Praxis PLT Flashcards
According to the social learning theory, which of the following introductions to a spelling lesson is most likely to result in students’ successful learning?
a) “If you learn some basic spelling rules, you will become a better speller.
b) “Let’s see how many spelling rules you can write down in one minute.”
c) “Let’s use your last composition to identify some words you don’t know how to spell.”
d) “How would you rate yourself as a speller?”
Option A is correct.
Social learning theorists suggest that the effect of a behavior has an impact on people’s motivation to engage in that specific behavior. If a student expects a positive outcome from a behavior or thinks a positive outcome is highly probable, then the student is more likely to engage in that behavior.
A teacher wants to develop an assessment based on the work of Benjamin Bloom. To best meet the goal, the assessment should include:
a) scaffolding tasks for the knowledge and skills that will be assessed
b) test questions that assess varying levels of understanding
c) items that correspond with students’ primary learning styles
d) opportunities for students to demonstrate their learning in writing
Option (B) is correct. Bloom’s work involved different levels of complexity of learning objectives that can relate to assessment of those objectives.
Mr. O’Conner is a first-year middle school mathematics teacher. Over the course of the year, he has struggled with classroom management. Which of the following opportunities would be the most beneficial for Mr. O’Conner right now?
a) The school district is offering a workshop focused on various ways to communicate with parents.
b) There is a local workshop on prompting emotional intelligence in the classroom.
c) There are research articles that focus on the new strategies in mathematics instruction.
d) A community agency is offering teachers the opportunity to apply grant funds.
Option (B) is correct. This question is designed to assess your understanding of a variety of professional development practices and resources. A workshop that promotes emotional intelligence would give the teacher strategies that he could use in his classroom to address his management problems.
Which of the following best describes a cognitive characteristic of intellectually gifted students?
a) They have a heightened sense of self-awareness
b) They are idealistic and have a strong sense of justice
c) They possess high expectations of themselves and others
d) They have the ability to generate original ideas
Option (D) is correct. Gifted students often possess an intense desire to learn about their own interests. Their cognitive ability to think at abstract levels earlier than same-aged peers and form their own ways of thinking about problems and ideas indicates that intellectually gifted students need advanced content and choice in learning activities.
Which of the following is most appropriate for assessing the strengths and weaknesses of a student who is new to the school district?
a) Diagnostic test
b) Aptitude test
c) Self-evaluation
d) Interest survey
Option (A) is correct. A diagnostic test is used by a teacher to assess a student’s skills and knowledge levels to determine areas of strength and weakness. A diagnostic assessment is the most appropriate way for a teacher to determine the instructional needs of a new student.
Which of the following best identifies an observable and measurable instructional objective for a unit of study on Hispanic cultures?
a) Students will recognize the influence of Hispanic cultures on American society
b) Students will learn the significance of a mother’s surname to an individual’s full name in Hispanic cultures.
c) Students will compare and contrast holidays celebrated in Hispanic cultures with holidays celebrated in other cultures.
d) Students will understand the influence of Hispanic culture on American foods.
Option (C) is correct. The learning objective is observable and measurable as it focuses directly on what the student should know and be able to do by the time the lesson is completed.
A history teacher gives a unit test on the Industrial Revolution to assess how well the students have understood the concepts they have covered in class. Which of the following types of assessments best describes the unit test?
a) Aptitude assessment
b) Diagnostic assessment
c) Criterion-referenced assessment
d) Behavior assessment
Option (C) is correct. A criterion-referenced assessment is used to determine how well a student has mastered predetermined objectives.
Throughout the year, a teacher assists students with developing and achieving specific, challenging, short-term goals. Which of the following is the teacher helping to foster in the students?
a) Self-efficacy
b) Attribution
c) Extrinsic motivation
d) Cognitive dissonance
Option (A) is correct. By helping students to form and achieve attainable goals, the teacher is fostering the belief individuals need to have in themselves to be intrinsically motivated in future tasks.
Which of the following is the most appropriate response by a teacher to address students who are inattentive during a lesson?
a) Continuing the lesson regardless of students’ behavior
b) Implementing a hand signal used regularly to regain students’ attention
c) Speaking more loudly than the off-task students
d) Asking an administrator for help with classroom management
Option (B) is correct. Hand signals are commonly used to regain students’ attention and encourage students to listen to each other and stay focused during discussions without interrupting the flow of instruction.
A teacher creates a focus question for an upcoming unit and has students make concept maps in groups. Which of the following is the teacher’s primary purpose for the activity?
a) Linking all units of study together
b) Providing opportunities for group work
c) Finding students’ motivation for learning
d) Determining students’ prior knowledge
Option (D) is correct. Concept maps are graphic representation of students’ knowledge. Having students create concept maps can provide the teacher with insights into how students organize and represent knowledge. This can be a useful strategy for assessing both the knowledge students have coming into a program or course and their developing knowledge of course material.
