Deck 14: Fostering Joy in Developmentally Appropriate Experiences in Math and Science

Question 1

Before young children can fully grasp the concept of time, they must first understand, with the help of adult guidance, the concept of "before and after" for the sequence of events that occur during the normal course of the day.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Your text's approach to early childhood education is the constructivist approach based on the work of Jean Piaget.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Piaget defines social knowledge as knowledge about the social world.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Most early childhood math education should focus on teaching basic math skills-recognizing numbers, counting, adding, and subtracting.

Question 5

Tools like binoculars, flashlights and magnifying glasses are developmentally inappropriate for children to use when conducting scientific investigations.

Question 6

According to the constructivist view, children are best described as scientists conducting experiments to understand their world.

Question 7

The author of the book argues that lessons about nature can only be learned outdoors.

Question 8

In the early childhood setting, a project approach is helpful for teaching physics and chemistry but not particularly helpful for teaching biology and ecology.

Question 9

A group of toddlers play at a water table at their morning preschool. During their play, the toddlers are learning math and science concepts like quantity, mass, and volume.

Question 10

Although hand-made blocks cannot be made to the same precision as hardwood unit blocks, the author recognizes that they may valuable for children's creative experiments.

Question 11

Play dough is a standard material for early childhood math and science learning, and it can easily be made with various recipes of flour and salt.

Question 12

Water, sand, loose parts, and art materials all serve as basic materials for math and science learning in early childhood education.

Question 13

Early childhood educators agree that young children should be given the opportunity to explore and experiment with clay for several years before being taught how to make things.

Question 14

According to the author of your text, adults don't teach children about math and science, but rather they give children opportunities to construct knowledge.

Question 15

In an example reported in your text, some children discovered that they could make marks in the sand by swinging and dragging their feet as they sat on the swings. This discovery evolved into a series of experiments involving pendulums. This experiment represents the project approach to chemistry.

Question 16

A group of four children play with a basket of blocks of different shapes and sizes. Which child is demonstrating logico-mathematical knowledge?

A) Andrew understands that the wooden items they are playing with are called "blocks."
B) Bettina sees that she can stack smaller blocks on the bigger ones but not bigger ones on the smaller ones.
C) Chuck lines the blocks up in a sequence according to their size.
D) Darlene bangs two blocks together to make a sound.

Question 17

Which of the following is the best definition of logico-mathematical knowledge?

A) knowledge about the relationships between objects
B) knowledge of math and science concepts
C) knowledge of the physical world that is learned socially
D) knowledge of the physical world that is learned through concrete experiences

Question 18

Regarding early childhood learning of math concepts, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A) Children should not be taught about money, because this increases their focus on materialism and consumerism.
B) In order to avoid confusion when learning measurement, early childhood professionals should be sure to use only standard measurement tools.
C) Children are capable of learning about a variety of measurement instruments including thermometers, speedometers, odometers, and clocks.
D) Young children are capable of learning about measurement, time, and money but have difficulty grasping concepts like space, physical property, and motion.

Question 19

Preschool teacher John Silberman wants to help his students learn about measurement. Which of the following activities is LEAST likely to help Silberman meet his goal?

A) providing a variety of measurement tools for children to explore based on their individual interests
B) developing a project in which children measure different objects in the environment with a variety of standard and nonstandard measuring tools
C) looking for spontaneous opportunities to study measurement throughout the day
D) having the children color worksheets filled with facts about measurement

Question 20

Nine-month-old Kayla plays with a shape-sorting ball. After several tries, Kayla learns that only one shape will fit into each space. Kayla's ability to discriminate shapes is an example of an early ______ skill.

A) science
B) social
C) geometry
D) algebra

Question 21

Seven-year-old Allison goes to the beach every year with her family. On each vacation, Allison has played with sand, pouring it back and forth into different containers. This year Allison shows her grandfather two very different shaped containers each containing sand and says, "Look! It's the same amount of sand in each bucket. Even though this one looks like a lot more. Cool!" Allison is demonstrating which skill?

A) conservation
B) object permanence
C) behavior contagion
D) construction

Question 22

Which age group needs concrete experiences in order to learn math concepts?

