Deck 1: Learning, Teaching, and Educational Psychology

Question 1

A correlation coefficient of 0.90 indicates that

A) one event has been caused by another event.
B) one event is strongly related to another event.
C) the two events are related 10 percent of the time.
D) the two events are related 90 percent of the time.

Answer 1

one event is strongly related to another event.

Question 2

At Greendale Public School, four teachers each set out to conduct a research study in his or her classroom. Which study would be LEAST likely to involve the use of a correlational analysis?

A) Mrs. Tang, who studied amount of reading and spelling test scores
B) Mr. Lacroix, who studied activity level in gym and degree of academic self-concept
C) Mr. Nucci, who studied frequency of praise and rate of homework completion
D) Miss Gann, who studied types of seating arrangements and number of disruptions

Answer 2

Miss Gann, who studied types of seating arrangements and number of disruptions

Question 3

When studies are based on observations, they can be described as

A) causation.
B) descriptive studies.
C) experimental studies.
D) quantitative studies.

Answer 3

descriptive studies.

Question 4

According to recent Census data, which of the following statements is TRUE about diversity among Canadian students?

A) Participation of children in religions other than Christianity has decreased since 2011.
B) Most immigrants to Canada come from European countries.
C) Indigenous communities in Canada are growing and constitute 5% of the population.
D) Diversity is most concentrated in rural communities.

Question 5

A study collects data from high schools in 10 school districts. It uses surveys to learn the type of teaching support physics student prefer from their teachers in the lab. What type of research is this?

A) Experimental study
B) Descriptive study
C) Quasi-experimental study
D) ABAB

Question 6

The use of the "common sense" approach to teaching is viewed by educational psychologists as

A) appropriate in most circumstances.
B) inappropriate unless supported by research.
C) more reliable than scientific judgments.
D) the main factor that differentiates experienced teachers from novices.

Question 7

Many studies indicate that teacher-student relationships and the quality of teaching make a difference. Based on findings from such studies, which of the following children is likely to benefit most from good teaching?

A) Jorge is in the first grade and likes math but does not like to participate in reading group, though he's a good reader.
B) Kellie, in kindergarten, seems to be advanced for her age. She is reading books and working first grade math.
C) Johana is in kindergarten and exhibits behavior problems that include difficulty paying attention and regulating her attention-getting behaviors.
D) Dwayne is in the first grade and loves school, especially when he gets to work in groups with his friends or at centers with hands-on activities.

Question 8

Which of the following is NOT TRUE of experienced teachers?

A) They are likely to adapt instruction to student needs.
B) They use new technologies to entertain students.
C) They show concern for the emotional development of their students.
D) They carefully plan their lessons from the first day of class.

Question 9

Which of the following statements is TRUE of student teaching?

A) Student teaching does not allow prospective teachers to be as reflective about their teaching as they could be.
B) Student teaching often occurs during periods when prospective teachers are busy with their own coursework.
C) Student teaching does not prepare prospective teachers very well for starting off a school year with a new class.
D) Student teaching is often carried out in classrooms that utilize classroom management strategies that a prospective teacher may not believe in.

Question 10

What type of correlation is likely to be obtained between reading ability and running ability of high-school students?

A) Close to zero
B) Either +1.00 or -1.00
C) Strong positive
D) Weak negative

Question 11

Which of the following groups of students is most likely to be the first to benefit from good teaching?

A) Male students.
B) Older students.
C) Higher-achieving students.
D) Lower-achieving students.

Question 12

A correlation is a statistical description indicating the

A) direction but not the strength of a relationship.
B) direction and strength of a relationship.
C) strength and direction of a treatment effect.
D) strength but not the direction of a relationship.

Question 13

What size or direction of correlation coefficient is likely to be obtained between children's ages (from five to 13 years) and the distance that they can long jump?

