Question 1

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

Accepted Answer

A)   Guided participation
B)   Intersubjectivity
C)   Appropriation
D)   Embodiment D

Question 2

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

Accepted Answer

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. D

Question 3

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

Accepted Answer

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. B

Question 4

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

Accepted Answer

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 5

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

Accepted Answer

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 6

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?

Accepted Answer

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 7

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?

Accepted Answer

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 8

A community of learners can best be described as:

Accepted Answer

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 9

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?

Accepted Answer

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 10

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.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Describe reciprocal teaching and its effects on...

Question 11

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?

Accepted Answer

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 12

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.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Identify a particular instructional objective that students...

Question 13

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?

Accepted Answer

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 14

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

Accepted Answer

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 15

Which one of the following teachers is using reciprocal teaching?

Accepted Answer

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 16

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

Accepted Answer

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 17

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.

Accepted Answer

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 18

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

Accepted Answer

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 19

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

Accepted Answer

The answer of Pick a topic that you might effectively...

Question 20

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?

Accepted Answer

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

Exam 12: Metacognition, Self-Regulated Learning, and Study Strategies