A) toddlers
B) toddlers and preschoolers
C) preschoolers and school age children
D) toddlers, preschoolers, and school age children

Question 23

Your text mentions several examples of "real world," or authentic, math activities for young children. Which of the following would NOT be considered an example of real life math?

A) Timing the amount of time it takes two snowballs to melt in the classroom.
B) Counting change from a charity fundraiser.
C) Playing with number flashcards.
D) Setting a table to make sure that there are an equal number of napkins and plates.

Question 24

In order to help his students learn about time, Steve Wong prepares a project to study the seasons and the phases of the moon. This project should help Wong's students learn about which aspect of time?

A) how to deal with time symbolically by reading clocks and calendars
B) understanding the cyclical nature of time
C) learning how to schedule in various time increments
D) noticing sequences that occur in the normal course of the day

Question 25

According to constructivist researchers Kamii and DeVries, the two basic science concepts through which children learn physical knowledge are

A) volume and mass.
B) quantity and investigation.
C) change and movement.
D) construction and de-construction.

Question 26

Three-year-old Lucretia conducts an experiment at playtime. Lucretia collects sand and then dumps it into a puddle of water. She mixes the sand and water until it is just the "right" consistency. Several times, Lucretia smashes and works the mixture between her hands and watches it ooze out. In no time, two other children have come over to Lucretia's mixture and put their hands in also. Next the three of them gather some sand toys and begin making cakes with the mixture. As they share their cakes, another child joins in. This is an example of

A) one-to-one correspondence.
B) logico-mathematical knowledge building.
C) webbing.
D) behavior contagion.

Question 27

Regarding young children's construction of physical knowledge, which of the following is FALSE?

A) Children learn more from an immediate reaction than from a long-term reaction.
B) Children learn best when they have the opportunity to repeat the same action in the same way multiple times.
C) Children learn more when there is a strong connection between what they do, and how the object or substance responds.
D) Children learn best when they are able to clearly see how an object reacts to their actions.

Question 28

Regarding nature study in early childhood, which of the following statements is FALSE?

A) Nature study should include lots of hands-on experimentation with animals and their habitats.
B) It is more challenging to study biology and ecology than some of the other branches of science, like physics, in the early childhood setting.
C) As children construct knowledge about nature, they also need to learn connections about the interdependence of nature and humans.
D) Part of studying nature in early childhood includes learning a basic respect for nature.

Question 29

The text advocates giving children hands-on experiences with nature. Of the following projects, which would be the LEAST productive for developing curiosity and respect for natural spaces among young children.

A) Taking magnifying glasses on a nature walk so that children can observe the differences in the shapes and patterns in leaves.
B) Setting up a nature table where students examine objects from outdoors throughout the seasons.
C) Examining transitions by measuring and recording plant growth in an outdoor garden space.
D) Watching educational DVD's about diverse environments and wildlife.

Question 30

Which of the following is NOT an example of a science theme?

A) transformations of water
B) object permanence
C) rocks and minerals
D) sinking and floating

Question 31

Four-year-old Geofredo sets the family dinner table. He sets a napkin and one set of silverware at each seat. Geofredo is demonstrating which cognitive ability?

A) sorting
B) classifying
C) one-to-one correspondence
D) transformation

Question 32

Which of the following scenarios demonstrates the "empty vessel" approach to teaching?

A) Brian and his aides are walking with their preschoolers in the park. Brian asks them what they see, on the ground and in the sky, as they collect rocks and leaves for an art project later in the day.
B) Candice is passing out handouts of pictures of various labeled shapes for her preschoolers to color.
C) Daniel has setup a water table with objects of various shapes, sizes, and weights for his preschoolers play in.
D) Betsy and her aids are helping their preschoolers make home-made play dough.

Question 33

Describe the constructivist approach to early childhood education. Explain three types of knowledge that children gain in their early years.

Question 34

Describe the kinds of materials and experiences that help preschoolers develop their math skills.

Question 35

As you prepare to work in the early childhood environment, what basic materials and equipment will you need to help children learn math and science? Explain how the equipment will help children learn.