Deck 4: Pioneers of Teaching and Learning

Question 1

Froebel believed that future teachers should reflect repeatedly on their own childhood experiences for insights that they can apply to their teaching. What have your childhood experiences taught you about how students learn and how you should teach? Based on these lessons from your experience, with which educational theorist discussed in Chapter 4 do you have the most in common? Why?

Answer 1

Students' answers may vary considerably, based on the nature of their individual experiences and beliefs. Answers should be assessed on the reflective thinking and insight that students exhibit in extracting lessons about teaching and learning from their experiences and on the extent to which they are able to link their insights to the major ideas of one of the educational pioneers discussed in the chapter.

Question 2

Develop a direct comparison between Montessori's and Piaget's philosophies and discuss how their environments may vary.

Answer 2

Maria Montessori believed that the education of young children must be done in a "specially prepared environment" where the children's curriculum was based in practical, sensory, and formal activities. The preplanned teacher devices allowed the children to master skills with an intellectual outcome.  Jean Piaget's philosophy was devoted to the four sub-stages of cognitive development. He believed that children construct their concepts about reality by actively exploring their environment. His movement caused Americans schools to become less formal in the environment.

Question 3

Comenius sought to develop an efficient method of instruction based on the

A)child depravity theory.
B)curriculum correlation.
C)principles of child development.
D)use of rote learning.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Rousseau believed that the school as an institution

A)met children's emotional needs.
B)corrupted children.
C)failed to insist on rigorous standards.
D)reflected the best in society.

Question 5

Sarah believes that schools too often get in the way of meaningful education. She wants to start her own school where children will have fewer textbooks and rules and more unstructured, firsthand experiences with the world. Which of the following theorists is most relevant to Sarah's beliefs?

A)Comenius
B)Spencer
C)Montessori
D)Rousseau

Question 6

The curriculum and activities that Dewey proposed for schools

A)are based on classical literature.
B)culminate in reflecting on and testing the consequences of action.
C)were required to be recorded in curriculum guides for others to use.
D)had to be developed by content experts in the various disciplines.

Question 7

Katherine, an elementary school teacher, believes that children are by nature prone to mean and unruly behavior and that part of a teacher's job is to be a firm disciplinarian to help children overcome these tendencies. Katherine's ideas are most similar to which of the following?

A)child naturalism
B)tabula rasa
C)child depravity theory
D)utilitarian education

Question 8

According to Froebel, the paramount influence in the kindergarten classroom was

A)the curriculum.
B)learners' interests.
C)parental support.
D)the personality of the teacher.

Question 9

Rousseau broke with many educational philosophers in his belief that

A)parents should be forced to spend a great deal of time directly involved with the education of their own children.
B)children should not come under the direct influence of the Church until well into their teen years so that their minds could develop free of religious doctrine.
C)schools should be public and open to every child.
D)adult coercion negatively influences children's development.

Question 10

For John Dewey, education's sole purpose is to contribute to

A)the cultivation of intellectual virtues.
B)the moral development of the individual.
C)peace and human understanding.
D)the social growth of the individual.

Question 11

The child depravity theory held that the corruptive weakness of children could be corrected by

A)authoritarian teaching techniques.
B)developmentally appropriate teaching.
C)naturalistic teaching approaches.
D)social interaction with peers.

Question 12

The process by which competition would bring about gradual but inevitable progress is

A)induction.
B)naturalism.
C)the scientific method.
D)Social Darwinism.

Question 13

You just took a job teaching in a primary school. The principal has told you that the school's mission envisions each classroom becoming a "prepared environment" for encouraging self-development and socialization. These ideas are based on

A)Rousseau's view of society.
B)Froebel's view of the kindergarten.
C)Friere's view of curriculum.
D)Piaget's principles of learning.

Question 14

Herbart was noted for incorporating history and literature into the curriculum.  He did this to

A)replace the classical Greek and Latin languages.
B)study the lives of great people of the past and how they made their moral decisions.
C)place events in their proper chronological order.
D)have students actively challenge the ideas of the past's great leaders.

