Deck 9: Influencing Children's Social Development by Structuring the Physical Environment

Question 1

When the reading area is overcrowded and noisy, which of the following structuring techniques would be most likely to promote social cooperation?

A) Repeatedly asking the children to quiet down and following with increasingly invasive consequences.
B) Asking the children to discuss the problem.
C) Increasing the space allocated to the area or placing a pictograph or sign in the area indicating the number of children who can play.
D) Adding more books.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Mr. Zakhem was really exhausted at the end of the week. His Head Start class never seems to be able to clean up the room effectively after free play. He was ready to do something else. What is the best alternative for this group of four-year-olds?

A) Have direct whole group instruction and eliminate free play.
B) Change the schedule so that the children would have free play first.
C) Reduce the number of multiple-piece materials out at one time and provide clear plastic, marked containers to put them in.
D) Make sure that the consequences for not picking up toys are serious enough so that the children will prefer to pick up instead.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Ms. Brown must speak in a loud voice to be heard by all the children in her room, even when the children are behaving appropriately. What measures should she consider first to correct the situation?

A) Make new rules so that only one child is moving at a time.
B) Add carpet, draperies, pillows, or soft textures to the environment.
C) Open the door to the hallway.
D) Play quiet music in the background.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Why should the equipment and materials in an early childhood classroom be arranged in learning centers?

A) Physical boundaries of the learning center are ambiguous.
B) There are cues as to the number of children who can engage in the activity at one time inherent in each center.
C) It is easier to see every child at once.
D) All of the above

Question 5

What is the function of planning?

A) projecting potential outcomes
B) identifying resources needed
C) organizing information and procedures
D) avoiding time-consuming errors
E) All of the above

Question 6

Mr. Martinez was supervising the snack table where children were allowed to come, eat, converse, and leave according to personal preference. Generally, the six chairs at the table provided adequate space; however, on this occasion there were only five chairs. Janet came up to Nanette and tried to push her off the chair where she was sitting and insisted that she, Janet, should have a turn. What should Mr. Martinez do?

A) Make Nanette give Janet a turn.
B) Use behavior and affective reflections with Janet.
C) Get another chair.
D) Remove the snack from the table until everyone is quiet.

Question 7

Ken and Troy, age five, are pulling on opposite ends of the same wagon. In which of the following programs do you think they would most likely be able to negotiate the conflict successfully?

A) rapid pace, long duration, high intensity, academic goals focused on drill
B) varied pace, moderate intensity, academic and development goals, varied methods
C) slow pace, low intensity, short duration, repetitive activities
D) if skills are used, other program components have no impact

Question 8

Which boundaries are most difficult for children to recognize and maintain? Those made by

A) walls
B) room dividers
C) furniture
D) tape on the floor
E) words

Question 9

What is the purpose of including a private area within the space of a program?

A) It provides a space for quiet, individual action.
B) It can be used for time-out.
C) Children, who are easily distracted, are more productive there.
D) It provides a space for quiet, individual action and children, who are easily distracted, are more productive there.

Question 10

Which of the following is NOT an intended outcome of a good daily schedule in a formal program?

A) Children can predict events.
B) Expectations for behavior are clear.
C) Program evaluation is easier.
D) Dependence on adults is decreased.

Question 11

Pamela Johnson teaches in a church-sponsored program with upper-middle-class white children in a fairly culturally homogenous community. She is a responsible professional and wants to support cultural competence in the children. What can she do to support this?

A) Focus on how the children are similar and select materials that reinforce their common experience.
B) Find out about the family cultural heritages within the group and add materials that will support each of these differing subgroups.
C) Purchase books and materials relevant to several population groups not represented by her class that also support her plan of instruction.
D) All of the above

Question 12

Mrs. Boef has a very limited budget for learning materials in the child care center. She can provide only the same number of play slots as the number of children with the materials that are there. Other than increasing the budget, what is the best alternative?

A) Instead of free choice, ask the children to move from one activity to another when she rings a bell.
B) Borrow books from the library and bring materials from the natural environment or recycled materials into the classroom.
C) Quit, because there is no feasible alternative to this situation.
D) Ask children to raise their hands when they want to move to a new play space and then ask another child to exchange with them.

