Test #1 Study Guide
Chapter 1: Becoming a Teacher
MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS
1. Which of the following is generally considered a positive aspect of the teaching profession?
A. the ability to influence the lives of young people
B. high prestige and status
C. minimal amounts of paperwork
D. excellent salaries
2. According to surveys, the vast majority of teachers are
A. pleased with current trends in reducing workloads.
B. finally satisfied with their salaries.
C. concerned about their job security.
D. frustrated by negative student attitudes.
3. Teachers’ salaries
A. vary from state to state and community to community.
B. have risen about 20 percent in the last two decades.
C. may be supplemented by extra pay for coaching or other duties.
D. all of the answers
4. One reason why teachers with more experience and higher levels of education become frustrated in their careers is
A. the longer they stay in their teaching careers, the larger the salary gap between teaching and other fields.
B. more experienced teachers are typically assigned more challenging students and grow tired of dealing with classroom management problems.
C. staff development programs tend to repeat topics every ten years, and teachers grow weary of attending the same workshops a second or even third time.
D. the fatigue and frustration of planning new lessons each year.
5. According to a study by the National Education Association, most teachers are
A. so unhappy with the public lack of respect for teachers that they are considering leaving the profession.
B. unconcerned about factors affecting their working conditions, such as workload and salary.
C. satisfied with their jobs and the intellectual challenge.
D. disillusioned by the isolation of teaching and lack of collegial support.
6. Contrary to public perception, most teachers
A. are quite disillusioned with their jobs.
B. have little autonomy in the classroom.
C. attain scores comparable to physicians, engineers, and writers on adult literacy exams.
D. all of the answers
E. none of the answers
7. In a recent study, what percentage of new teachers said they would choose to enter the teaching profession again?
A. a disappointing 20 percent
B. about 1 in 3
C. more than half
D. virtually all
8. Which of the following would BEST support an argument that teaching is a profession today?
A. alternative licensure programs
B. teacher competency tests
C. board certification
D. undergraduate teacher preparation programs
9. If you are interested in a teaching position with a high level of parental support and involvement, your chances are enhanced when you apply to
A. elementary schools
B. high schools
C. urban public schools
D. parochial schools
10. Education in the first half of the 20th century was characterized by all of the following EXCEPT:
A. growing numbers of elementary schools
B. university-initiated teacher education programs
C. the expansion of normal schools
D. an increasing number of women entering the teaching field
11. Teachers in colonial times
A. viewed teaching as a career and aspired to become “master teachers” who would instruct others entering the profession.