A) Close to zero
B) Either +1.00 or -1.00
C) Negative
D) Positive

Question 14

When a correlation coefficient of -0.80 is found between factor A and factor B, the most accurate interpretation is that

A) a decrease in factor A is strongly related to a decrease in factor B.
B) a decrease in factor A is strongly related to an increase in factor B.
C) there is NO significant relationship between the two factors.
D) there is a very weak relationship between the two factors.

Question 15

A researcher reports that students who have the highest achievement in school tend to be more involved in extracurricular activities compared to students with lower achievement. What specific type of research was most likely conducted to inform this finding?

A) Descriptive
B) Correlational
C) Ethnographic
D) Experimental

Question 16

A positive correlation between two factors indicates that the factors

A) are NOT necessarily related.
B) are strongly related.
C) decrease proportionately.
D) tend to increase or decrease together.

Question 17

Which one of the following correlation coefficients indicates the strongest relationship?

A) -0.03
B) -0.78
C) +0.56
D) +0.70

Question 18

A correlation study indicates that teachers' interest in teaching and the amount of the day their students are engaged in learning correlate at +0.46. This coefficient would indicate that

A) as teacher interest decreases, engaged time increases.
B) as teacher interest increases, engaged time tends to increase.
C) interest in teaching leads to a large increase in engaged time.
D) there is virtually NO relationship between the two variables.

Question 19

Which of the following questions is most likely associated with the discipline of educational psychology?

A) Does the textbook provide a test bank of questions for developing chapter and unit tests?
B) Should the skill of summarizing be taught before students learn to identify the topic and the main idea?
C) Do you want to explore the topic of colonialism in Canada or colonialism in other countries?
D) Which of these books would you like to read during the unit about historical fiction?

Question 20

Lily Wong (1987) demonstrated that when individuals read a research result, they tend to

A) become resistant toward using the strategy involved.
B) find the results more obvious than originally thought.
C) put the results into practice immediately.
D) seek out more information on the subject.

Question 21

What research method is being used if a study examines the effects of poverty on academic achievement by following students from kindergarten through the fifth grade?

A) Ethnographic
B) Case study
C) Longitudinal
D) Action research

Question 22

When a number of studies are completed and the findings repeatedly point to the same conclusions, it is possible to state the relationship between factors as a

A) theory
B) principle
C) scientific explanation
D) hypothesis

Question 23

Mr. Grant is a reflective teacher who is always trying to improve his teaching practices to increase student learning. He has conducted several research projects and changed teaching strategies on the basis of the results. In his latest reflections, he predicted that his low-achieving students would complete their spelling tasks in less time and score higher on spelling tests if he began using a buddy system. In the research cycle, Mr. Grant has developed:

A) a theory
B) a principle
C) a hypothesis
D) a plan for data analysis

Question 24

Which of the following methods allows researchers to study cause-and-effect relationships?

A) Correlational studies
B) Experimental studies
C) Ethnography
D) Descriptive studies

Question 25

When a result from a research project involving an experimental design is reported in the literature as significant, this result

A) contradicts the prevailing theoretical views.
B) is unrelated to theory development.
C) is unlikely to have occurred by chance.
D) will indicate its practical importance.

Question 26

Which of the following is true of why good theories of practice are useful in the classroom?

A) They are able explain and predict classroom behaviours perfectly.
B) They are less scientific compared to ten years ago.
C) Theories give you a new way of thinking about problems.
D) Theories aid in helping instructors with specific issues.

Question 27

A researcher finds that students who were given computers to use at home demonstrated greater independent learning skills than a comparable group that was not selected to receive home computers. What type of research study was probably designed for this conclusion to be valid?

A) Correlational
B) Descriptive
C) Experimental
D) Observation

Question 28

An ethnographic study:

A) is a personalized account on either teaching or learning experiences.
B) focuses on life within a group and attempts to unravel the meaning of events to the group.
C) involves studying cause and effect relationships.
D) involves examining the relationships between variables.

