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

MIDTERM EXAM SAMPLE #3 ANSWER KEY

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)

The principles of learning are IN EFFECT whether one is aware of them or not. So, if one doesn't design lessons, etc. with these principles as guides, the lesson may not be as effective as it could be. For example, while we "want" Ss to exhibit substantive and procedural transfer, one must program (i.e., reinforce it) for generalization to occur. One may want kids to learn when to apply one principle and not another, but you must structure the situation to reinforce these discriminations by first having very obvious situtations, reinforcing the correct application (perhaps teaching them rules about when to apply each, etc.) then go to less obvious situations in a step-by-step manner. Too often we want Ss to make a giant leap (and sometimes they do and this is icing on the cake) when it might be better for them to take a series of smaller steps that produce positive consequences.

Learning principles tell us that behaviors not rewarded now and then at least will stop occurring, and that new behaviors must build on existing ones. If our lessons don't start at a level appropriate to the students, and/or don't have enough reinforcement opportunities, instruction will be less effective. Learning must be active; reinforcement and other principles are all dependent on the learner DOING some action. Lesson plans should be designed around this idea because, one can reinforce or correct a student's response but if the lesson doesn't require the S to perform (or to perform infrequently) then the S isn't getting sufficient practice (necessary for transference to LTM) and the behavior likely isn't getting rewarded enough (or getting timely corrective feedback)

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)

SCAFFOLDING IS A FORM OF 1-ON-1 INSTRUCTION WHERE THE TEACHER PROVIDES PROGRESSIVELY LESS HELP TO A STUDENT (AS THE STUDENT MASTERS THE TASKS, LESS HELP IS NEEDED IN THAT AREA). DEVELOPMENTALLY, VYGOTSKY HYPOTHESIZED THAT THERE ARE 3 BASIC "ZONES" OF STUDENT PERFORMANCE:

PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT

S CAN DO ALONE S CAN DO WITH HELP BEYOND Ss ABILITY

VYGOTSKY BELIEVED THAT TEACHERS SHOULD PROVIDE PRACTICE FOR THE FIRST ZONE AND INDIVIDUAL HELP TO Ss IN THE PROXIMAL ZONE. AS Ss ACQUIRE COMPETENCY IN THE PROXIMAL ZONE TASKS/CONTENT THE WAS IN THE 3RD ZONE "MOVE" INTO THE PROXIMAL ONE.

THE 7 STEPS OF THE DI LP ARE: ORIENT Ss; REVIEW PREREQUISITES; TEACH NEW CONTENT; PROBES; INDEPENDENT PRACTICE; FORMAL ASSESSMENTS; AND DISTRIBUTED PRACTICE.

SCAFFOLDING COULD BE DONE AS AN ORIENTING METHOD, BUT IT WOULD BE INEFFICIENT USE OF ALLOCATED TIME AND IS UNNECESSARY.

STEPS 2, 3, & 4 ARE WHERE ONE COULD USE SCAFFOLDING. IN REVIEWING, SOME Ss HAVEN'T YET ACQUIRED THE REQUISITE BACKGROUND SKILLS--SCAFFOLDING WOULD HELP THEM. AS PART OF PRESENTING LESSONS ONE COULD DO SOME 1-ON-1 SCAFFOLDED TUTORING, BUT STEP 4, PROBES, SEEMS TO BE THE IDEAL STEP WHERE SCAFFOLDING SHOULD OCCUR. PROBES ARE INFORMAL ASSESSMENTS AND CAN BE USED TO HELP Ss LEARN NEW MATERIAL, AND CAN BE USED DURING STEP 3 OR AFTER THE LESSON HAS BEEN COMPLETELY PRESENTED.

STEPS 5,6, & 7 ARE ALL FORMAL ASSESSMENTS SO USUALLY SCAFFOLDING WOULDN'T BE APPROPRIATE UNLESS IT INVOLVED, FOR EXAMPLE, THE TEACHER MONITORING THE Ss WHILE THEY WORK PROVIDING THEM WITH PROMPTS AND CUES TO HELP THEM RETRIEVE INFORMATION. (THIS DOESN'T EXACTLY REFLECT SCAFFOLDING-WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO HELP ONE LEARN SKILLS INSTEAD OF REMEMBER ALREADY LEARNED SKILLS.)

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)

BECAUSE SO MUCH OF THE ACADEMIC WORLD IS TIED TO (A) TEXTUAL MATERIALS AND (B) VERBAL PRESENTATIONS (E.G., LECTURES) I WOULD INCLUDE THE SQ4R (FOR TEXTUAL) AND 40/60 (FOR VERBALSTUFF). THESE TWO METHODS, WHEN IMPLEMENTED CORRECTLY BY THE STUDENT, ALSO SUBSUME SOME OF THE OTHER METHODS ONE CAN USE FOR IMPROVING MEMORY. FOR EXAMPLE, BOTH REQUIRE ONE TO GENERATE QUESTIONS AND WRITE ANSWERS WHICH MAKES THE STUDENT AN ACTIVE PARTICIPANT IN THE LEARNING. ANSWERS SHOULD BE PARAPHRASED WHICH INCREASE ITS MEANINGFULNESS. WRITTEN ANSWERS CAN ALSO CONNECT ANSWERS WITH PREVIOUSLY LEARNED STUFF (PRIOR KNOWLEDGE ACTIVATION), BOTH CAN EMPLOY KEY WORDS AND PHRASES AS WELL AS NARRATIVES, SO BOTH ARE WIN-WIN METHODS.

