Deck 11: Sociocultural Theory and Other Contextual Perspectives

Question 1

If you were to criticize Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development in a way that contemporary theorists sometimes do, which one of the following would you be most likely to say?

A) "It ignores the effects that formal education has on cognitive development."
B) "It disregards the important roles that peers play in children's development."
C) "It's a bit vague in its explanations of how development occurs."
D) "It places heavy emphasis on drill and practice as factors promoting development."

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which one of the following statements most accurately describes Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development?

A) Children's cognitive growth should be judged on the basis of their actual developmental level, not on the basis of their level of potential development.
B) Cognitive development progresses through four distinct stages; each stage is characterized by increasingly more complex thought and language.
C) Children progress, in part, by working on difficult tasks with the assistance of more competent individuals.
D) Language and thought, although closely intertwined in the first few years of life, become increasingly distinct entities.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

From Vygotsky's perspective, why do cultural differences exist in people's cognitive abilities?

A) Cultures differ in the extent to which they use inner speech.
B) The varying eating habits of different cultural groups influence children's nutrition and thus also influence brain maturation.
C) Different cultures pass along somewhat different cognitive tools.
D) Some cultures mediate children's experiences, whereas others do not.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which one of the following is the best example of a cognitive tool?

A) Use of natural lighting in a studio art class
B) A jigsaw in a woodworking class
C) Use of country-western music in an aerobics class
D) The concept pi π) in a geometry class

Question 5

Xavier loves to write poetry. Often he uses techniques that his favorite poets use, but typically he modifies these techniques to better suit his own style. This situation illustrates which one of the following concepts in Vygotsky's theory?

A) Appropriation
B) Mediated learning
C) Actual developmental level
D) Level of potential development

Question 6

Eight-year-old Julie lives in a rural area where many people are farmers or in some other way make their living through agriculture. After a lengthy summer drought, it begins to rain heavily one day in late July. "Thank goodness!" Julie hears her father exclaim. "Our prayers have finally been answered!" Julie makes a mental note of the cause-effect relationship her father has implied-in particular, that prayer can lead to rain. This situation illustrates Vygotsky's belief that:

A) Adults pass along to children the ways in which their culture interprets events.
B) Children's level of potential development is always a bit higher than their actual developmental level.
C) Children acquire more knowledge and skills when scaffolding is kept to a minimum.
D) Thought and language are distinct processes in the early years of life.

Question 7

In three of the following situations, interactions with peers might promote considerable learning. In which situation is an interaction with an adult rather than with peers) more likely to be beneficial?

A) Learning how to use a microscope correctly
B) Contrasting different interpretations of a poem
C) Identifying the pros and cons of a democracy
D) Exploring various ways of solving a mathematical problem

Question 8

Which one of the following statements best describes Vygotsky's concept of internalization?

A) As children grow older, they develop an increasing ability to think about events in abstract rather than concrete terms.
B) With age, children acquire more sophisticated problem solving skills, largely because their parents and teachers give them increasingly more challenging problems to solve.
C) Over time, children acquire greater self-confidence about their ability to deal with the world.
D) Through their social interactions with other people, children acquire ways of mentally approaching and thinking about challenging tasks.

Question 9

Which of the following pairs of concepts reflects the general idea that challenge is important for cognitive development?

A) Disequilibrium and ZPD
B) Self-talk and inner speech
C) Conservation and internalization
D) Working memory and central conceptual structure

Question 10

Students in a fourth-grade reading group are reading a passage about snakes. Their teacher asks, "Who can think of a good title that summarizes what this passage is about?" After hearing several good suggestions, the teacher says, "The author says that snakes are helpful to farmers. What evidence does she give to support her statement?" If we consider Vygotsky's concept of internalization, we might predict that such a discussion will:

A) Be more beneficial for students who are working outside their zones of proximal development than for students working inside their ZPDs.
B) Help students develop a greater interest in learning for its own sake.
C) Help students develop effective reading comprehension strategies
D) Be confusing and counterproductive for students who are not yet capable of abstract thought.
E)g., summarizing, looking for supporting statements).

Question 11

In Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development, what important role does inner speech play?

A) By giving themselves directions about the things to do and in what order, children guide themselves through complex tasks.
B) By using words mentally as well as orally, children develop more abstract representations of the world.
C) By practicing various grammatical structures mentally, children acquire more complex language capabilities.
D) By talking to themselves about what they should have done or said in a particular situation, children remember the situation more vividly.