B. were required to complete four years of academy training.
C. were sent to “normal school” before they could instruct pupils.
D. were sometimes indentured servants.
12. The normal school established in 1823, in Concord, Vermont,
A. was a radical departure from the European model of training teachers through apprenticeships.
B. was named for its European counterpart and taught young children in a one-room schoolhouse.
C. like its European counterpart, provided training in teaching skills.
D. was the first instance of a publicly supported “elementary school” in the United States.
13. In the nineteenth century, normal schools provided students with
A. two years of training in academic subjects only.
B. two years of training in academic subjects as well as in teaching methodology.
C. four years of training in academic subjects only.
D. four years of training in academic subjects as well as in teaching methodology.
14. A teaching contract from the 1920s indicated that
A. teaching jobs were for men only (females did not enter teaching until they were needed during World War II).
B. teachers in that era were held to more rigorous academic and intellectual standards than are today’s teachers.
C. several of the health priorities today (smoking, alcoholism) were concerns then, as well.
D. teachers could create their own personal life without fear of community interference.
15. The 1986 Carnegie report, A Nation Prepared, recommended
A. putting greater emphasis on pedagogy in teacher education programs.
B. abolishing the undergraduate teaching major, offering master’s-level degrees in teaching instead.
C. offering state and federal tax relief as an incentive to attract more candidates to teaching.
D. humanizing the teaching profession, encouraging teachers to relate more warmly to their students.
16. The program Teach for America
A. represents a long-awaited step toward standardizing teacher training.
B. is similar to the apprenticeship training that teachers underwent in colonial times.
C. is championed by Linda Darling-Hammond and other influential educators.
D. is the modern equivalent of a “normal school,” with two years of training in academic subjects as well as pedagogy.
17. The goal of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is to
A. create a nationwide curriculum for elementary schools.
B. assess and certify highly competent teachers.
C. develop and disseminate a checklist of professional goals and behaviors that all teachers must meet.
D. support legislative efforts to improve teacher quality on state and national levels.
18. Less than 2% of teachers become board certified because
A. it is expensive and fewer than half of the states pay for their teachers to prepare for board certification.
B. they are never given higher salaries for this accomplishment.
C. after certification, board certified teachers tend to feel a let down, and many leave the classroom.
D. all of the answers
19. When surveyed on whether teachers should create a more rigorous and competitive learning environment
A. parents protest the focus on competition and express support for cooperative learning methods.
B. many education professors express concern about the emphasis on testing and competition in today’s schools.
C. parents, students, and education professors alike feel strongly that schools should be made more competitive and rigorous.
D. parents, students, and education professors alike complain that too much competition obscures the true goal of school: creating lifelong learners.
20. Which of the following items was rated “absolutely essential” by the highest proportion of education professors (84%) in a recent survey?
A. preparing teachers to maintain discipline and order in the classroom
B. preparing teachers in pragmatic issues necessary to running a classroom such as managing time and preparing lesson plans
C. preparing teachers to be knowledgeable about child development and learning theories
D. preparing teachers to be lifelong learners who are constantly updating their skills
Chapter 2: Different Ways of Learning
MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS
1. Learning styles can best be characterized as
A. unique to the individual.
B. remarkably similar across cultural groups.
C. unimportant compared to teaching style.
D. based on time it takes to learn.
2. Learning styles are affected by the ______abilities of the students.
A. cognitive
B. affective
C. physiological
D. all of the answers
3. “Locus of control” refers to
A. student need for teacher organization.
B. a child’s boundaries as determined by parents.
C. factors to which a student attributes success or failure.
D. physical boundaries set up by the teacher in the class.
4. A student who says, “I failed the test because the fire alarm went off in the middle of the test” appears to exhibit
A. an external locus of control.
B. an internal locus of control.
C. an auditory learning style.
D. community safety sensitivity and interpersonal intelligence.
5. Kinesthetic learners learn best by
A. hearing information spoken aloud.
B. whole body movement and participation.
C. focusing attention on one narrow topic.
D. a slower-paced approach.
6. Knowledge of one’s feelings, needs, strengths and weaknesses relates to which of Gardner’s intelligences?
A. interpersonal
B. naturalist
C. bodily-kinesthetic
D. intrapersonal
7. How might you characterize the changing understanding of intelligence?
A. Technological advances and computer programs are allowing a more precise measure of intelligence.
B. “IQ,” the standard measure of intelligence, has been obscured by “EQ,” which is being used by schools as a replacement for the IQ test.
C. We are broadening our understanding of intelligence beyond traditional language and mathematical-logical factors.
D. The concept of intelligence really hasn’t changed since the late nineteenth century.
8. All but which of the following have been given as reasons for single sex schools?
A. girls’ science and math genes are developed in single sex schools
B. separating boys and girls helps them focus on academics better
C. the importance placed on the reputation of prestigious single sex schools
D. boys’ and girls’ brains are hard wired differently
9. Howard Gardner’s “Theory of Multiple Intelligences” refers to
A. at least six areas of intelligence in addition to mathematics and verbal intelligence
B. the interactive effects of intellectual and emotional intelligences
C. the persistent gap between theory and research that defies even the most gifted researcher
D. the five basic intelligences requisite for successful school performance
10. The foundation of one’s emotional intelligence is
A. self awareness
B. managing one’s emotions
C. in motivating oneself
D. handling relationships
11. Which principle of special education implies that children have the right to an education involving accurate diagnosis of individual needs?
