Deck 1: Teaching and Educational Psychology

Question 1

In general, experimental studies have which one of the following advantages over descriptive and correlational studies?

A)Only experimental studies allow us to be specific about our teaching objectives.
B)Only experimental studies allow us to identify the possible factors influencing behavior.
C)Only experimental studies allow us to analyze data statistically and therefore arrive at precise results.
D)Only experimental studies enable us to draw accurate conclusions.

Answer 1

Only experimental studies allow us to identify the possible factors influencing behavior.

Question 2

Which one of the following is the best example of qualitative research?

A)Comparing average achievement test scores for students at three different schools
B)Finding out how long it takes 6-year-olds to assemble challenging picture puzzles
C)Interviewing middle school students about cliques at their school
D)Looking at school attendance records to identify potential school dropouts

Answer 2

Interviewing middle school students about cliques at their school

Question 3

A research study finds that students who weigh more do better in school.Which one of the following is an appropriate deduction from this information?

A)Parents should feed their children as much as possible.
B)The school cafeteria should decrease the fat content of the food it serves.
C)On average, students who eat more do better in school.
D)There is a correlation between weight and classroom performance.

Answer 3

There is a correlation between weight and classroom performance.

Question 4

Which one of the following statements about educational research is true?

A)Experimental research can be conducted only in the laboratory under somewhat artificial conditions.
B)Descriptive research gives us the most information for making decisions about teaching practice.
C)Experimental research allows us to draw cause-and-effect conclusions.
D)Correlational research is more difficult and time-consuming than experimental research.

Question 5

Judging from the textbook's discussion of educational research, which one of the following would be the best course of action for teachers to take?

A)Teachers shouldn't take research findings very seriously, because there are too many "holes" in what we know from research.
B)Teachers should focus on research that relates to a single theoretical perspective such as Piaget's theory or information processing theory).
C)Teachers can use findings from educational research to guide their classroom decision making.
D)Teachers should always go with their common sense and "gut" feelings about how to teach, regardless of any research findings to the contrary.

Question 6

Imagine you are an educational researcher who wants to learn about the type of psychological atmosphere in which middle school students feel most comfortable and best able to concentrate on their studies.You plan to look at a wide variety of factors that might contribute to such an atmosphere-both physical factors

A)A descriptive, quantitative study
B)An experimental study with at least three treatment groups
C)An experimental study with one treatment group and one control group
D)A qualitative study
E)g., cleanliness and colorfulness of the school building)and social factors-e.g., teacher-student relationships, general tolerance for diverse behaviors and beliefs).You realize that students might identify important factors that you yourself haven't even thought of.In this situation, your best choice would probably be:

Question 7

Considering the research findings described in the textbook, only one of the following is a true statement.Which one is true?

A)Most experts discourage teachers from having children tutor one another.
B)Mathematics is almost exclusively a left-brain activity; music is largely a right- brain activity.
C)Students who see a classmate rewarded for doing something may engage in the same behavior themselves.
D)Students are usually the best judges of what they do and do not know.

Question 8

Mr.Jacobs wants to find out whether a new program for teaching physical education promotes students' physical development.He gives his students a number of tests before they begin the program pretests)and the same tests again after they have been in the program for eight months posttests).He finds that the students' posttest scores are higher than their pretest scores and so concludes that the program is effective.What is definitely wrong with Mr.Jacobs' conclusion?

A)Eight months is too short a time for such a program to have a long-term effect.
B)There are other possible explanations for his results.
C)Tests are not a good measure of physical development.
D)The posttests should always be different from the pretests.

Question 9

Which one of the following is the best example of elaboration?

A)Rosie repeats the spelling of each word several times the night before her spelling test.
B)Melissa makes up stories to help her remember the various species she studies in biology.
C)Logan copies a friend's answers to last night's homework assignment.
D)Sharon automatically knows how to study effectively for an upcoming history test.