Question 12

In Vygotsky's view, opportunities to engage in pretend play

A) They are highly enjoyable but have little impact on cognitive development.
B) They can help children shed their preoperational egocentrism.
C) They foster traditional gender stereotypes.
D) They allow children to practice adult behaviors.
E)g., playing "house" or "doctor") have which one of the following effects?

Question 13

Central to Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development is the idea that children increasingly make better sense of their world:

A) Through the mental processes of assimilation and accommodation
B) By repeatedly encountering both pleasant and unpleasant events in their daily lives
C) Through their independent explorations of their physical and social environments
D) By interacting with more experienced people who mediate their understandings

Question 14

Vygotsky proposed that thought and language are:

A) Closely connected at all stages of life
B) Largely independent before age two but closely connected thereafter
C) Closely connected early in life and become increasingly independent with age
D) Largely independent until the elementary school years and closely connected thereafter

Question 15

Which one of the following issues reflects a fundamental difference between Piaget's and Vygotsky's theories of cognitive development?

A) Whether challenging tasks promote cognitive development
B) Whether social interactions are important for cognitive development
C) How much children require adult guidance to make cognitive gains
D) Whether preschoolers are cognitively ready to handle complex, adultlike tasks

Question 16

Which one of the following students is definitely working in his or her zone of proximal development?

A) Arnold uses correct grammar and punctuation when he writes short stories.
B) Berta is beginning to learn basic woodworking techniques. She has trouble hammering a nail straight into a piece of wood unless her teacher stands beside her, helping her and reminding her of what to do.
C) Calvin is playing the clarinet in the band. He finds that it helps to keep the tempo if he taps the beat with his foot.
D) Doreen finds it virtually impossible to solve mathematical word problems, even when her teacher gives her helpful hints.

Question 17

If you were interested in how a child's culture influences cognitive development, you would be most likely to consider _______ approach to cognitive development.

A) Piaget's
B) Vygotsky's
C) neo-Piagetian theorists'
D) information processing theorists'

Question 18

Which one of the following is the best example of a mediated learning experience?

A) Mr. O'Brien insists that students sit quietly at their desks before she dismisses them for lunch.
B) Mr. James reflects on the lesson he taught earlier in the day. "I suspect that most of my students still don't understand the concepts I was trying to teach them," he thinks.
C) Mr. Lucas asks his students to read Chapter 5 in their textbooks over the weekend. "You'll find that the chapter is more challenging than previous ones," he says.
D) As Ms. Robinson takes a group of children hiking, she gathers leaves from maple, oak, and elm trees and points out the ways in which the leaves from the trees are distinctly different.

Question 19

In Vygotsky's theory, three of the following would be considered lower mental functions. Which one would be considered a higher mental function?

A) Learning to walk
B) Adding 3 and 3 to get 6
C) Identifying appropriate foods to eat
D) Finding one's way around the neighborhood

Question 20

Kiley is having trouble learning the steps involved in using a microscope correctly. If we consider Vygotsky's description of how children can help themselves through difficult tasks, we should suggest that Kiley:

A) Practice each step separately many times over
B) Go through the procedure in slow motion a few times
C) Talk herself through the steps
D) Learn the reasons why each step is important

Question 21

If you wanted to take a Vygotskian approach to teaching students a new study strategy, you would be most likely to:

A) Initially work collaboratively with students in applying the strategy, gradually withdrawing your support as they become more proficient in using it.
B) Explain how the human memory system works and relate the strategy to effective memory processes.
C) Show students how little they can remember when they use their current, ineffective strategies, thereby motivating them to learn the new strategy.
D) Wait until students are at least 11 or 12 years old and thus capable of abstract thought.

Question 22

Several parents who are making costumes for an elementary school play ask the young cast members to assist them with such tasks as cutting fabric, pinning pieces together, and sewing simple hems. Using the language of Vygotskian theorists, we can say that the parents are:

A) Presenting tasks that exceed the students' zone of proximal development
B) Encouraging the separation of thought and language
C) Engaging the students in guided participation also know as legitimate peripheral participation)
D) Helping each student work at his or her actual developmental level

Question 23

Which of the following most closely defines Uri Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory?