A. zero reject
B. IEP
C. nondiscriminatory education
D. procedural due process
12. The Lab School of Washington builds its curriculum around ______
A. Math and science
B. Social studies
C. The arts
D. Learning foreign languages
13. Today, about one in every ______students is special needs.
A. 3
B. 5
C. 8
D. recent studies suggest that almost half of all students have significant learning disabilities
14. The majority of students served under IDEA have______
A. speech or language impairments
B. mental retardation
C. multiple disabilities
D. specific learning disabilities
15. Which of the following groups of students is most likely to go undetected as special needs?
A. females
B. males
C. students of color
D. wealthy students
16. The Federal Equal Access Act
A. ensures separate locker rooms for GLBT students.
B. allows Gay-Straight Alliance clubs to meet on school grounds.
C. gives teachers the right to use the word “homosexual” in the classroom.
D. allows GLBT students to sue their schools if they are discriminated against.
17. Which of the following is TRUE of students receiving special education?
A. Whites are more likely than African-Americans to be labeled mentally retarded.
B. Few special-education students are likely to be Hispanic because special-education services are not available in Spanish.
C. Boys are more likely to receive special-educational services than are girls.
D. Gifted learners receive far more than their share of instructional resources because they often benefit the most from their status as special-education students.
18. The largest population of exceptional learners are the
A. learning disabled.
B. gifted and talented.
C. physically disabled.
D. mentally retarded.
19. The case against segregating children with disabilities was made in part because of the findings of
A. the Brown v. Board of Education decision.
B. the Lau v. Nichols decision.
C. the Equal Educational Opportunities Act.
D. the Bilingual Education Act.
20. “Least-restrictive environment” refers to
A. placing students with disabilities into open, accessible classrooms to better accommodate their needs and equipment.
B. allowing students with disabilities to be educated by their parents at home so they do not have to encounter transportation barriers.
C. integrating students with disabilities into classrooms with non-disabled students whenever possible.
D. providing students with disabilities with specially trained teachers, assistive technologies, and access to other appropriate resources.
Chapter 3: Culturally Responsive Teaching
MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS
1. Children from low-income families
A. tend to have a smaller vocabulary when they start school.
B. are more likely to be children of color.
C. are actually stronger academically than wealthy children.
D. are not as bright as other children.
2. Rosenthal and Jacobsen’s study on school performance is an example of
A. deficit theory.
B. expectation theory.
C. cultural difference theory.
D. enculturation.
3. Deficit theory teaches us that
A. some students’ experiences do not mesh with mainstream school culture.
B. some schools are simply funded at too low a level to function well.
C. western culture now has the answers we need in a modern world.
D. certain groups of people have genetic differences.
4. Enclave communities such as Chinatown and Little Italy best demonstrate
A. assimilation.
B. exclusion.
C. enculturation.
D. cultural pluralism.
5. In the history of bilingual education, the 1950s to the 1980s was a time of
A. “English only” and “English first” policies.
B. little linguistic or cultural bias.
C. support of bilingual education in schools to strengthen U.S. security.
D. linking foreign languages with anti-American ideology.
6. Lessons delivered in a “sheltered” or simplified English vocabulary are using the _____ approach to bilingual education.
A. immersion
B. maintenance
C. slow
D. cultural assimilation
7. The multicultural reconstructionist approach is most closely associated with
A. creating close links between home and school for ethnically diverse children.
B. mobilizing students to bring change to their communities through social justice.
C. black and Hispanic studies programs.
D. the idea of promoting eastern perspectives in the classroom.
8. By the year 2030 “minority” students will make up approximately what proportion of the school population?
A. fewer than 1 in 10
B. fewer than one-third
C. about half
D. an overwhelming majority
9. Imagine that you are assigned to teach in a class with some students who come from different cultural backgrounds, and a few students who have been diagnosed as special-needs learners. Perhaps the most effective approach to teaching these diverse students would be