Deck 17: Facilitating Cognitive Learning

Question 1

The majority of children in the United States learn to read and write and do simple math between four and six years of age.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

All readiness skills can be taught through a sequencing or task analysis approach.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Literacy begins in early infancy and continues throughout the developmental years and beyond.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Pre-academics is formal academic instruction in preschools.

Question 5

Many parents believe that early, formal instruction in reading, writing, and math will help their children succeed in school.

Question 6

Paper-and-pencil tasks are very appropriate for early childhood programs.

Question 7

Not all children can benefit from self-initiated spontaneous play, just from teacher-planned and structured activities.

Question 8

Workbooks are an inappropriate practice for all children in an early childhood setting.

Question 9

Direct teaching of pre-academics can be accomplished with an indirect facilitative approach.

Question 10

The role of the teacher in pre-academics is to help children observe, ask, and find out about things that interest them.

Question 11

Computer use is not an appropriate form of instruction in early childhood settings.

Question 12

Negative experiences or a lack of stimulation are is likely to have serious and sustained effects.

Question 13

During pre-academic activities, the teacher is likely to engage primarily in direct teaching.

Question 14

Stringing beads, nesting and stacking blocks, and games are examples of manipulative materials.

Question 15

Embedded learning is defined as a procedure in which children are given additional opportunities to practice and learn individualized goals within the context of the regular classroom activities.

Question 16

Fine motor activities appropriate for young preschoolers include:

A) water and sand play.
B) large wooden building blocks.
C) swings and slides.
D) listening to stories.

Question 17

Concept development depends upon a child's ability to:

A) use fine motor skills.
B) discriminate likenesses and differences.
C) sit and attend to a task.
D) engage in pre-reading and pre-writing.

Question 18

The ability to classify objects and events:

A) is unimportant for most children.
B) is a concept that doesn't evolve until elementary years.
C) develops the concept of categories.
D) is a task involving discrimination.

Question 19

An example of a young child using classification skills is:

A) arranging cars from largest to smallest.
B) matching objects that are the same color.
C) putting the blocks back on the labeled shelf.
D) putting all animals that have tails together.

Question 20

An example of an activity to develop spatial and temporal concepts is:

A) placing napkins in front of each child during snack time.
B) using different colors of paint.
C) using clay to make an animal.
D) singing a favorite song every day.

Question 21

When children have difficulty remembering each other's names, a teacher should:

A) repeat it over and over and give the children a reward when they say the name correctly.
B) use each child's name in conversations and encourage others to do the same.
C) play a guessing game.
D) prompt the children and have the children repeat what you said every time.

Question 22

When planning for a direct teaching activity:

A) consider what type of grouping is best and plan for a short period.
B) bring all the children together with a transition, then teach for no more than 35 minutes.
C) always use new, surprise materials to keep the children focused.
D) bring all the children together at the same time.

Question 23

The most important aspect of all pre-academic activities is:

A) that children learn a new skill.
B) that children enjoy the learning experience.
C) identifying letters and numbers before kindergarten.
D) including the parents.

Question 24

Which of the following is the term for prerequisite skills that provide the foundation for the formal academic training that usually starts in first grade?

A) Pre-operational skills
B) Functional literacy
C) Pre-academic skills
D) Emerging literacy

Question 25

How big is the human brain at birth?

A) Fully grown
B) ¼ of its potential size
C) ½ of its potential size
D) 1/3 of its potential size

Question 26

Which of the following is an example of rote memorization?

A) Emily can recite the alphabet from A-Z.
B) Joe puts together a 10-piece interlocking puzzle.
C) Nancy places the correct number of plastic teddy bears by each number.
D) Samantha sorts the crayons into three different piles by color.

Question 27

According to the text, which of the following is true of most early childhood educators today?

A) They understand the importance of worksheets.
B) They emphasize rote memorization.
C) They understand that cognitive activities and play are compatible.
D) They provide an opportunity for paper-and-pencil tasks on a daily basis.

Question 28

How can teachers significantly advance children's anticipation of learning to read, write, and do math?

A) Provide a daily opportunity for the child to write in a journal
B) Give each child a workbook to take home
C) Write out the questions children ask
D) Provide a regular opportunity to memorize letters and numbers

Question 29

A teacher provides a child with four large beads and a wooden rod to "string the beads" on. This is an example of a teacher doing which of the following?