A) Children learn the concept of biological systems from experience
B) Adults actively manipulate children's understanding of changing systems
C) Children learn about ecological systems from an early age have higher cognitive abilities
D) Humans develop by participating in separate, but interacting systems.

Question 24

Which one of the following situations best illustrates situated learning?

A) Twelve-year-old Andrew bakes often at home and can easily figure out how much flour he needs when he cuts in half a cookie recipe that calls for 2¹/₄ cups of flour. Yet Andrew has trouble making similar calculations in his math class.
B) Ten-year-old Bernita wonders what it would be like to live on a farm rather than in the city. As she sits in class, her mind often wanders to rural locations she has visited only in her dreams.
C) Sixteen-year-old Calvin has trouble understanding the process of mitosis when his biology teacher describes it in abstract terms. He still finds the concept difficult when, later, the teacher draws a diagram of the process on the chalkboard.
D) Four-year-old Danetta has trouble understanding that her friend Michael has moved to a community more than a thousand miles away. She keeps insisting that Michael must only be a short car ride away and throws a fit when her mother refuses to drive her to Michael's house.

Question 25

Which one of the following alternatives is the best example of a socially construction memory?

A) A father is reading a bedtime story to his young son. In the middle of the story, he stops reading and makes up a different ending to the story.
B) A teacher says, "Once upon a time, a young farmer ..." and then asks a student to complete the sentence. The teacher asks another student to provide a second sentence that relates to the first, asks a third student to supply a third sentence, and so on, until a complete story emerges.
C) As they sip their milkshakes at a local diner, two friends recall and talk about various scenes from a scary movie they've just seen at the movie theater.
D) As a boy thinks about his childhood he remembers his best friend who moved away.

Question 26

Three of the following are examples of communities of practice. Which of the following is not?

A) Graduate students studying molecular biology
B) Girls participating in a church youth group
C) Adult males waiting for a light to change at a street corner
D) Teachers working at an elementary school

Question 27

Mary takes care of several toddlers and preschoolers while their parents work during the day. One warm spring day, she has the children in a fenced-in area behind her home. A large dog comes running up to the fence. As the dog approaches, 2-year-old Todd looks at Mary. When he sees that she appears frightened, he immediately starts to cry. What phenomenon is Todd displaying in this situation?

A) Zone of proximal development
B) Social referencing
C) Accommodation
D) Assimilation

Question 28

Three of the following teachers are providing scaffolding to help their students learn. Which one is not necessarily providing scaffolding?

A) Ms. Applegate gives her students a structure to follow when they write their first essay.
B) Mr. Bernardo teaches students how to perform an overhand throw by gently guiding each student through the correct movement a few times.
C) Ms. Chen gives her class some hints about how to solve an especially difficult word problem.
D) Mr. Donaldson takes his students on an all-day field trip to the art museum.

Question 29

Three of the following are definite examples of scaffolding. Identify the situation in which no scaffolding is described.

A) Ms. Ayotte likes to challenge her students by giving them group research projects. She puts her students in groups of three or four students each, and she gives each student a topic to research. She sends the groups to the school library to find out as much as they can about their topic, and then has each group give a report to the entire class.
B) Mr. Bender is teaching a unit on beginning tennis. In the early stages of teaching a correct tennis swing, he uses an automatic ball server that serves balls with consistent speed, height, and direction. He also continually reminds students to "Keep your eye on the ball" and "Hold your arm straight." Later in the unit he begins to serve the balls himself, varying the speed, height, and direction of the serves. And he reminds students of what to do much less frequently.
C) Ms. Carrera helps students solve math word problems by providing visual illustrations of the elements of the problem and by showing them similar problems that have been worked out correctly. As the weeks go by, she provides fewer and fewer visual illustrations and fewer and fewer worked-out examples, until eventually the students can solve the problems without either form of assistance.
D) Mr. Donaldson's students are just beginning to learn how to take notes in class. For the first few weeks Mr. D. begins class by handing out a detailed outline about the topic for the day. By December he is handing out an outline covering only the main points of the day, encouraging students to fill in the blank spaces on the sheet with ideas relative to each point. By May, students are writing down main points and relevant details on their own.

Question 30

Which one of the following common expressions best reflects the idea of distributed cognition?

