Valdosta State University Department of Psychology PSY310  Educational Psychology Instructor: John H. Hummel, Ph.D.

MIDTERM EXAM SAMPLE #3

1. Why (3 or more explained reasons) is familiarity with the principles of learning (positive reinforcement, generalization, discrimination, etc.) necessary for teachers to structure lessons to insure that information is transferred to LTM and retrievable. (8)

2. Scaffolding is based on Vygotsky's zone of proximal development (a constructivist approach to learning). Analyze which steps of the DI LP are appropriate to teachers employing scaffolding. (9)

3. Suppose you wanted to teach your students how to study (e.g., SQ4R , 40/60 method for taking notes, and other methods students could use to improve their memory).

A. Time is limited. Of all the strategies you COULD teach them, which THREE would you spend valuable class time on, and explain why (paragraph or two for each). (9)

B. Ms. Bydbook, your principal, drops in on your class while you are teaching your students how to study. Later she calls you on the carpet for wasting valuable instructional time teaching them how to study instead of teaching them your subject matter.

Explain what you would tell her to defend your practice. (4)

4. You have been assigned the task of eliminating at least THREE of the 7 steps of a DI LP. Which 3 would you get rid of and why? (9)

5. Explain (at least 3 points) why objectives are critical to the success of ALL methods used to teach students academic content.

6. Critical thinking, metacognition, learning, and information processing are all interrelated. Describe TWO ways these topics interrelate. (5)

7. Write and answer a question dealing with a topic we addressed (either in the class or text) that you wanted to answer (i.e., was prepared to answer!) but I didn't ask. (5)
 

MIDTERM PREP

Last Updated: May 20, 1997