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

Question 1

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.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

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.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

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.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

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 5

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 6

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 7

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 8

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 9

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 10

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 11

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 12

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 13

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 14

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 15

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 16

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 17

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 18

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 19

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 20

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 21

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 22

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 23

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 24

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 25

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.
Essay

Question 26

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 27

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 28

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 29

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 30

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 31

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

Question 32

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 33

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 34

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.