Question 10

A French teacher reads an article about how visual imagery i.e., "picturing" things in one's mind)can be used to help students learn French vocabulary words.To find out if visual imagery is more effective than verbal repetition in learning vocabulary words, she develops two different study guides for her students-one that tells students how to use visual imagery to learn French words, and one that tells them just to repeat the words over and over again-and randomly distributes the two study guides to her students.Over the next few weeks, the teacher finds that students using visual imagery study guides achieve higher average quiz scores.She concludes that the study guides describing the visual imagery technique help her students learn their French vocabulary words.Is the teacher's conclusion valid?

A)No, because she used random assignment.
B)No, because her experiment wasn't conducted in a laboratory.
C)Yes, because her students probably all had similar IQ scores.
D)Yes, because she was able to manipulate a variable in the environment.

Question 11

Which one of the following conclusions could be drawn from a descriptive study?

A)Approximately 80% of the students at Southside High School are planning to go to college.
B)Students are more likely to appreciate classical music if they are exposed to it on a regular basis.
C)Concrete experiences help students understand abstract ideas better.
D)Students do better in school when they have warm, supportive relationships with their teachers.

Question 12

A study that tells us whether two variables are associated, but does not tell us if one variable causes or influences the other, is:

A)A correlational study
B)A descriptive study
C)An experimental study without a control group
D)An experimental study with one or more control groups

Question 13

Which one of the following conclusions can be drawn only from an experimental study?

A)Boys are more likely to show aggressive behavior than girls.
B)Children grow taller as they get older.
C)Drugs administered during childbirth affect a child's early development.
D)Children's muscular coordination improves as they grow older.

Question 14

Dr.Lesgold finds that students in private schools perform better on achievement tests than do students in public schools.He can conclude that:

A)The difference is probably due to differences in family income.
B)The difference is probably due to the fact that private schools have smaller classes.
C)The difference is probably due to the fact that private schools are more likely to "teach to the test."
D)Students' achievement test scores can be predicted to some extent by the kind of school they attend.

Question 15

Experimental research requires which one of the following?

A)Manipulating an aspect of the environment
B)Being able to predict two or more variables
C)Studying behavior in an actual classroom environment
D)Describing every variable in the study in considerable detail

Question 16

Considering the research findings described in the textbook, only one of the following is a true statement.Which one is true?

A)Repeating something over and over is usually the most effective way to learn it.
B)Girls have a noticeable advantage over boys on verbal tasks.
C)For optimal performance, students should never feel the least bit anxious in the classroom.
D)Students often study differently for different kinds of classroom assessments.

Question 17

Mr.Jones, a physical education teacher, notices that some of his students are better basketball players than others.He wonders if having a basketball net at home fosters the development of basketball skills.He gives his students a short survey that asks them if they have a basketball net at home.Sure enough, Mr.Jones finds that the better basketball players are more likely to have a net at home.He concludes that having a basketball net at home facilitates the development of basketball skills.Is his conclusion appropriate?

A)No, because he didn't conduct an experimental study
B)No, because his study wasn't conducted in a scientific laboratory
C)Yes, provided that his students responded truthfully to the survey
D)Yes, because he used random assignment

Question 18

Which one of the following teaching practices is definitely an example of evidence- based practice?

A)A kindergarten teacher asks students to bring something from home that begins with the letter B.
B)A fourth-grade teacher uses a reading program that research has shown to be effective for fourth graders.
C)A seventh-grade science teacher asks students to conduct experiments in which they must determine which one of several variables makes a pendulum swing fast or more slowly.
D)A high school art teacher encourages students to choose a medium
E)g., clay, watercolor paints)that they can best use to express themselves.

Question 19

A researcher is interested in the possible effect of teacher-student ratios on students' learning.She finds 10 fifth-grade classrooms with 30-40 students per class and 10 others with 15-25 students per class.She discovers that there is a correlation between class size and student achievement.Which one of the following conclusions can we draw from this study?

A)Class size can help us predict school achievement.
B)Classes should be as large as is reasonably possible.
C)Classes should be as small as is reasonably possible.
D)The researcher has conducted a descriptive study.