Which of the following is the primary benefit of student-teacher writing conferences?
a) They help teachers target the skills that an individual student needs to develop
b) They provide teachers with comparative data for scoring other students in the class
c) They reduce the time a teacher spends in whole-class instruction
d) They allow the teacher to respond to students’ reflective statements
Option (A) is correct. Student-teacher writing conferences offer insight to help teachers provide feedback to students that will enable them to develop into more effective writers.
Mr. Rose wants to improve the quality of responses and the level of participation by students during class discussions. Which of the following techniques has the greatest potential for improving the thoughtfulness of students’ responses and stimulating wider participation?
a) Making a seating chart on which he keeps a record of each student’s participation
b) Using peer tutoring in which more-able students work with less-able students
c) Waiting longer between posing a question and calling on students to respond
d) Giving verbal and visual clues to the kind of response he is seeking
Option (C) is correct. Providing more time for reflection and using higher-level questioning stimulates students to think at a more complex cognitive level and to provide longer, often unsolicited, more speculative responses. To encourage such responses, teachers must pose questions and then wait for students to think before they respond.
Which of the following federal mandates protects the confidentiality of educational records for parents and students?
a) Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997
b) Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
c) No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
d) Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974
Option (D) is correct. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) is a federal law the provides protection and rights for the family in regard to educational records.
A teacher wants to use copyrighted materials in class. Select whether the action is allowed or prohibited under copyright laws:
a) A teacher makes 25 copies of a compilation of songs. Students practice the songs in class and perform them in the auditorium for parents.
b) A teacher makes 25 copies of a short story form a book to be distributed to each student in the class.
c) A teacher copies a poem to be displayed in class. Students discuss the poem in small groups.
(A) is not allowed. It is described in the first statement is prohibited because under copyright laws, teachers may not make copies of music to be performed outside the classroom by students.
(B) is allowed. The action described is allowed because under copyright laws, teachers may make a reasonable amount of copies from a book for the purpose of teaching within the classroom environment only.
(C) is allowed. The action described is allowed because under the copyright laws, teachers may display copyrighted material in distance learning as long as the material is relevant to the course of study, would typically have been displayed by the teacher, and is used only by those in the classroom.
Which of the following best describes Piaget’s cognitive stage in which children are able to debate social matters and other abstract ideas?
a) Sensorimotor
b) Preoperational
c) Concrete Operational
d) Formal Operational
Option (D) is correct. According to Piaget, while children tend to think very concretely and specifically in earlier stages, the ability to think about abstract concepts and debate social matters emerges during the formal operational stage of cognitive development.
A physical education teacher decides to teach students how to execute the jump shot by showing them videos of great basketball players performing the action. Students then practice the shot based on the video. Which of the following educational theories is the teacher’s technique most based on?
a) Connectivism
b) Behaviorism
c) Social Learning
d) Cognitivism
Option (C) is correct. According to social learning theory, learning occurs when people imitate or model the behaviors of others. The students are modeling the performance of skilled basketball players when learning the jump shot in their physical education class.
A high school science teacher is developing an assessment tool to provide formative feedback on individual skills that students have been working on in their lab reports. Which of the following is the most appropriate tool for the teacher to use?
a) Holistic scoring rubric
b) Analytic scoring rubric
c) Learning logs
d) Attitude survey
Option (B) is correct. An analytic scoring rubric is a form of authentic assessment that is most appropriate for a teacher to use to assess specific skills separately, particularly for assignments that involve a larger number of criteria, such as a lab report.
An English-language learner (ELL) recently dismissed from the English as a Second Language (ESL) program is now having difficulty in science. The student is proficient in everyday spoken English but has difficulty answering questions orally during class and responding in writing to test questions. Which of the following should the teacher do to best support the development of the student’s academic language proficiency?
a) Readmit the student to the ESL program
b) Scaffold instruction to support the student’s comprehension
c) Talk to the student about the importance of studying
d) Lower achievement expectations for the students
Option (B) is correct. English-language learners will continue to need scaffolded instruction during their transition out of the ESL program.
Which of the following is the primary reason to use inquiry-based learning in the classroom?
a) Inquiry-based activities are easier to assess than objective test questions
b) Student groups are silently engaged during inquiry-based learning activities
c) Inquiry-based activities require reasoning and higher-level thinking skills
d) Students work independently during inquiry-based learning activities
Option (C) is correct. Inquiry-based activities engage students in higher-level thinking as they become actively involved in seeking resolutions to questions or problems.