Question 15

Jane Addams was best known for _____________ ideal in the education of young children.

A)pioneering the peace education
B)the need for environments
C)the religious perspectives
D)the authoritarian education

Question 16

Pestalozzi believed that teachers needed to develop

A)expertise in Greek and Latin.
B)special instruction for gifted students.
C)authoritarian instructional approaches.
D)secure and loving environments.

Question 17

The teaching of Latin utilizing the student's vernacular language was emphasized by

A)Comenius.
B)Dewey.
C)Froebel.
D)Spencer.

Question 18

According to Dewey, schools translate cultural heritage, and people use this heritage to

A)alter the social sciences.
B)solve their problems.
C)develop the history curriculum.
D)compete against others.

Question 19

Rousseau originally believed that people were "noble savages," ________________________.

A)innocent, free and uncorrupted.
B)restrained, jailed and corrupt in their ideals.
C)pure and driven to change.
D)able to adapt to all social situations.

Question 20

Antonia's dream is to establish her own primary school-one that educates the "whole child" and that has teachers who help children feel safe, secure, and cared for. Which of the following educational theorists should she study for ideas that may help her plan her school?

A)Spencer
B)Piaget
C)Rousseau
D)Pestalozzi

Question 21

Because of Jane Addams' work with immigrants in Chicago, teachers now see the importance of ____________.

A)economics.
B)demographics.
C)technical trends.
D)all of the above.

Question 22

What role in education does Paulo Freire propose for teachers?

Question 23

What were the stages of growth that Rousseau identified and what is the significance of these stages to educators?

Question 24

Describe the three major areas of the Montessori curriculum.

Question 25

The education pioneer who suggested that teachers should design their classrooms as learning centers stocked with materials that engage children's curiosity and stimulate their explorations was

A)Jane Addams.
B)Herbert Spencer.
C)Jean Piaget.
D)John Dewey.

Question 26

What are some guiding practices that you as a teacher can begin to implement from Piaget's theory?

Question 27

In your elementary classroom, you use hands-on methods that encourage students to inquire for themselves about various ideas and problems in the curriculum's subjects. Several parents have criticized your approach, saying that you pay too little attention to systematic subject-matter learning. You have a great deal in common with which famous educator?

A)Dewey
B)Spencer
C)Rousseau
D)Comenius

Question 28

Rebelling against gender restrictions, __________ developed a philosophy of socialized education.

A)Montessori
B)Addams
C)Froebel
D)Spencer

Question 29

Piaget's highest level of cognitive development is the __________ period, where individuals deal with logical propositions and construct abstract hypotheses.

A)preoperational
B)formal operational
C)sensorimotor
D)concrete operational

Question 30

Summarize the key points of Herbert Spencer's "Social Darwinism."

Question 31

What is the basis for Friedrich Froebel's philosophy of early childhood education?

Question 32

Of the educators discussed in Chapter 3, Luis finds the ideas of Maria Montessori to be most relevant to the area in which he is seeking certification, so he plans to try to learn more about her thinking. Of the following specializations, which is most likely to be the one Luis is pursuing?

A)elementary physical education
B)middle-school social studies education
C)secondary science education
D)early childhood education

Question 33

Why was Dewey considered an advocate of democratic schooling?

Question 34

Provide an overview of Jane Addams' background and influence on education.

Question 35

Describe the four primary stages of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development.

Question 36

Jean Piaget's principles of learning are based primarily on

A)the child's cognitive development.
B)the child's moral development.
C)the child's physical development.
D)the child's emotional development

Question 37

Preplanned materials and learning exercises designed to develop the practical, sensory, and formal skills of children were designed by

A)Dewey.
B)Spencer.
C)Montessori.
D)Rousseau.

Question 38

Why did Froebel consider the teacher's behavior so important in working with young children?

Question 39

Identify advantages and disadvantages of respecting children's natural needs and interests, as proposed by Comenius.