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Study Guide

Field 057: Assessment of Professional Knowledge: Primary Education (PK–5)
Sample Multiple-Choice Questions

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Domain I–Child Development, Diversity, and Learning

Competency 0001
Understand how students grow and develop, and variations in patterns of the stages of child development and learning, and how to apply this knowledge to promote student achievement.

A fourth-grade teacher is planning an instructional unit about daily life on the Ohio frontier during the era of westward expansion. The teacher wants to connect social studies and English language arts concepts through this unit topic to deepen students' understanding. When defining the learning objectives for this unit, the teacher should initially consult which of the following resources?

  1. the state learning standards for the grade level
  2. the grade-level textbooks and materials
  3. the literacy specialist for the school district
  4. the available state assessment questions for each content area
Answer
Correct Response: A. The Ohio Learning Standards explain the knowledge and skills that Ohio students in grades Prekindergarten through grade 12 need to have. Since student progress is measured in relation to the Ohio Learning Standards, consultation of the standards should form the basis for learning objectives in the content areas.

Competency 0002
Understand learning processes and methods for providing instructional experiences that promote students' development, learning, and achievement.

A kindergarten teacher assembles large baskets, plastic jars, soil, twigs, seeds, sifters, pots, pans, and measuring cups and spoons for a classroom center. Which of the following statements best describes a primary benefit of the teacher's approach to equipping this center?

  1. The varied materials promote students' cognitive development by focusing on classification curriculum objectives.
  2. The rich resources offer a range of challenges to meet developmental levels and interests of all students.
  3. The unstructured design of the tasks promotes social development by prompting students to apply cooperative skills.
  4. The multiple resources reinforce high expectations by requiring students to develop ways to support their own learning.
Answer
Correct Response: B. Providing a wide range of materials that can be used in different ways encourages students to explore concepts and practice skills according to their abilities and interests. The open-ended nature of the materials supports students at all developmental levels to engage with concepts in a meaningful way.

Competency 0003
Understand student diversity and how to provide learning opportunities and environments that are responsive to student differences and diverse families, promote all students' learning, and foster students' appreciation of and respect for diversity.

A teacher wishes to promote students' understanding of and appreciation and respect for diversity and equity. Which of the following approaches would be most effective to support the teacher's goal in this endeavor?

  1. recognizing and regularly celebrating all students' unique individual strengths and valuing their contributions to the classroom community
  2. focusing attention primarily on similarities rather than differences among individual or groups of students
  3. planning instructional lessons and activities around the different cultural celebrations of all students' families throughout the year
  4. learning different techniques to recognize and resolve misunderstandings that may occur between students
Answer
Correct Response: A. When teachers recognize and celebrate students' unique strengths, they are communicating to students that everyone's ideas and contributions are important. The teacher's approach also promotes a classroom climate that respects and values diversity of ideas, skills, and abilities.

Domain II–Assessment, Instruction, and the Learning Environment

Competency 0004
Understand formal and informal assessment instruments and practices, the relationship between assessment and instruction, and how to use assessment to guide instruction and monitor and communicate students' learning progress.

A teacher uses a formative assessment strategy in which students write a short response to a question about a key concept taught in the day's lesson. The teacher examines the responses prior to the next lesson. This strategy would most directly support a teacher's ability to:

  1. identify differences in students' background knowledge.
  2. address gaps in understanding of the content.
  3. adjust the rigor of assessments based on the level of mastery.
  4. identify students most likely to require formal accommodations.
Answer
Correct Response: B. The formative assessment approach provides the teacher with information about students' comprehension of the concepts presented in an instructional sequence. Students' responses to a key question about lesson content enables the teacher to identify student misconceptions or misunderstanding of content. This information helps guide decisions about future instruction.

Competency 0005
Understand principles and methods of curricular and instructional planning and how to design and implement instruction that promotes all students' development, learning, and achievement.

A third-grade teacher is collaborating with a special education teacher to plan instruction to meet the learning needs of students with disabilities in the class. Which of the following guidelines should the teachers emphasize in this process?

  1. building on the students' individual strengths while providing supports to compensate for challenges
  2. adapting academic standards to ensure that the students are able to reach a high level of achievement
  3. designing reinforcement activities that the students can work on together in small-group activities
  4. utilizing similar instructional methods and lesson activities to introduce the students to concepts and skills
Answer
Correct Response: A. A strength-based approach identifies areas where students perform well and leverages those areas to support the students in areas where they have particular challenges. For students with disabilities, there is a tendency to focus on what the students cannot do rather than what the students can do with supports. Focusing on students' strengths promotes a growth mindset in students and builds their sense of self-efficacy.

