Tutoria 2

A middle school has recently decided to implement a change in the bell schedule which will allow students a 30 minute "free period" two days per week. During this period, students must be in a classroom but may work on enrichment activities, participate in remediation or study skills, make up tests and assignments, or participate in other activities at teachers' recommendations. Department leads are working with school administrators to create guidelines for the new program. Which of the following is the first step that they should take to ensure the success of this program?

• Develop a set of goals for the program and determine how they will track progress toward meeting these goals.

• Develop a set of disciplinary actions that will occur if students are not in their assigned area or behave inappropriately during the free period.

• Determine how to group students by enrichment, remediation, and other criteria.

• Create a list of assigned duties for each teacher on staff.

Answer explanation

It is most important for the team to first determine the purpose of the program and how they will measure success. By agreeing on shared goals, the team can move forward in setting expectations, grouping students and staff, and then gathering data to evaluate the success of the program.

A seventh-grade social studies teacher is interested in being more deliberate with his cross-curricular teaching. He is looking for insight into learning goals for the other seventh-grade subjects in order to see where the subjects can connect. Which of the following would best support this teacher's goal?

• Schedule a horizontal team meeting to collaborate with other teachers.

• Plan to discuss with his vertical team at the next meeting.

• Discuss ideas with other teachers during a department meeting.

• Review the state standards for the other core subjects to identify opportunities for cross-curricular instruction.

Answer explanation

A horizontal team meeting will include seventh-grade teachers from all content areas. This type of meeting will support collaboration between social studies, English language arts, science, and math teachers, and will therefore help the teacher connect his social studies curriculum to other subjects.

The primary function of a formative assessment is to:

• evaluate prior knowledge.

• diagnose potential learning disabilities.

• determine mastery.

• guide ongoing instruction.

Answer explanation

Formative assessments inform instruction and allow the teacher to better plan and pace material.

For which of the following problems would it be least appropriate to utilize a student-teacher contract as a solution?

• A student shouts out occasionally in class and disrupts the learning process.

• A student is capable of turning in work, but often forgets.

• A student loses worksheets because his binder is disorganized.

• A student punches another student out of frustration on the playground.

Answer explanation

A contract is not appropriate because another student was involved as a victim of violence. This should be escalated and dealt with according to district and campus policy.

What is the greatest benefit of teachers collaborating to share various instructional strategies that have been demonstrated to be effective for various learning styles and abilities?

• It rewards teachers for implementing new and innovative instructional strategies.

• It provides teachers with additional instructional strategies to accommodate for different learning styles.

• It provides support and encouragement for teachers.

• It acknowledges that some teachers are better than others and for the better teachers to teach the less-effective teachers.

Answer explanation

This is the best answer option, as the purpose of the collaboration of various teaching strategies is to gain knowledge in how to better engage students.

Students in Mr. Blake's social studies class are finishing their final project with an oral presentation to their classmates. Which of the following would result in the most objective and reliable assessment of the students' presentations?

• using the students' written portions of the project to predict their performances in the oral presentations

• ranking the students' presentations based upon how their performance related to other presentations

• using a pre-established rubric to assess the students' presentations

• asking students to assess each other's presentations and taking the average score based on the students' assessments

Answer explanation

This is the most objective and reliable answer option available. A pre-established rubric allows all parties to understand how the grades were given and where the students can improve.

A parent has requested a special education evaluation and subsequent services for their child. What action should the teacher take in response to the request?

• refer the parent to the counselor that handles special education referrals

• schedule a time to evaluate the child outside of instructional time

• agree to provide special education services in the classroom

• ask the parents to meet for a conference to discuss alternative ways to meet the needs of their child

Answer explanation

The first step is to plan interventions and record the response (RTI). If the child does not make academic gains after interventions, then an evaluation may be pursued.

Which of the following classroom strategies would best show sensitivities to ELL language challenges?

• dividing students into homogenous language skills groups

• word wall with pictures of vocabulary words

• bulletin boards with displays of first draft student work

• bulletin boards with pictures of students

Answer explanation

A word wall provides students a visual aid to help them feel confident in using vocabulary.

What is the best procedure for providing personalized feedback after giving a quiz?

• return graded quizzes with an area of weakness identified

• attach a sticker related to the student's hobby at the top

• give full written explanations for each missed question on every student's quiz

• return graded quizzes and have students write explanations for the questions missed

Answer explanation

This ensures each student understands where they are weak and allows them to work on the concepts.

Which of the following is the most effective way to report student progress?

• report cards sent home every 6 to 9 weeks

• weekly newsletter describing units of study

• online gradebook with individual logins for each student

• phone calls to parents or guardians when a student is failing

Answer explanation

An online gradebook that parents can consult at any time is the best way to keep parents informed and current on student progress.