Question 29

Dr. Sullivan conducts research that involves measuring the amount of change in student scores on state math tests at the beginning of the year and at the end of the year for students in top teachers' classrooms. What type of research is Dr. Sullivan conducting?

A) Qualitative
B) Case study
C) Quantitative
D) Ethnographic

Question 30

A researcher participates in a class over a two-month period and analyses the strategies the teacher employs to maintain discipline. This research is an example of what specific type of research study?

A) Cross-sectional
B) Ethnography
C) Experimental
D) Participant observation

Question 31

Which of the following terms would be used to describe an explanation of how we remember things that we have learned?

A) construct.
B) correlation.
C) principle.
D) theory.

Question 32

Dr. Patterson concludes from her research that using a systematic study strategy CAUSED good grades for students assigned to a particular group. For this conclusion to be valid, the type of research that was performed must have been what type of study?

A) Correlational
B) Descriptive
C) Experimental
D) Observational

Question 33

As teachers' experience grows, they tend to become more likely to judge their success by their students' successes.

Question 34

Action research:

A) is a form of research that puts an observed behaviour "under a microscope."
B) is a form of research conducted by teachers themselves.
C) is a form of research that studies development by observing subjects over many years.
D) is a form of research that focuses on groups of subjects at different ages.

Question 35

Which of the following research methods would be used to examine a person or situation in depth by conducting interviews with family members, teachers, and friends?

A) Participant observation.
B) Single-subject experiment.
C) Case study.
D) Field experiment.

Question 36

In creating groups of subjects for an experimental study, which one of the following procedures would MOST likely produce random groups for a class of thirty students?

A) A coin is tossed in order to select students alternately one by one into the experimental and control groups.
B) The first ten students who enter the classroom are placed into the experimental group and the next ten into the control group.
C) The first twenty volunteers are selected from the physics class and alternately placed into experimental and control groups.
D) The twenty students with the highest GPAs are selected and alternately placed into experimental and control groups.

Question 37

Random assignments would be most critical in what type of research?

A) Case study
B) Correlational
C) Descriptive
D) Experimental

Question 38

A researcher concludes from his study that, on a typical school day, students spend only 50 percent of their time engaged in learning. What type of research must have been conducted in order for this conclusion to be valid?

A) Single-subject design
B) Participant-observer
C) Descriptive
D) Experimental

Question 39

Microgenetic studies:

A) intensively study cognitive processes in the midst of change.
B) apply an ABAB experiment design.
C) are employed to assess cause and effect relationships.
D) typically utilize many children as study participants.

Question 40

Which of the following statements are TRUE of longitudinal studies?

A) They are time consuming and expensive.
B) They are more commonly used than experimental and cross-sectional studies.
C) They involve researchers following students over the course of a few days.
D) They utilize teachers directly in the research process.

Question 41

You pick names from a hat to determine which group you should assign each subject to. This is a(n) _________ assignment.

Question 42

If a statistically significant difference is found between the math scores of two groups, we can conclude the difference was due to a chance occurrence.

Question 43

Research that is designed to determine the relations between two variables is a(n) ________ study.

Question 44

Ethnographic studies are usually considered to be an example of qualitative research.

Question 45

Case studies are generally presented as an example of quantitative research.

Question 46

Negative correlations are typically weaker than positive correlations.

Question 47

The major concern of new teachers is that they do not know the subject material they have to teach.

Question 48

Action research is a form of educational research typically conducted by anthropologists.

Question 49

Correlations may be included within a descriptive study.

Question 50

A theory can be characterized as a guess or a hunch.

Question 51

The discipline that studies the processes of teaching and learning is called ________________.

Question 52

Weight of clothing and outside temperature are ____________ correlated.

Question 53

When beginning teachers confront everyday classroom life, they often experience ________________.

Question 54

E. L. Thorndike wrote the first educational psychology text and founded the Journal of Educational Psychology in 1970.

Question 55

Correlations provide the basis for interpretations about cause-and-effect.