Question 13

In planning storage of materials that children use regularly, what should the adult consider?

A) the seclusion of the area
B) materials placed so that they are easy to see and get
C) boundaries of play areas near the storage site
D) line of vision of the adult who supervises the area

Question 14

Once the teaching goal is chosen and the environment is structured in advance, what role does the teacher play in relation to the environment thereafter?

A) There is no further role to play.
B) Monitor children's use of the environment and adjust it as necessary.
C) Monitor children's use of the environment and set limits when children do not appear to be using it effectively.
D) As an initial strategy, remove children who are not using materials as anticipated from the activity.

Question 15

How does the interior space of a room influence social development?

A) It has no impact on children's behavior.
B) Noisy environments lead to tuning out speech and contribute to annoyance and fatigue.
C) Social interaction is more likely in lower lighting.
D) Too much or too little light is associated with disruptive behavior.
E) All of the above

Question 16

Which of the following materials should be stored where kindergarten children can get and replace them daily?

A) glue and paste
B) bleach
C) Christmas decorations
D) rocking chairs

Question 17

Ms. Lieberman is a new student teacher. She is guiding a kindergarten group through a typical day. Which of the following whole-group transition statements do you think would be most effective as the children get ready to go home?

A) "OK. That's it for today," as Ms. Lieberman sits down at the adult desk to do some paperwork.
B) "Oh dear, I forgot the time. Get your coats on. The buses are here!"
C) Fifteen minutes before they must leave the room, "You have five minutes to finish before you clean up your work area. Then you may get your wraps and bring them back to your tables."
D) "You have five minutes to finish your activity." Five minutes later: "Put all of your materials away now and return to your table. Five minutes later: "All of the green group are ready to get their wraps" and so on as each small group gets their things.

Question 18

Which is the most accurate statement about the change of routines in the daily schedule?

A) Young children adjust quickly to a center routine that is governed by clock time.
B) Slight adjustment of routine behaviors that result from weather changes and increased efficiency due to learning are not disruptive to children.
C) When a special event occurs, children are most likely to be calm and responsive if their daily routine events are changed around to accommodate the event.
D) The daily routines should be altered at least three or four times a year so that the children will not become bored.

Question 19

When should the physical environment be adjusted during the time that children are engaged with the materials in an activity?

A) when unforeseen events occur
B) when a safety issue that was not anticipated becomes apparent
C) when children's previous knowledge or skill was not accurately estimated
D) All of the above

Question 20

Children in Mrs. Wang's group of toddlers are having tantrums with some regularity. What strategies, if any, should she use to minimize this loss of self-control?

A) Discuss alternative behaviors at group time and develop consequences for tantrums.
B) Increase the number of spaces for solitary play, provide duplicate materials, and try to ensure ample rest for the children.
C) Decrease the opportunity to run around and shorten the free choice time in the classroom.
D) Ask parents to teach their children how to act in the program and let them know that they will be asked to withdraw if they do not improve.

Question 21

If a cook dropped a pot of boiling water accidentally and the water flowed under a closed door where a child stepped in it and was burned, the cook would be considered negligent.

Question 22

The density of children in a classroom contributes to social difficulties.

Question 23

Multiple structuring strategies can be used to implement specific teaching goals related to the elements of social competence.

Question 24

A standard is the measure of quality or quantity or a method of goal attainment.

Question 25

A small group of children is fewer than eight children.

Question 26

One activity space per child is sufficient for a preschool classroom.

Question 27

If an adult lifted a 30-month-old child up to sit on the counter next to the stove where an uncovered pot of water was boiling, she would be considered negligent if the child was burned.

Question 28

The design of the environment should focus on aesthetics rather than the function of the program.

Question 29

Toys safe for 12-year-olds are equally safe for seven-year-olds.

Question 30

Toddlers are too young to contribute to the maintenance of their play spaces.

Question 31

The pace and intensity of formal programs should always be moderate.

Question 32

Fatigue is a common outcome of overcrowding.

Question 33

Collaboration with children requires involving them in the full structuring process.

Question 34

Duplicate toys should be available for toddlers.