Competency 0006
Understand principles and methods associated with various instructional approaches and how to apply these principles and methods to promote all students' development and their achievement of instructional goals.

A teacher is modeling for a third-grade student a strategy to break complex and long texts into smaller and more manageable chunks to read and paraphrase into their own words. This strategy primarily works to strengthen students' reading comprehension by:

  1. modifying concepts in a text according to the student's cognitive level.
  2. connecting background knowledge of a topic to the text.
  3. making more efficient use of short-term memory to process information.
  4. ensuring content is relevant and meaningful to students' own lives.
Answer
Correct Response: C. Individuals can hold only so much information in short-term memory for processing. Chunking information, or breaking complex information into smaller bits, enables students to store information more effectively in their short-term memory. With regard to reading comprehension, this strategy facilitates the organization and synthesis of information for enhanced recall and understanding.

Competency 0007
Understand principles and practices of motivation and communication and how to apply these principles and practices effectively to promote students' active engagement and learning.

A fifth-grade student selects just-right books of interest from the classroom library but struggles to read the whole time allotted to reading independently. Though the student begins reading attentively, the student tires easily and closes the book and rests for the remainder of the time. The teacher considers strategies to motivate the student in increasing the time spent reading during this block of time. Which of the following strategies would be most effective for this purpose?

  1. reminding the student of the rules and routines of reading time, emphasizing the rule of reading the whole time
  2. arranging a comfortable area for the student to read in quietly with a partner who reads at a similar level
  3. selecting a number of interesting books for the student to read and assigning the student specific ones to finish each day
  4. working with the student to set a goal for the number of minutes spent reading each day and working with the student on ideas for meeting that goal
Answer
Correct Response: D. Using a goal-setting approach with the student will help the student envision success. Engaging the student in identifying ideas for meeting the goal helps the student buy into the process. When students have choices and input into learning experiences, they are more motivated to participate.

Competency 0008
Understand how to structure and manage the classroom to establish a safe, inclusive, and positive learning environment; and strategies and methods for promoting all students' social-emotional competence and development of interpersonal skills.

A fourth-grade teacher walks around the room briefly checking in with students while they complete an assignment. The teacher notices a group engaging in off-task behaviors. Which of the following strategies would be most effective for the teacher to use to encourage the students to return to the task?

  1. moving to the board and pointing to the objective of the assignment
  2. walking to other groups that are focused and inquiring how they are doing
  3. stepping closer to the group and making eye contact with each student
  4. tapping a student gently on the back and using a finger to gesture "quiet"
Answer
Correct Response: C. Using proximity and eye contact are nonintrusive strategies that allow the teacher to respond to off-task behaviors without disrupting other students' work. These strategies convey to the students the teacher's awareness of their behavior without calling them out in front of the class and give them the opportunity to correct their behavior and return their attention to their assignment.

Domain IV–The Professional Environment

Competency 0009
Understand how to establish partnerships and collaborate effectively with students' families, colleagues, and members of the community to enhance and support students' development and learning.

Which of the following actions by elementary school teachers provides the best foundation for effective collaboration to promote student learning?

  1. establishing mutual trust and a shared sense of purpose
  2. conducting an initial evaluation of each other's instructional practices
  3. creating a joint plan for professional development
  4. integrating their perspectives into a common educational philosophy
Answer
Correct Response: A. Collaboration is the act of working with others on an endeavor to achieve a shared goal or outcome. This shared goal or outcome represents the purpose of the collaboration, which involves problem solving, sharing of ideas, and open communication. These activities are most effective when participants in the collaboration trust each other and feel safe in sharing thoughts openly. With these elements in place, teachers will be able to work productively together for students' benefit.

Competency 0010
Understand roles and expectations for professional educators, legal and ethical guidelines, and strategies for continuous professional growth and self-reflection.

A fifth-grade teacher overhears a student that the teacher does not know describing a recent incident in which the student was clearly being threatened and bullied at school. Which of the following statements best describes the ethical responsibility of the teacher concerning this information?

  1. Because the teacher overheard the incident instead of personally witnessing it, the teacher is not required to report it.
  2. The teacher should inform the student's classroom teacher in order for the classroom teacher to determine the most appropriate next steps.
  3. Because the teacher does not know the student who is talking about the incident, the teacher has no obligation to report it.
  4. The teacher is charged with protecting all students on the school campus and should report what was heard to the school counselor.
Answer
Correct Response: D. All educational staff bear responsibility for the physical and psychological safety of students. Threats and bullying can have a significant negative effect on a student's social-emotional development. The school counselor has expertise in this area and would be the most appropriate educator to investigate the situation.