Question 56

Microgenetic studies intensively study cognitive processes in the midst of change.

Question 57

Two broad types of research studies are ________ that collect detailed information about specific situations and ________ which manipulates variables and records the effects.

Question 58

Compared to experimental studies, descriptive studies are usually conducted in settings that are more realistic.

Question 59

The type of research that attempts to establish cause-and-effect relationships is a(n) ________ study.

Question 60

Theories explain and predict all occurrences in a given field.

Question 61

Discuss the role of common sense in teaching strategies and assess whether common sense strategies are useful.

Question 62

Ninth-grade teachers at Farmington Junior High School are interested in knowing whether using cooperative learning will increase student understanding of mathematics. They would like to conduct a research study to investigate whether this is truly the case.
How might descriptive research also be used in the above study? Describe an example.

Question 63

A(n) ________ can be established when findings in a given area repeatedly support the same conclusion.

Question 64

Findings considered statistically unlikely to have occurred by chance are described as ________.

Question 65

An interrelated set of concepts that attempt to explain a phenomenon and make predictions is called a(n) ________.

Question 66

Case Studies
Jill received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in education in June and will be meeting her first class of second graders tomorrow at Briarview Elementary School. Her classroom will be adjacent to one assigned to Ms. Ferguson, a veteran first-grade teacher considered to be one of the most knowledgeable and skilled in the district. Ms. Ferguson will be starting her tenth year of teaching.
Discuss how the two teachers might differ in using achievement results as information about (a) student learning and (b) their own success in teaching.

Question 67

Ninth-grade teachers at Farmington Junior High School are interested in knowing whether using cooperative learning will increase student understanding of mathematics. They would like to conduct a research study to investigate whether this is truly the case.
Design an experimental study (basic elements, not detailed procedures) that could be used to answer the teachers' research question.

Question 68

The term ___________ means "based on data."

Question 69

Discuss the problems or issues that most concern beginning teachers today. Which concerns would be the most important to you personally? Explain your choice(s).

Question 70

If researchers wanted to study the development of students over many years as change occurs, they would likely be conducting a ______________ study.

Question 71

Explain how principles and theories are derived. Discuss how knowledge of a theory (e.g., classroom management) can be helpful to a classroom teacher.

Question 72

Ethnographic methods draws on techniques developed in the discipline of __________.

Question 73

Ninth-grade teachers at Farmington Junior High School are interested in knowing whether using cooperative learning will increase student understanding of mathematics. They would like to conduct a research study to investigate whether this is truly the case.
One teacher speculates that students who are more social than others are likely to have greater appreciation of the cooperative learning method. What research approach should be used to answer this question? Use an example to illustrate an application of this type of research.

Question 74

A researcher involved in an ethnographic study who becomes a working member of a class in order to record and gain understanding of the class dynamics is a(n) ________.

Question 75

If a teacher wanted to collaborate with a researcher to better understand why one student was having difficulty adding two fractions, would you recommend they use an experimental design or conduct a microgenetic investigation?

Question 76

Differentiate between descriptive and experimental research with regard to purpose and methods.

Question 77

The local secondary school board is interested in finding a way to reduce the number of times students arrive late for class. At the last committee meeting, someone came up with an idea that at the end of the month, the school could give a movie pass to each student who arrived late no more than once during the month. To explore the effectiveness of giving movie passes to reduce lateness, explain which type of research would be most appropriate, and outline one advantage and one disadvantage of this type of research.

Question 78

Case Studies
Jill received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in education in June and will be meeting her first class of second graders tomorrow at Briarview Elementary School. Her classroom will be adjacent to one assigned to Ms. Ferguson, a veteran first-grade teacher considered to be one of the most knowledgeable and skilled in the district. Ms. Ferguson will be starting her tenth year of teaching.
What are likely to be Jill's major concerns about her first months of teaching? Explain your choices.