Question 35

The intrusion-seclusion dimension describes the permeability between people and things in the room and those people and things outside it.

Question 36

When the environment offers clear cues for behavior children of all ages are more likely to act appropriately.

Question 37

Which of the following statements about schedules is true?

A) Schedules that have large blocks of time and minimal whole group transitions are most effective.
B) Schedules for the primary grades should be set by central administration and followed closely so that supervisor will know when to visit the classrooms to observe specific types of instruction.
C) Children function best when their schedule is strictly adhered to without adjustments over the year.
D) All of these.

Question 38

Knowledge, skill, and time are resources that are used in structuring.

Question 39

When equipment is scarce, adult supervisory activity increases.

Question 40

Effective organization of space, time, and materials is based on tradition within the program.

Question 41

Plants and bushes can be planted to enhance social play opportunities.

Question 42

Many confrontations between children are eliminated by the placement of the classroom furnishings.

Question 43

Planning for child safety takes priority over most other goals.

Question 44

Nathaniel, age four, approached a table where puzzles had been taken apart and not put back together. He tried and tried to get a puzzle together and finally swept all the puzzles onto the floor. How could this episode have been prevented?

Question 45

Ms. De Lind heard that the average length of attention span for four-year-olds was about 5 minutes, so she planned her activities to be no longer than 10 minutes all day long. What would you anticipate as outcomes in children's behavior?

Question 46

What general criteria should be used to select materials for children's programs?

Question 47

When a plan is implemented, adjustments usually need to be made. What are the four categories of adjustments and how could each of them be used in the following situation? The principal of Happy Day Elementary School has planned an all-school assembly for grades K through 6. His goal is to get the children settled quickly and quietly in the auditorium. He plans to ring the bell once to signal the classrooms to enter the auditorium and ring it eight minutes later to indicate silence. There is congestion at the entrance eight minutes after the first bell.

Question 48

Pathways may need to be altered to accommodate children with special needs.

Question 49

Preschool-age children are too young to discuss the proper use and storage of materials everyone uses.

Question 50

Why should a definite routine or sequence be established for whole group transitions?

Question 51

How does the adult determine whether the structuring technique used was successful?

Question 52

Fewer problems are encountered during lunch when the size of utensils and servings is appropriate for the age of the children.

Question 53

The teacher puts up signs showing stick figures to indicate how many children could be in each activity at a time. This is an example of adding to the environment.

Question 54

When interpersonal incidents appear to be reoccurring in the cubbie or locker area, describe, in order, what steps you would take.

Question 55

When an adult says, "I am concerned that you will fall if you run downhill in the gravel," what value is being expressed?

Question 56

Ruby carries around a five-minute warning sign a few minutes before cleanup is to begin. This is an example of childproofing the environment.

Question 57

Why is the time-consuming process of teaching young children routine behaviors considered to be a long-term time-efficiency procedure?

Question 58

Accessible learning and culturally sensitive materials contribute to the self-identity of the children.

Question 59

What are four possible explanations for tiredness?

Question 60

Teachers have no responsibility for the floor, walls, windows, and lighting in their classrooms as these cannot be altered anyway.

Question 61

Identify three areas of social competence and how the physical environment and the daily schedule support those competencies.

Question 62

Pretend you are the head teacher for a group of five-year-olds. You are taking your class to the bakery. While there, they will bake something to bring back to the classroom. List four types of structuring you would use, explain why you would do each one, and provide an example of each.

Question 63

What are the beneficial outcomes for children of having a regular schedule?

Question 64

Explain how to guide children in establishing standards for evaluating how good is "good enough." Indicate the age of children as you provide an example.

Question 65

Explain how the structuring of materials and furnishings and the arrangement of space can minimize interpersonal conflict.

Question 66

Describe an incident that you observed or when you were the supervising adult in which on-the-spot structuring occurred. How did this affect the children involved? In what ways was it supportive or nonsupportive of the children's social interactions with each other or with adults? (The incident may have been successfully implemented or unsuccessful.)

Question 67

Mr. Tubbs wants to collaborate with a group of 11- and 12-year-old children to make a "hard" basement room "softer." Describe the process you think he might use to do this and the outcome you might expect. How would the room be different?