PECT Module 1

Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences focuses primarily on which of the following aspects of education?

• the key role of environment in promoting children's learning

• the use of scaffolding techniques to help children learn

• the active involvement of children in learning activities

• the various ways in which children think and learn

A PreK–4 teacher can best create a culturally inclusive classroom environment for all students by regularly:

• encouraging students to share information about their cultures with the class.

• celebrating a variety of cultural holidays from around the world with students.

• placing students from similar cultural backgrounds together for small-group activities.

• providing students and their families with information about community cultural events.

A kindergarten teacher observes two children playing together. The children are attempting to use blocks and other play materials to build a bridge for their toy cars. The first bridge that they build collapses when they begin to roll the toy cars across it. Which of the following teacher questions would best promote the development of the students' reasoning and problem-solving skills?

• Why do you think the bridge fell over? How can you build the bridge differently?

• What if you pretended that your cars could fly? Would you still need to build a bridge?

• What different objects did you use to make your bridge? How are they different?

• Can you picture a real bridge in your mind? Did your bridge look like a real bridge?

Children who demonstrate typical language development most often begin using two-word utterances between the ages of:

• 6 to 9 months.

• 12 to 15 months.

• 18 to 24 months.

• 30 to 36 months.

As second-grade students are learning a new science concept, the teacher helps them acquire knowledge and skills that they could not acquire on their own by using prompts, giving suggestions, providing feedback, and modeling activities. In this situation, which of the following strategies is the teacher primarily using to foster students' cognitive development?

• modeling

• cooperative learning

• scaffolding

• inquiry learning

A prekindergarten teacher wants to establish a classroom environment in which spontaneous play is encouraged and play is recognized and valued as meaningful learning. Which of the following strategies would likely be most effective for the teacher to use to achieve this goal?

• modeling the correct way to play with new toys and games when introducing them to the classroom

• asking students to bring in their favorite playthings from home to share with their classmates during show-and-tell

• designing assessments that ask students to demonstrate content knowledge through play activities

• ensuring that a variety of materials are available in the classroom for students to try out and explore during playtime

PreK–4 teachers have the goal of being culturally competent educators who use an understanding of diversity among young children to plan developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate instruction that meets the needs of all their students. The most important first step for the teachers to take in achieving this goal is to:

• use the Internet and other resources to gather basic information about various world cultures.

• survey students' families to determine what they perceive their role to be in their children's learning.

• examine their own cultures and beliefs and their impact on interactions with students.

• observe individual students in self-selected activities to determine their preferred learning styles.

According to convergent research, which of the following factors has been shown to have the greatest effect on a child's language development?

• the age at which the child starts attending preschool or prekindergarten

• the number of family members living at home with the child

• the quality and diversity of books and toys the child is exposed to

• the amount of verbal input the child receives from caregivers and others

Which of the following is an essential component of a formative assessment?

• monitoring and adjusting a teaching strategy during the learning process based on individual student progress

• the production of behavioral and academic progress reports that incorporate parental or caregiver insights

• identifying and summarizing an individual student's strengths and needs at the end of a unit or semester

• the development of a timeline designating tasks that will be accomplished by a particular student in a given period of time

A third-grade teacher develops an assessment for a particular unit prior to writing up the daily lesson plans for the unit. The most important advantage of this approach is that it helps the teacher:

• align daily lessons and activities with the targeted learning outcomes.

• develop an assessment to match state standards.

• ensure that the assessment will be accessible for all students.

• improve presentation skills for delivering instruction.