Promoting Child Development And Learning – Flashcards

A teacher wishes to create an overall atmosphere of calm and serenity in the infant room. Which of the following practices would be likely to make the most significant contribution in this regard? A. having all infants in the room follow the same schedule for feeding and nap times each day B. routinely playing classical music or lullabies at a low volume C. providing a pacifier for each individual infant to use at nap times and when he or she is upset D. keeping the lights in the room dimmed for most of the day

A kindergarten teacher is planning to use large and small-group discussions as one important instructional strategy over the course of the school year. Which of the following would be the teacher's best strategy for ensuring that discussions are positive and productive? A. creating ground rules for discussions that include appropriate listening behaviors and turn-taking procedures B. making a point of ensuring that all discussions arise out of questions or statements made by the students C. using a round-robin format in which each student is asked to contribute to the discussion based on seating order in the group D. informing students of upcoming discussion topics at least one day ahead of time

A preschool teacher is setting up an art activity using tempera paints and a variety of painting tools (e.g., brushes, sponges, cotton swabs). For three- and four-year- old children, it would be most appropriate for this activity to be designed primarily for which of the following purposes? A. fostering the children's ability to complete a project without adult assistance B. prompting the children to depict important people or events in their own lives C. focusing the children's attention on how best to create a pleasing final product D. encouraging the children to explore the characteristics of the medium and the materials

A second-grade teacher is planning to begin a unit about insects by having a classroom discussion. Which of the following questions posed by the teacher would most likely promote students' use of higher-order thinking skills? A. "Who can tell me the name of the insect in this picture?" B. "Why do we have insects in our environment?" C. "How many hundreds of ants do you think live in one colony?" D. "Which insects are most often found around our homes?"

A teacher of two-and-a-half to three-year- old children plans to work with small groups of children to foster emerging numeracy skills. For children of this age, which of the following would most likely be a developmentally appropriate learning goal for the intended purpose? A. Children will make the correct number of marks on a page when a number between one and ten is spoken aloud. B. Children will accurately use one-to- one correspondence to count up to fifteen. C. Children will match three dolls of graduated sizes to their corresponding pieces of doll furniture. D. Children will arrange a penny, a nickel, a dime, and a quarter in order from least to greatest value.

A teacher wishes to modify an infant room to better support the gross-motor needs of children who are making the transition from the crawling stage to the prewalking stage. The teacher could best accomplish this goal by: A. arranging tables, chairs, and play equipment around the room so that children can easily reach one object while holding on to another. B. creating a small obstacle course using blocks, pillows, and toys through which the children can maneuver. C. creating a matted area with soft, sturdy materials that children can use to pull themselves erect and support themselves. D. placing favorite items on shelves at just the right height to allow most children to reach them from a standing position.

A third-grade teacher is responsible for planning a weekly forty-minute computer lab for her class. Which of the following would be the most appropriate principle on which to base the computer lab lessons? A. Computer lab activities should focus on teaching discrete computer skills in the context of games in which individuals try to beat their own personal best scores. B. Computer lab activities should support classroom instruction through assignments differentiated according to individuals' computer proficiency. C. Computer lab activities should be devoted to individuals' use of the programs most relevant to their own interests, whether graphics, word processing, or games. D. Computer lab activities should consist primarily of individualized drill-and-practice tasks based on students' needs in specific academic areas.

An early childhood teacher uses the sand table to involve students in various types of learning activities. In the past week, the teacher has supplied many props (e.g., sifters, sieves, small toys) and has been providing dry and wet sand on alternate days. As the children play with the sand, the teacher watches and occasionally comments on what different children are doing or encourages individ- ual involvement. Which of the following best describes the appr oach the teacher is using to promote learning? A. engaging the children in problem- solving activities B. offering direct instruction to achieve specific goals C. involving the children in guided- discovery experiences D. providing opportunities for exploratory play

An early childhood teacher wishes to set up a center that will foster active exploration by four-year-old children. Which of the following centers would be most appropriate for this purpose? A. a construction center with a metal erector set accompanied by simple diagrams for making specific structures B. a manipulatives table with various sets of multicolored nesting cubes for children to order according to size C. a writing center with basic sight words written on index cards and lined paper, pens, and pencils for copying the words D. a water table with various objects that sink and float and simple picture charts the children can use to record their findings

