)/guardian(s) of each student in his class. During each conference, the teacher will discuss broad goals and expectations for all students in the class. Which of the following additional teacher actions during the conferences would best help promote positive communication and a sense of partnership with parents/guardians?

• encouraging parents/guardians to share their own goals for their child's learning and development during the upcoming year as well as any concerns they may have

• providing a thorough review of the second-grade curriculum in each subject and giving parents/guardians time to ask questions about the content to be covered

• soliciting from parents/guardians information about any problematic situations in the home that they believe may affect their child's learning and achievement in school

• sharing information with parents/guardians about the teacher's own personal and educational background and his professional credentials

A new teacher has asked her mentor to observe instruction during several lessons and provide feedback on her teaching. These observations are likely to be most beneficial if the new teacher takes which of the following actions before they occur?

• identifying for the mentor specific aspects of her instruction, such as leading discussions, that she has particular concerns about

• explaining to her students ahead of time the purpose and intended outcomes of the observations

• providing the mentor with an overview of her students' current achievement levels, interests, and behavior patterns

• clarifying for the mentor key aspects of her own current philosophy of teaching and learning