A) Adapting a gross motor skill
B) Teaching a child to count
C) Individualizing a fine-motor activity
D) Helping a child to learn to discriminate

Question 30

Which of the following can help reduce a child's tendency to grab materials and help them learn to work in a confined space?

A) A workspace with a nametag
B) An individualized set of materials
C) Familiar and preferred materials
D) Quickly accomplished tasks

Question 31

What is the purpose of holding activities?

A) To teach children to sit quietly with their hands in their laps
B) To teach children to engage in a teacher-directed activity
C) To help children learn to stand in line
D) To help children learn to work independently while they are waiting for the next activity to begin

Question 32

Which of the following areas of development contribute to a child's cognitive learning?

A) Only language and social development
B) Every area except motor development
C) Every area of development
D) Only language development

Question 33

If the brain is not used, it will do which of the following after the first decade of life?

A) Continue its growth
B) Remain stagnant
C) Form new connections
D) Discard excess synapses

Question 34

Research has demonstrated that timely, well-designed, and intensive intervention is of utmost importance in brain development and, thus, supports the importance of:

A) special education.
B) a genetic environmental interplay.
C) school-based intervention.
D) early intervention.

Question 35

While the integration of child-initiated play with teacher-structured activities is important for all children, it is especially important for:

A) children who are English language learners (ELL).
B) toddlers who are slow to speak.
C) children from low-income families.
D) children with disabilities.

Question 36

Schickedanz (1999) described academically stimulating preschools as which of the following?

A) Unnecessary for children who get academic learning at home
B) An opportunity equalizer for some children
C) Ill-advised for all children
D) Developmentally inappropriate

Question 37

During morning circle, the teacher reviews the daily schedule and calendar. They help the children identify what the class did yesterday, what they will do today, and what they would like to do later in the week. The teacher is focusing on which of the following concepts?

A) Seriation
B) Classification
C) Spatial
D) Temporal

Question 38

According to the text, one of the first reasons a teacher might decide to restructure small groups is based on the children's:

A) age.
B) area of interest.
C) attention span.
D) ability to stay in their seat.

Question 39

What outcome has emerged out of the need to introduce pre-academic skills into early education, in the opinion of Parlakian (2010)?

A) Identity crisis in the field of education
B) Learning something worthwhile
C) A reduction in children's natural curiosity, enthusiasm, and interest in learning
D) An increase in children's enthusiasm and interest in learning

Question 40

What is the relationship between brain size and brain development in terms of the impact on cognitive growth and learning?

A) From preschool to school age, the brain forms a network of neural pathways; a major developmental task at this age is to form and reinforce these links so they become a permanent part of the brain's wiring.
B) From the time of birth to the first few years, the brain forms a network of neural pathways; a major developmental task at this age is to form and reinforce these links so they become a permanent part of the brain's wiring.
C) Brain development occurs through continual and repeated connections.
D) The pattern for cognitive growth and learning is set in the brain during the first few weeks of life.

Question 41

What is the optimum early learning experience?

A) The best learning experiences occur through workbooks and prescribed paper-and-pencil tasks.
B) Rote memorization is an excellent learning experience.
C) Quality programs realize that cognitive and intellectual activities must take precedence.
D) Quality programs embrace both cognitive and intellectual activities and spontaneous play.

Question 42

How would a teacher adapt their teaching style during pre-academic activities?

A) Engage in direct teaching
B) Mostly give instructions as to what children need to do and say
C) Mostly blend direct teaching with an indirect and facilitative approach
D) Use an indirect and facilitative approach only

Question 43

How do children conduct themselves during a holding activity?

A) Sit quietly without doing anything
B) Work independently while waiting for group activities to begin
C) Work in groups
D) Engage with the teacher in a teacher-directed experience

Question 44

Explain Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) pre-academics.

Question 45

Explain readiness.

Question 46

Name five readiness-to-learn skills.

Question 47

Explain the processes that make up perceptual motor skills.

Question 48

List four subskills related to concept formation.

Question 49

List three ways a teacher can help a child learn to imitate.

Question 50

List two spatial and two temporal relationships.