An infant and toddler teacher makes a habit of recording the children's language use. For each child, the teacher compiles a language notebook in which vocaliza- tions, self-talk, and conversations are recorded over time. Which of the follow- ing would be the teacher's best use of these notebooks? A. determining the most appropriate level of language to use when addressing the class as a whole B. providing parents/guardians with a general idea of their children's level of language development in compar- ison with classmates' C. identifying strategies and activities for building on each child's current level of language development D. evaluating each child's general rate of progress in language develop- ment between the beginning and end of the school year

At the beginning of the school year, a third-grade teacher is scheduling the class's annual spring field trip. Which of the following questions would be most important for the teacher to ask when deciding where to go for the field trip? A. Which of the possible field trips would offer students the greatest range of hands-on activities? B. What field trip destination would best support important curriculum content or themes? C. Which of the possible field trips would require the least amount of preparation and student monitoring? D. What field trip destination would provide most or all of the students with an entirely new experience?

At the beginning of the school year, the level of exposure to printed materials varies greatly among the children in Ms. Begay's kindergarten class. In this situation, which of the following would be Ms. Begay's best strategy for promoting all of the children's literacy development? A. sending families a series of letters that offer tips on fostering early literacy, beginning with concepts about print and moving on to more advanced concepts and skills B. integrating literacy experiences across the curriculum and differenti- ating instruction based on individual children's needs C. using the first few months of school to provide intensive literacy instruc- tion to those most in need while the more advanced readers engage in independent reading D. pairing children with differing levels of literacy experience and asking the more experienced children to act as tutors for those with less experience

At the end of a week punctuated by arguments and aggressive incidents, a preschool teacher decides that she needs to help the children develop a greater sense of community. Earlier in the year, the teacher involved the children in creating classroom rules, which included being polite and helpful, respecting each other's property, and not hurting others. Which of the following additional strategies would be most effective in creating the type of climate the teacher envisions? A. calling a meeting to remind the class of the rules, discussing the number of conflicts the teacher has seen, and warning that any incidents will result in serious consequences from now on B. asking the school counselor to visit the classroom to make a presenta- tion about the importance of sharing materials and getting along with one another C. immediately intervening at the first sign of an incident, making every- one involved take a time-out, and requiring students to apologize to each other afterward D. regularly holding discussions about how to create a safe and happy classroom and taking advantage of opportunities to affirm acts of kindness by individual students

Before the beginning of the school year, a new first-grade teacher is reflecting on how best to manage transitions. Which of the following ideas about transition would best guide the teacher's planning? A. Transition tasks should be treated as somewhat tedious but necessary chores to be performed as quickly as possible. B. Transition times should be thought of as unstructured opportunities for children to demonstrate independent initiative and self-direction. C. Transition tasks should be designed primarily to keep the children occupied during potentially chaotic interludes. D. Transition times should be considered essential parts of the curriculum that provide oppor- tunities for learning.

During the early weeks of school, six- year-old Jamie had a tendency to act aggressively toward other children on various occasions. Now, in the second month of school, the first-grade teacher has the impression that such incidents are increasing. In this situation, the teacher's most appropriate first step would be to: A. inform Jamie's family of her concerns and advise them to apply consequences consistently at home. B. ask colleagues whether they share her perception of Jamie's behavior patterns. C. conduct a frequency count for a week or two to create a baseline of Jamie's behavior in the area at issue. D. develop a behavior contract to implement with Jamie to reduce the incidence of such behaviors.

Each child in a second-grade class has a portfolio of samples of his or her best work, including artwork, writing samples, videotapes or photographs of projects, graphs, etc. The teacher confers regularly with the children to help them choose pieces for their portfolios. The primary purpose of such a portfolio should be to: A. promote awareness of children's progress. B. compare children's levels of achievement. C. identify areas in which individuals demonstrate unusual talent. D. document the effectiveness of the second-grade program.

