Deck 1: Learning, teaching, and Educational Psychology

Question 1

Research by Ogden,Brophy,and Evertson (1977)on selecting primary-grade students to read aloud suggests that the best method is to

A)ask for volunteers to read.
B)call on students in a prescribed order.
C)call on students at random.
D)have students read as a group (choral response).

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The concerns of educational psychology are distinctive in that they

A)are limited to the classroom.
B)do not overlap those of other fields of study.
C)have no place in the laboratory.
D)relate to improving learning and instruction.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

According to the Woolfolk et al.text,which would be the biggest limitation facing student teachers?

A)Student teaching does not allow prospective teachers to be as reflective about their teaching as they could be.
B)Student teaching often occurs during periods when prospective teachers are busy with their own coursework.
C)Student teaching does not prepare prospective teachers very well for starting off a school year with a new class.
D)Student teaching is often carried out in classrooms that utilize classroom management strategies that a prospective teacher may not believe in.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which one of the following correlation coefficients indicates the strongest relationship?

A)-0.03
B)-0.78
C)+0.56
D)+0.70

Question 5

According to the Woolfolk text,which of the following is true of expert teachers?

A)They are more likely than novices to ignore students' wrong answers.
B)They take more time to solve problems.
C)They judge their success based on their students' achievements.
D)They have a limited and focused knowledge base.

Question 6

Wong (1987)indicated that when individuals read a research result,they tended to

A)become resistant toward using the strategy involved.
B)find the results more obvious than originally thought.
C)put the results into practice immediately.
D)seek more information on the subject.

Question 7

The use of the "common sense" approach to teaching is viewed by educational psychologists as

A)appropriate in most circumstances.
B)inappropriate unless supported by research.
C)more reliable than scientific judgments.
D)the main factor that differentiates experts from novices.

Question 8

A case study is an investigation of

A)a small group of people with similar backgrounds.
B)different groups of people over a period of time.
C)one person or group over a specific period of time.
D)people from one geographic area.

Question 9

A researcher concludes from his study that,on a typical school day,students spend only 50 percent of their time engaged in learning.What specific type of research must have been conducted in order for this conclusion to be valid?

A)Single-subject design
B)Participant-observer
C)Descriptive
D)Experimental

Question 10

Considering the recent statistics on Canadian student diversity presented in the Woofolk et al.text,which of the following statements is TRUE?

A)Participation of children in religions other than Christianity has decreased since 2006.
B)Children who are regular users of food banks are on the decline.
C)Children may live with family members other than just a mom and dad.
D)Children with disabilities spend the majority of their day in a Special Education class.

Question 11

A correlation is a statistical description indicating the

A)direction but not the strength of a relationship.
B)direction and strength of a relationship.
C)strength and direction of a treatment effect.
D)strength but not the direction of a relationship.

Question 12

Which relationship BEST describes the impact of teacher preparation and quality of teaching?

A)There is no relationship between teacher preparation and quality of teaching.
B)Teacher preparation and certification were the strongest predictors of student engagement.
C)A teacher teaching outside of their major in their teaching field has no significant relationship with student achievement in math and in reading.
D)The higher the percentage of teachers teaching outside their field,the lower students' achievement tends to be.

Question 13

What type of correlation coefficient is likely to be obtained between reading ability and running ability of high-school students?

A)Close to zero
B)Either +1.00 or -1.00
C)Strong positive
D)Weak negative

Question 14

A correlation coefficient of 0.90 indicates that

A)one event has been caused by another event.
B)one event is strongly related to another event.
C)the two events are related 10 percent of the time.
D)the two events are related 90 percent of the time.

Question 15

A researcher participates in a class over a two-month period and analyzes the strategies the teacher employs to maintain discipline.This research is an example of what specific type of research study?

A)Cross-sectional
B)Ethnography
C)Experimental
D)Longitudinal

Question 16

When studies are based only on observations,the results should be expressed as

A)cause-and-effect relationships.
B)descriptions.
C)principles.
D)theories.

Question 17

A positive correlation between two factors indicates that the factors

A)are NOT necessarily related.
B)are strongly related.
C)decrease proportionately.
D)tend to increase or decrease together.