A) "A stitch in time saves nine."
B) "Two heads are better than one."
C) "Look before you leap."
D) "A rolling stone gathers no moss."

Question 31

Ms. Killian and her fourth graders have been growing sunflowers under various conditions-they have grown sunflowers in different kinds of soil, with different amounts of water, and in varying degrees of sunlight. Below are four statements that Ms. Killian makes related to the sunflowers. Which one is most consistent with the idea of a cognitive apprenticeship?

A) "Who can tell me what photosynthesis is?"
B) "How many of you have grown sunflowers at home? How many of you have moms or dads who are gardeners?"
C) "This sunflower is taller than that sunflower over there. Let's consider what the growing conditions for the two flowers have been and try to figure out what might have led to the difference we see."
D) "Elaine, please give each plant the same amount of water today that you gave it yesterday. Also, be sure that you keep each plant in the same location, so that the amount of sunlight it gets stays the same."

Question 32

Which one of the following examples best illustrates the concept of distributed cognition?

A) Jacquie, Linda, and DeWayne discuss various ways they might solve a physics problem.
B) Mark and Jason each only complete half of their homework assignment.
C) Rhonda watches her favorite situation comedy while simultaneously eating an apple and doing her homework.
D) Reginald thinks about the various plots he might use in the short story he is writing and then eventually chooses one of them.

Question 33

Three of the following are examples of scaffolding. Which of the following is not?

A) Modeling the correct way to perform a task
B) Asking thought provoking questions
C) Providing technological equipment to help with the task
D) Repeatedly stating that the task at hand is difficult

Question 34

According to the Uri Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, which of the following is an example of a child's microsystem?

A) The country in which the child lives
B) The leader of the country in which the child lives
C) The relationship between the child and his or her parents
D) The relationship between the child's parents and his or her school

Question 35

Which one of the following is the best example of dynamic assessment?

A) Mr. Thiessen asks Macy to show him how to use a microscope properly.
B) Ms. Ursinas asks her students to work in 3-person groups to write a paper describing the effects of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.
C) Ms. Vincenti gives her students 20 multiple-choice questions; she then gives 20 additional, more difficult questions to students who've done very well on the first set, as a way of assessing the upper limits of their knowledge.
D) Mr. Warren observes and records how Erica's logical thinking changes over time as she experiments with a pendulum.

Question 36

From a Vygotskian perspective, scaffolding serves what purpose in instruction?

A) It gives children an idea of what they need to do to get good grades.
B) It keeps school tasks within children's actual developmental levels.
C) It lets children learn by watching one another.
D) It supports children as they perform difficult tasks.

Question 37

Which one of the following statements best describes intersubjectivity?

A) Recognizing that one does not know, and ultimately never can know, everything there is to know about a topic
B) The point at which a teacher understands the nature of a child's existing knowledge about a topic
C) The point at which a child acquires the same knowledge about a topic that a teacher or other expert has
D) A mutual understanding between two people that each one knows what the other one is seeing, thinking, or feeling

Question 38

Researchers have found that when we human beings think about performing a particular physical skill

A) Guided participation
B) Intersubjectivity
C) Appropriation
D) Embodiment
E)g., using scissors, dribbling a basketball), we activate some of the same brain regions that we use when actually executing that skill. Which one of the following concepts best reflects this research finding?

Question 39

Which one of the following scenarios best reflects the basic idea of social constructivism?

A) Two students discuss possible interpretations of the proverb "A stitch in time saves nine."
B) A teacher assigns a laboratory activity using cumbersome equipment that students can only use successfully by working in pairs.
C) When a student borrows a classmate's marker without asking and then forgets to put the cap back on, leaving it dried out and useless by the following morning, her teacher reminds her of one of the class rules: "Respect other students' property."
D) Four students in a study group divide the day's reading assignment into four sections. Each student reads a section and then teaches the material to the other group members.

Question 40

Nine-year-old Ricky has recently learned how to solve long division problems, and he still struggles with especially difficult problems. At his mother's request, he helps his 8-year-old sister Lucy with the simple long division problems she must do for her math homework. From the perspective of Vygotsky's theory, which one of the following is most likely to result?