How can an early childhood educator best ensure that the assessment practices he or she uses are appropriate for all students in a widely diverse student population? A. by taking children's strengths, needs, and other characteristics into account when selecting assessment methods B. by involving at least two teachers in both the administration and interpre- tation of every assessment C. by arranging for the majority of assessments to be conducted one- on-one in private settings D. by soliciting parents'/guardians' involvement in any and all assess- ments of their children

In his response to the students, Mr. Hanson has primarily taken on which of the following instructional roles? A. directly imparting information B. challenging preconceived notions C. modeling desired behaviors D. facilitating student inquiry

In the early childhood years, which of the following would likely be the most appro- priate reason for using norm-referenced testing? A. to decide whether a child should be held back for a year B. to make grouping decisions in the content areas C. to contribute to a diagnosis regarding special needs D. to identify a child's strongest learning modality

In the upcoming school year, a preschool teacher plans to make sociodramatic play an important feature of the program. This decision would be especially appropriate for children of this age because such play: A. encourages cooperation and communication. B. promotes individuals' awareness of their own strengths and needs. C. fosters self-help/adaptive skills. D. provides practice in working toward a common goal

Mr. Cho occasionally uses participation charts to record where his preschool students are at given times during the school day. The small portion of a char t below shows the locations of five children on a Monday morning between 9:00 and 10:00 Using such a chart over the course of a week or two would best help Mr. Cho identify which of the following? A. centers that may need rearranging or rethinking to attract more interest B. individuals who may not be taking responsibility for clean-up in the various centers C. centers that may need to be more widely separated from each other D. individuals who may not understand how to work with the materials in a given center

Mr. Hanson would like to incorporate interdisciplinary learning into the students' study of butterflies. Which of the following activities would best promote this objective? A. assigning students to prepare oral presentations on butterflies based on the information they gathered during their individual research projects B. reading aloud poems, stories, and creation myths involving butterflies and having students write their own creative works about butterflies C. gathering a collection of photo- graphs and scientifically accurate drawings of butterflies and posting them around the classroom D. creating a display of advertisements, labels, and products related to butterflies and asking students to contribute objects to the display

The children in a class of three year olds typically arrive between 7:45 and 8:15 in the morning. After greeting each child by name, the teacher could best facilitate each child's transition into the classroom by: A. reading a story to the class as children continue to arrive. B. allowing children to self-select from a variety of activities, such as puzzles or play dough. C. having children deposit their things at their cubbies and then sit down on the circle rug. D. helping children form small groups and participate in role-playing in the drama center.

The primary value of Mr. Hanson's response to the students in this situation is that it: A. motivates students by helping them appreciate the practical value of what they are learning in school. B. promotes learning by helping students connect new information to their existing knowledge base. C. empowers students by validating their interests and encouraging them to pursue learning independently. D. fosters learning by presenting information in a wide range of media and formats.

The two year olds in Mr. Yazzi's class have been learning about their bodies, and Mr. Yazzi has invited Dr. Elsie Footracer, a dentist, to visit the classroom to talk to the children about their teeth. Mr. Yazzi can best ensure the success of the visit by taking which of the following steps beforehand? A. asking Dr. Footracer to visit the class briefly to observe the children on a typical day B. talking with Dr. Footracer about the targeted learning goals and the children's prior knowledge of the topic C. meeting with Dr. Footracer to review the two adults' respective roles during the presentation D. providing Dr. Footracer an overview of the language development and common behaviors of children in this age group

Two nine-month-old infants are sitting on a rug with a teacher. The teacher has gathered a small collection of pots, lids, and large spoons for the children to play with from a bin in the housekeeping area. Given the children's age, which of the following would be the teacher's most appropriate interaction with the children as they play with these materials? A. prompting them to use the spoons to pretend to stir and taste imaginary food in the pots B. monitoring their manipulations of the pots, lids, and spoons and talking to them about the effects of their actions C. demonstrating how to find matching lids for the pots and guiding them to cover each pot with a lid D. encouraging them to take turns using the various pots, lids, and spoons they have collected

Which of the following learning center activities would be most appropriate for promoting a kindergarten student's understanding of the concept of classification? A. arranging plastic rings on a cone in order from largest to smallest B. examining the veins in a leaf with a magnifying lens C. sorting manipulatives into piles based on size and color D. using scissors to cut construction paper into strips of varying lengths

Which of the following represents the most authentic approach to establishing a culturally diverse curriculum? A. incorporating celebrations of holidays from countries around the world during the course of the school year B. encouraging students to share information about their individual backgrounds and cultures during weekly show-and-tells C. routinely integrating information about and features of a wide range of cultures into all domains of learning D. choosing two or three countries based on the students' backgrounds and cultures to serve as recurrent subjects of study over the year