Question 18

What size or direction of correlation coefficient is likely to be obtained between children's ages (from five to 13 years)and the distance that they can long jump?

A)Close to zero
B)Either +1.00 or -1.00
C)Negative
D)Positive

Question 19

When a correlation coefficient of -0.80 is found between factor A and factor B,the most accurate interpretation is that

A)a decrease in factor A is strongly related to a decrease in factor B.
B)a decrease in factor A is strongly related to an increase in factor B.
C)there is NO significant relationship between the two factors.
D)there is a very weak relationship between the two factors.

Question 20

A correlation study indicates that teachers' interest in teaching and the amount of the day their students are engaged in learning correlate at +0.46.This coefficient would indicate that

A)as teacher interest decreases,engaged time increases.
B)as teacher interest increases,engaged time tends to increase.
C)interest in teaching leads to a large increase in engaged time.
D)there is virtually NO relationship between the two variables.

Question 21

Microgenetic studies:

A)intensively study cognitive processes in the midst of change.
B)apply a ABAB experiment design.
C)are employed to assess cause and effect relationships.
D)typically utilize many children as study participants.

Question 22

Which of the following statements are TRUE of longitudinal studies?

A)They are time consuming and expensive.
B)They are more commonly used than experimental and cross-sectional studies.
C)They involve researchers following students over the course of a few days.
D)They utilize teachers directly in the research process.

Question 23

According to Woolfolk et al.,good theories

A)explain and predict perfectly.
B)are less scientific compared to ten years ago.
C)give you a new way of thinking about problems
D)offer all the answers.

Question 24

Compared to experimental studies,descriptive studies are usually conducted in settings that are more realistic.

Question 25

As teachers' experience grows,they tend to become more likely to judge their success by their students' successes.

Question 26

According to Woolfolk,over time theories

A)have returned to the core ideas set forth years ago by Sigmund Freud.
B)have become less important in educational research and practice.
C)have become more systematic and scientific.
D)are less scientific compared to ten years ago.

Question 27

Which one of the following instances is MOST like a random sample for a class of thirty students?

A)A coin is tossed in order to select students alternately one by one into the experimental and control groups.
B)The first ten students who enter the classroom are placed into the experimental group and the next ten into the control group.
C)The first twenty volunteers are selected from the physics class and alternately placed into experimental and control groups.
D)The twenty students with the highest GPAs are selected and alternately placed into experimental and control groups.

Question 28

Random assignments would be most critical in what type of research?

A)Case study
B)Correlational
C)Descriptive
D)Experimental

Question 29

What type of research participants should researchers use for studies of cause-and-effect relationships?

A)Controlled samples
B)Random samples
C)Related samples
D)Skilled samples

Question 30

Which is usually established first?

A)theory
B)principle
C)scientific explanation
D)consistent findings

Question 31

When a result from a research project involving an experimental design is reported in the literature as significant,this result

A)contradicts the prevailing theoretical views.
B)is unrelated to theory development.
C)is unlikely to have occurred by chance.
D)will indicate its practical importance.

Question 32

An explanation of how we remember things that we have learned is called a

A)construct.
B)correlation.
C)principle.
D)theory.

Question 33

At Greendale Public School,four teachers each set out to conduct a research study in his or her classroom.Which study would be LEAST likely to involve the use of a correlational analysis?

A)Mrs.Tang,who studied amount of reading and spelling test scores
B)Mr.Lacroix,who studied activity level in gym and degree of academic self-concept
C)Mr.Nucci,who studied frequency of praise and rate of homework completion
D)Miss Gann,who studied types of seating arrangements and number of disruptions

Question 34

A researcher finds that students who were given computers to use at home demonstrated greater independent learning skills than a comparable group that was not selected to receive home computers.What type of research study was probably designed for this conclusion to be valid?

A)Correlational
B)Descriptive
C)Experimental
D)Observation

Question 35

The major concern of new teachers is that they do not know the subject material they have to teach.

Question 36

An ethnography:

A)is a personalized account on either teaching or learning experiences.
B)involves studying naturally occurring events in the life of a group.
C)involves studying cause and effect relationships.
D)involves examining the relationships between variables.