A) Ricky's own long division skills will improve because he will internalize the instructions he gives Lucy.
B) Ricky will gain nothing from helping his sister because doing long division is outside his zone of proximal development.
C) Ricky's own long division skills will decrease, because any mistakes that Lucy makes will "corrupt" his own mathematical thinking.
D) By helping Lucy with her long division problems, Ricky will be able to practice using the central conceptual structure that underlies his mathematical thinking.

Question 41

Ms. Villanueva has her students engage in a variety of activities in her middle school geography class. Three of the activities described below are authentic activities. Which one is not an authentic activity?

A) Constructing a map of the neighborhood around the school
B) Describing the difference between latitude and longitude
C) Finding the most direct route to Chicago on a road map
D) Using library resources to identify a good place to take a vacation

Question 42

Three of the following are potential drawbacks to instructional techniques that depend heavily on student discussion. Which one is least likely to be a drawback?

A) Outgoing and popular students may dominate discussions, even if their ideas and suggestions are off-target.
B) Some students have trouble communicating their thoughts clearly enough for others to understand them.
C) Students who believe that there is a single "right" perspective on any issue are more likely to participate than students who realize that several perspectives may all have legitimacy.
D) Some students may become so focused on making a good impression when it's their turn to speak that they don't listen closely to what their classmates are saying.

Question 43

Which one of the following cooperative groups is using the jigsaw technique?

A) When attempting to solve several challenging mathematics problems, group members brainstorm various approaches to solving each one.
B) As it prepares for a debate about capital punishment, a cooperative group decides which member will present each argument for the group's position.
C) When studying types of mountains volcanic, dome, fold, and block), each student studies one type and teaches what he or she has learned to other group members.
D) After everyone has read Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, group members divide up the scenes of the play, and each student skims through his or her scenes for examples of symbolism.

Question 44

According to the textbook, which is the following is a cognitive benefit of video-games?

A) Video-games promote hand-eye coordination
B) Video-games increase response time
C) Video-games provide "real world" environments and decision opportunities
D) Video-games increase processing speed

Question 45

Using the guidelines presented in the textbook regarding when classroom discussions are most valuable, choose the topic below that would be most appropriate for a classroom discussion.

A) Learning how gravity affects the speed with which an object falls
B) Studying the definitions of difficult words
C) Learning the various tenses of the verb to be
D) Interpreting Edgar Allan Poe's poem The Raven

Question 46

Three of the following are typical elements of effective cooperative learning sessions. Which one is not typical of such sessions?

A) To succeed, group members must depend on one another.
B) Groups consist of several students of similar ability.
C) Group members must individually demonstrate what they have learned.
D) Groups work toward clear, concrete goals.

Question 47

Which one of the following best illustrates the use of base groups in cooperative learning?

A) Students in a third-grade class are divided into several different reading groups based on their current reading levels.
B) Students in a social studies class work in groups of three or four to conduct in-depth research projects in their local, inner-city neighborhood.
C) Students in a literature class select one of four Shakespearian plays to read; students reading the same play convene for several half-hour discussions of the play.
D) Students in a history class spend the last five minutes of each class session in small, semester-long groups in which they can compare class notes and help one another with sources of confusion.

Question 48

After explaining what sines and cosines are, a high school math teacher shows students how they might use these concepts in constructing a large building. Which one of the following principles does this scenario best illustrate?

A) Over time, self-talk gradually evolves into inner speech.
B) Thought and language become increasingly interdependent with age.
C) Acquiring the cognitive tools of one's culture enables youngsters to live and work more effectively.
D) Children function more effectively when they work at their actual rather than potential) developmental levels.

Question 49

Three of the following are benefits of peer interaction in the classroom. Which one is not a typical benefit of peer interaction?

A) Students can model effective ways of thinking for one another.
B) Peer-group discussions encourage students to organize their thoughts about a topic.
C) Peer-group discussions promote more rapid learning of classroom subject matter.
D) Students can develop more effective ways of defending conclusions they have reached.

Question 50

Which one of the following is the best example of problem-based learning?

A) Learning the logic behind certain problem-solving procedures in math
B) Learning history by reading detective novels set in certain historical eras
C) Devising a way to move a large, heavy object using principles of physics
D) Solving a series of mathematical word problems that gradually progress in difficulty

Question 51

Three of the following are strategies that good readers use to enhance their comprehension. Which one is not?