THE THIRD METHOD I'D USE CLASS TIME TO TEACH TO MY Ss if I WERE LIMITED TO JUST 3 (THANK GOODNESS WE ARE NOT LIMITED TO JUST 3 IN THE REAL WORLD) WOULD BE OVERLEARNING WHERE ONE CONTINUES TO STUDY CONTENT ONE ALREADY KNOWS. THIS LEADS TO AUTOMATICITY/FLUENCY WHICH IS REQUIRED FOR POSITIVE TRANSFER.

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)

I'D EXPLAIN THAT BY LEARNING HOW TO LEARN MORE EFFECTIVELY, THE COURSE CONTENT WILL BE COVERED MORE EFFICIENTLY AND THE STUDENTS WILL LIKELY END UP ACTUALLY LEARNING/RETAINING MORE CONTENT THAN IF THEY HAD NOT LEARNED THE STUDY SKILLS.

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)

THE 7 STEPS ARE: ORIENT; REVIEW; PRESENT NEW; PROBES, INDEPENDENT PRACTICE; FORMAL ASSESSMENTS; DISTRIBUTED.

IF I HAD TO GET RID OF 3 OF THESE STEPS THE ONES I'D "LOSE" WOULD BE: ORIENT (1), INDEPENDENT PRACTICE (5), AND DISTRIBUTED PRACTICE (7).

I CAN USE A REVIEW (WHICH IS CRITICAL TO A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD--INSURING ALL HAVE THE BACKGROUND NEEDED TO LEARN THE NEW--AS A VEHICLE TO CAPTURE THEIR ATTENTION. IN STEP 3, I CAN USE THE BOs AS THE TRANSITION TO THE NEW MATERIAL WHICH MUST BE PRESENTED (IT'S THE PURPOSE OF THE LP!) {SO IT CANNOT BE DISCARDED!}. STEP FOUR IS NEEDED BECAUSE IT CAN BE USED FOR PACING AND TO HELP Ss PRACTICE NEW SKILLS AND TO LEARN THEM. STEP FIVE CAN BE ELIMINATED BECAUSE STEP 4 PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES FOR PRACTICE. I'D KEEP THE TESTS & QUIZZES (STEP 6) BECAUSE OF ITS MOTIVATIONAL POTENTIAL AND WE MUST FORMALLY ASSESS AND EVALUATE STUDENT PROGRESS. STEP 6 COULD BE ELIMINATED BECAUSE WE ARE NOW EMPHASIZING STEP 2 AND WE CAN MAKE STEP 6 ASSESSMENTS CUMULATIVE.

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

We briefly went over 12 basic methods of instruction that can be used separately or in various combinations. One can describe a couple of these as a starting point for the answer.

All forms of instruction require that instruction start at the student's entry skill level.

Objectives are statements that describe what students should be able to do after instruction. (Three types-EOs, general/global; IOs, general or specific for a specific topic; BOs--ABCD. Of the three types, good IOs and/or BOs are the best one to use in individualized instruction because of their specificity--stating exactly what the S should be able to say or do after instruction. Once the goals/outcomes are identified via objectives the objectives can be TASK ANALYZED to determine what the prerequisites for masterying the objective(s) is which can then be matched to the student's entry level skills (and which objectives the student can already do is the method one should employ to accurately determine students' entry level skills).

The TAs for each outcome objective break the outcome into its component skills. Once these are identified they can more easily be directly taught to the students in an appropriate sequence. This MICRO approach to instruction provides/permits the highest degree of accommodating the curriculum to the learner's needs. By identifying/setting competency levels for the outcomes that are different for different students one can be developed that are tied directly to the objectives covered, and at appropriate levels of Bloom's taxonomy.

Thus, we can use a complete set of objectives to (a) identify starting points for instruction that are appropriate to the individual student; (b) identify MUST GET (critical junction) objectives all must master (and the corollary, the "icing on the cake" obejctives) which better insure that one spends sufficient time on them; (c) the objectives function as a road map telling us where the S is and where they need to go and the order instruction should follow to get them there; (d) objectives will serve as a study guide to the more mature student to focus their study efforts and help them develop their metacognitive abilities, and (e) they should help teachers to accurately determine how best (and the alternative ways) to teach the content.

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

Critical thinking can be thought of as a problem solving activity. Functionally, one is engaged in critical thinking/problem solving whenever one is performing a learning task that requires the higher levels of the BEFHK (1956) taxonomy (i.e., application, analysis, synthesis, or evaluation).

Metacognition is self awareness of how one best learns. One with appropriate metacognition exhibits Specificity (which study method to use), executive monitory (objectively determinine, through self testing) when one knows/does not know information, generativity (elaborating on info. to connect it with existing knowledge), and personal efficacy (self confidence, based on experiences, that one can trust in their learning abilities).

Learning is the relatively permanent change in one's performance that results from one's experiences.

Information process is a macro orientation that examines the relationship between the learner's external environment and the attending/transferring/coding/retrieval processes that occur during the learning process and the remembering/connecting of new information with old, and the generalization of information.

Common threads that tie each of these together are: (a) learning--for one to demonstrate any of the others they must have LEARNED content.

(b) All of them focus, at some level, on students' PERFORMANCE.

(c) Each is a different way of looking at/interpreting/understanding how one adapts to environmental demands (the first 2 are more general than learning, and the last can be general or specific).

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