Ms. Ortiz’ seventh-grade class is struggling with writing assignments in language arts. Recently, Ms. Ortiz attended a workshop that introduced a new strategy that she feels might benefit her students. As she implements the strategy in her classroom, she collects data to determine the effectiveness of the new strategy on her students’ writing. Which of the following best describes the research methodology Ms. Ortiz is using?
a) Experimental research
b) Descriptive research
c) Correlational study
d) Action research
Option (D) is correct. Action research is a study conducted by a teacher or group of teachers to improve instruction by working through a series of reflective stages that facilitate problem solving.
Which of the following is the best example of a statement that is negatively intrinsic?
a) Teacher: “If you complete this assignment, you will get a good grade.”
b) Student: “I really want to complete this assignment.”
c) Teacher: “If you do not complete this assignment, I will give you detention.”
d) Student: “I really do not want to work on this assignment.”
Option (D) is correct. The statement is negative and intrinsic because the student wants to avoid working on the assignment. Intrinsic motivation occurs when someone wants to do something, usually to benefit them in some way. Negative motivation is directed away from something that someone wants to avoid.
Which of the following best identifies the process in which two equally experienced teachers provide each other with feedback, support, and assistance to improve teaching performance
a) Evaluating
b) Observing
c) Peer coaching
d) Mentoring
Option (C) is correct. Peer coaching is a confidential process through which two or more professional colleagues work together to reflect on current practices; expand, refine, and build new skills; share ideas; teach each other; conduct classroom research; and/or solve problems in the workplace.
Which of the following describes an informal assessment that a teacher might use to best check individual students’ understanding of a lesson or unit in progress?
a) The teacher has students work in groups of three to solve a problem they have not seen before and asks them to keep careful record of their reasoning.
b) The teacher has students work in groups of four to solve a problem and has one representative of each group come to the board to write out the group’s solution.
c) The teacher asks each student to write two sentences that answer a question on a topic the teacher puts on the board midway through the class.
d) The teacher facilitates a brief whole-class discussion, eliciting questions from students about a topic.
Option (C) is correct. Asking each student to write briefly during class serves as an informal assessment, which allows the teacher to check individual understanding.
A parent shares the following with a teacher: “I’d like my daughter to find a high school curriculum that is right for her. At this point, she’s confused about what courses to take. Is there some kind of test that can help determine her strengths and interests and provide her with some direction?” Which of the following tests would be most appropriate for the teacher to recommend?
a) Achievement
b) Aptitude
c) Ability
d) Summative
Option (B) is correct. An aptitude test provides data about a person’s learning ability, strengths, interests, and overall potential. To provide direction of what courses to choose, it is most appropriate for a teacher to recommend to the parent that the student take an aptitude test.
Which of the following is a curriculum accommodation appropriate for a student with an Individualized Education Program (IEP)?
a) A set of supplementary materials
b) An adjusted class schedule
c) A daily homework checklist
d) A behavior contract
Option (A) is correct. An Individualized Education Program (IEP) defines individualized objectives for a student who has been found with a disability, as defined by federal regulations. The IEP is intended to help children reach educational goals more easily than they otherwise would. Supplying additional materials would not modify the curriculum, but would help to accommodate a student’s curricular needs to make the student more successful in the classroom.
Which of the following best promotes intrinsic motivation in students?
a) Providing students choices in their learning
b) Assigning students to groups based on their abilities
c) Providing concrete incentives to students for assignments completed well
d) Giving extra credit to students for completing group projects
Option (A) is correct. Providing students choices in their learning fosters student autonomy, and student autonomy promotes intrinsic motivation.
A school district has instituted a new mentoring program for first-year teachers in which they spend time during the school day observing and talking with a more experienced colleague who offers guidance and assistance. Which of the following best describes the main purpose of the program?
a) Increasing new teachers’ job satisfaction and commitment
b) Helping new teachers learn about classroom procedures
c) Encouraging new teachers to work collaboratively
d) Training new teachers to try innovative teaching techniques
Option (A) is correct. According to research, mentoring programs have a positive effect on teacher job satisfaction and commitment and, thus, increase retention of new teachers.
During a lesson on the American Civil War, a student interrupts the teacher and mentions a news report about people in another country being at war with one another. Which of the following is the most appropriate teacher response to the interruption?
a) Punishing the student for interrupting the class
b) Ignoring what the student said and continuing with the lesson
c) Asking the student to research the topic and present it to the class
d) Discussing how the news report relates to the American Civil War
Option (D) is correct. The student’s interruption in a teachable moment. The teacher can compare the existing war to the American Civil War to further enhance learning.