A) They ask themselves questions to make sure they understand.
B) They take steps to clarify possible sources of confusion.
C) They read through material relatively quickly.
D) They anticipate what is likely to come next in the passage.

Question 52

Three of the following are potential disadvantages of a cooperative learning activity. Which one has not been identified as a disadvantage?

A) Students generally have lower self-efficacy when they study with peers rather than alone.
B) Students may learn incorrect information from other group members.
C) Students who do more work may harbor negative feelings about students who do less work.
D) Students may be more interested in completing the task quickly than in helping one another learn.

Question 53

Which one of the following examples best shows one or more students using a procedure known as scripted cooperation while studying?

A) Danny and Emma are second graders who are working on their reading comprehension. Their teacher gives them a structured activity to do together to uncover the storyline of a new book.
B) Ben and Will read their favorite story together. Ben reads the first half aloud and Will reads the second half aloud.
C) A group of drama students read through the script of the play they are set to perform later that year.
D) Elliot and Henry work on their math homework together by each completing every other problem.

Question 54

Three of the teachers below are using strategies consistent with the textbook's recommendations for holding class discussions. Which teacher is using a strategy that is not consistent with the textbook's recommendations?

A) Mr. Poston assures students that it's okay if they change their minds about an issue.
B) Mr. Morris has students discuss a topic about which they know almost nothing.
C) Mr. Sheehan reminds students that they can criticize ideas but not people.
D) Mr. Retzlaff divides his class into groups of four students each to discuss a controversial issue.

Question 55

Which one of the following teachers is using reciprocal teaching?

A) Mr. Armando has students work in pairs, testing each other's knowledge about a topic.
B) Working with a small group, Mr. Bromley gives each student a chance to ask questions of other group members regarding a section of text they are reading.
C) When students ask questions about things they don't understand, Ms. Cromwell asks if classmates can answer those questions before answering them herself.
D) Before a test, Ms. Dievers has each student describe the strategies he or she plans to use while studying.

Question 56

Which one of the following is the best example of an authentic activity?

A) Listing four different kinds of sedimentary rocks
B) Designing a bridge using principles of physics
C) Putting definitions of new terms in your own words
D) Discussing reasons why World War II occurred

Question 57

Three of the following are possible reasons why classroom dialogues help students better understand classroom subject matter. Which one is not necessarily a benefit of classroom dialogues?

A) Students are exposed to the views of other people-views that may be more accurate than their own.
B) Students must clarify their ideas sufficiently to explain them to their classmates.
C) Students may discover flaws in their own ideas and thoughts about a topic.
D) Students are more likely to form visual images related to their ideas when they describe those ideas to others.

Question 58

Which one of the following alternatives is the best example of service learning?

A) Struggling readers in a first-grade class spend three days a week with parent volunteers who provide one-on-one tutoring in basic reading skills.
B) A group of young boys develop a business in which they mow the lawns of their neighbors to make extra spending money.
C) Students in a fourth-grade class work in small cooperative groups to help one another make sense of challenging reading material.
D) Students in a biology class collect samples of local pond water, evaluate them for bacteria content, and report their findings to the city health department.

Question 59

Mr. Johansen, a sixth-grade teacher, wants to improve his students' ability to learn effectively from what they read in their textbooks. Considering research results described in your Human Learning text, which technique should Mr. Johansen use?

A) Reciprocal teaching
B) Community of learners
C) Cooperative learning
D) Class discussion

Question 60

Which one of the following examples best shows one or more students using a procedure known as guided peer questioning also known as elaborative interrogation) while studying?

A) As LaWanda and Megan study their history book together, they take turns making up and asking each other questions about why various historical events may have happened the way they did.
B) As she reads a classmate's short story, Suzette develops a list of questions that she would ask the author about why he wrote the story the way he did.
C) Vance and Cindy make notations in their class notes regarding things they don't understand and need to ask their teacher about.
D) As Lynette, Martin, and Fred study for a science quiz one evening, they go over the questions on the study guide their teacher handed out in class that day; they know that if they can answer all the questions successfully, they will do well on the quiz.

Question 61

Describe reciprocal teaching and its effects on student achievement. Explain its effectiveness using principles of learning from cognitive psychology, being sure to address metacognition in your discussion.

Question 62

Three of the following are consistent with the textbook's recommendations for using peer tutoring. Which one is inconsistent with the textbook's recommendations?