Question 37

A researcher reports that students who have the highest test scores in school tend to be more involved in extracurricular activities than are other students.What specific type of research study must have been conducted?

A)Correlational
B)Descriptive
C)Ethnographic
D)Experimental

Question 38

A researcher reports that students who have the highest achievement in school tend to be more involved in extracurricular activities compared to students with lower achievement.What specific type of research was most likely conducted to inform this finding?

A)descriptive
B)correlational
C)ethnographic
D)experimental

Question 39

Dr.Patterson concludes from her research that using a systematic study strategy CAUSED good grades for students assigned to a particular group.For this conclusion to be valid,the type of research that was performed must have been what type of study?

A)Correlational
B)Descriptive
C)Experimental
D)Observational

Question 40

Action research:

A)is a form of research that puts an observed behavior "under a microscope."
B)is a form of research that employs teachers as researchers.
C)is a form of research that studies development by observing subjects over many years.
D)is a form of research that focuses on groups of subjects at different ages.

Question 41

Action research is a form of educational research typically conducted by anthropologists.

Question 42

Broad frameworks that attempt to explain relationships between sets of variables are called ________.

Question 43

Microgenetic studies intensively study cognitive processes in the midst of change.

Question 44

Findings considered statistically unlikely to have occurred by chance are described as ________.

Question 45

The type of research that attempts to record what happens in classrooms without attempting to manipulate any variables is called ________ research.

Question 46

A theory can be characterized as a guess or a hunch.

Question 47

When beginning teachers confront everyday classroom life,they often experience ________________.

Question 48

When findings in a given area repeatedly support the same conclusion,a(n)________ can be derived.

Question 49

A researcher who becomes a working member of a class over a period of time in order to record and gain understanding of the class dynamics is a(n)________.

Question 50

You pick names from a hat to determine which group you should assign each subject to.This is a _________ assignment.

Question 51

Theories explain and predict all occurrences in a given field.

Question 52

Each person is given an equal opportunity to be in a treatment or control group by means of ________ sampling.

Question 53

Correlations may be included within a descriptive study.

Question 54

The type of research that attempts to establish cause and effect relationships is a(n)________ study.

Question 55

Correlations provide the basis for interpretations about cause and effect.

Question 56

They study of the processes of teaching and learning is the focus of the discipline of ________________.

Question 57

Negative correlations are typically weaker than positive correlations.

Question 58

Research that is designed to determine the relations between two variables is a(n)________ study.

Question 59

If a statistically significant difference is found between the math scores of two groups,we can conclude the difference was due to a chance occurrence.

Question 60

E.L.Thorndike wrote the first educational psychology text and founded the Journal of Educational Psychology.

Question 61

Differentiate between descriptive and experimental research with regard to purpose and methods.

Question 62

Explain the notion of "common sense answers" in educational research.Use an example to illustrate how common sense knowledge answers differ from answers based on research.

Question 63

If researchers wanted to study the development of students over many years as change occurs,they would likely be conducting a ______________ study.

Question 64

Discuss the purposes and procedures of the discipline of educational psychology today.What are the interests of educational psychology with regard to theory vs.application and learning vs.teaching?

Question 65

Weight of clothing and outside temperature are ____________ correlated.

Question 66

If a teacher wanted to collaborate with a researcher to better understand why one student was having difficulty adding two fractions,would you recommend they use an experimental design or conduct a microgenetic investigation?

Question 67

Explain how principles and theories are derived.Discuss how knowledge of a theory (e.g.,classroom management)can be helpful to a classroom teacher.

Question 68

Discuss the problems or issues that most concern beginning teachers today.Which concerns would be the most important to you personally? Explain your choice(s).

Question 69

The local secondary school board is interested in finding a way to reduce the number of times students arrive late for class.At the last committee meeting,someone came up with an idea that at the end of the month,the school could give a movie pass to each student who arrived late no more than once during the month.To explore the effectiveness of giving movie passes to reduce lateness,explain which type of research would be most appropriate,and outline one advantage and one disadvantage of this type of research.