Question 20

Dr.Kenney conducts a study in which she gives some students chosen randomly)logically organized learning material; she gives other students the same material presented in a haphazard, unpredictable sequence.She finds that students with the organized material remember more.This study can best be described as:

A)A descriptive study
B)A theoretical study
C)An experimental study
D)A correlational study

Question 21

Which one of the following statements is most accurate regarding psychological theories?

A)Theories have been proven to be true.
B)Theories are continually modified as new data emerge.
C)Any single theory can be used to explain virtually every aspect of human behavior.
D)Theories will eventually be replaced by physiological brain-based)explanations of behavior.

Question 22

Which one of the following alternatives best illustrates action research?

A)A university professor and two of her graduate students conduct systematic observations of kindergarten's turn-taking behaviors on the playground.
B)A middle school math teacher gives his students quizzes every Friday because he knows that frequent quizzes will encourage students to study regularly.
C)After a first-grade teacher completes a research project for her master's thesis, she presents her findings at a national teaching conference.
D)A high school principal conducts a survey to find out what kinds of after-school activities students would most like to have available at their school.

Question 23

Which one of the following high school teachers clearly has high self-efficacy about his or her teaching?

A)Mr.Abbot thinks that teaching is simply a matter of reading textbook passages aloud to his history class.
B)Ms.Bouthot has a hypothesis about why some students in her English class rarely turn in their assignments.
C)Ms.Crosby insists that students complete their math homework using a particular format.
D)Mr.Driver is confident that he can get even seemingly "unmotivated" students excited about science.

Question 24

Judging from the textbook's discussion of assessment, we can best think of classroom assessment practices as mechanisms and procedures that:

A)Give us hard, indisputable facts that we can use to assign grades
B)Enable us to form tentative hypotheses about what students know and can do
C)Are most likely to be accurate when they take the form of paper-pencil tests
D)Allow us to draw conclusions about how students' motives and personality traits affect their classroom performance

Question 25

In educational psychology, a theory can best be characterized as:

A)A description of the results of a particular research study
B)An explanation of how and why learning or development occurs
C)An objective measure of how a person behaves in a particular situation
D)A statement that describes how a particular variable affects learning or development

Question 26

As the textbook points out, assessment in the classroom can take a variety of forms. Three of the following are examples of assessment in the classroom.Which one definitely does not, in and of itself, illustrate assessment?

A)A teacher decides to use a new approach to teach science this year.
B)A teacher observes that Lani rarely interacts with her classmates during recess.
C)A teacher sees her students growing increasingly restless during a lengthy lecture.
D)A teacher asks students to write an essay describing the pros and cons of a free enterprise system.

Question 27

As a beginning teacher, you may sometimes find yourself overwhelmed by the many decisions you will have to make on a daily basis.The situation will improve over time, however, because:

A)Fellow teachers are usually more helpful and supportive later in the school year, after they've gotten to know you better.
B)Most students know that they should behave when they have an older and more experienced teacher.
C)As you gain experience, you will be able to make some classroom decisions more quickly and easily.
D)Children are typically more calm and cooperative during the winter months than they are in the fall.

Question 28

Which one of the following is the best example of action research?

A)A teacher gives her students a questionnaire that asks them to describe how often they study and what kinds of strategies they use when they study.She will use the results to develop several lessons on effective study skills.
B)A graduate student quietly observes adolescents' behaviors in the school cafeteria.He plans to describe his observations in his master's thesis.
C)A college professor recruits sixth graders to come to his lab, where she assesses their responses and reaction times in a variety of challenging problem-solving tasks.Her results will help her refine the theory of problem solving she has been developing.
D)All of the school districts in a particular state are instructed to give the same mathematics achievement test to their high school juniors.The average test scores for each district will be presented in a report that will be released to the general public.

Question 29

Which one of the following is the best example of a teacher's pedagogical content knowledge?

A)Knowing what researchers have discovered about the effectiveness of discovery- learning approaches to instruction
B)Knowing several effective ways to teach students about negative numbers
C)Making a reasonable guess as to why a particular student misbehaves just before lunch time every day
D)Understanding why water expands when it freezes