A) Peer tutoring can be used effectively to help students diagnosed as having learning disabilities.
B) Tutors function most effectively when left to teach in ways that they develop on their own.
C) Peer tutoring can be especially effective when the tutor is given structured activity to follow.
D) Tutors are typically most effective when they themselves have mastered the subject matter they are teaching.

Question 63

Which one of the following best reflects technology-based collaborative learning as the textbook describes it?

A) Two or more members of a class regularly meet on Internet chat rooms to study for tests and quizzes.
B) High school students create a Facebook group; they then recruit peers from diverse locations to join the group and exchange ideas about how best to deal with typical teenage issues.
C) Students post their work on a shared database, give one another feedback, and build on one another's ideas.
D) Two classes in distant locations use video technology to learn about one another's cultures.

Question 64

In recent years whole-class and small-group student discussions have become increasingly popular as methods of helping students master classroom subject matter. Identify at least five different ways in which peer-interactive approaches can enhance students' learning.

Question 65

Identify a particular instructional objective that students might be able to achieve through one of the following approaches to instruction:
-Class discussion
-Reciprocal teaching
-Cooperative learning
-Peer tutoring
-A community of learners
In three or four paragraphs, explain in specific terms what the instructional unit would involve. Be sure that your discussion incorporates guidelines presented in the textbook regarding the instructional method you've chosen.

Question 66

A community of learners can best be described as:

A) A classroom in which a cooperative spirit of helping one another learn prevails.
B) A small group of students that chooses a special topic it wants to pursue independently.
C) A classroom in which most activities are relatively structured discovery-learning activities.
D) A classroom in which most activities involve whole-class discussions and reciprocal teaching.

Question 67

Use concepts from Vygotsky's perspective of cognitive development to describe how you learned about Vygotsky's theory in this class. Your response should include references to at least three of the following concepts: zone of proximal development, self-talk, inner speech, internalization, and scaffolding.

Question 68

Describe a cognitive apprenticeship, and identify at least five features that effective cognitive apprenticeships are likely to have. Use a concrete example to illustrate your discussion.

Question 69

Vygotsky and contemporary Vygotskian theorists have proposed that children's and adolescents' cognitive development is promoted when they work within their zone of proximal development and that scaffolding enables them to do this successfully.
a. Explain the two concepts in italics, and give a concrete example of each one.
b. Choose a topic or skill you might teach someone else, and explain how you would: 1) scaffold the learner's efforts, and 2) modify the scaffolding over time.

Question 70

Which one of the following teachers is using the recommended approach to evaluate students' achievement in a cooperative learning situation?

A) Ms. Au has students take notes on what they are learning throughout a cooperative learning session.
B) Mr. Baer's cooperative groups turn in a research paper co-authored by all group members.
C) Mr. Craighead's cooperative groups each elect a group "captain," who explains to Mr. Craighead what his or her group has learned.
D) Ms. Donaldson gives students a quiz over the material that groups have studied; students get extra credit if everyone in their group scores high.

Question 71

Identify an instructional objective that might be achieved through an authentic activity. Then, in one or two paragraphs, describe the nature of the authentic activity.

Question 72

Communities of learners often create conceptual artifacts as they study a topic. Which one of the following is the best example of such an artifact?

A) Students jointly write a one-act play based on a short story they've been reading.
B) Students write their own, individual summaries of what they think the class has accomplished each week.
C) Students jointly create a board game that puts the economic principle of supply-and-demand into action.
D) Students jointly create a diagram that helps them understand the water cycle. They occasionally revise it as they learn more about evaporation and condensation.

Question 73

According to the textbook, technology based collaborative learning programs are helpful to learners because the provide which of the following?

A) A community of learners
B) Developmental aids
C) Explanations of difficult concepts
D) Sample test questions

Question 74

Three of the following are likely to enhance the effectiveness of a community of learners. Which one is least likely to be helpful?

A) Students all try to master the same topic.
B) Students focus on significant real-world problems.
C) Students are taught how to present a persuasive argument.
D) Students all have unique talents they can contribute to the overall class effort.

Question 75

Pick a topic that you might effectively teach through a cooperative learning approach. Then, using guidelines presented in the textbook, describe how you will:
a. Form your cooperative groups
b. Foster interdependence of group members
c. Assess what students have learned