Question 1

Which learning strategy are we most likely to see second graders use?
A) Rehearsing what they want to remember
B) Intentionally elaborating on new material
C) Writing down what they want to remember
D) Intentionally organizing ideas into categories

Accepted Answer

Second graders are more likely to use rehearsal as a learning strategy, which involves repeating information to themselves to remember it. This is because more complex strategies like elaboration, note-taking, and categorization often require more advanced cognitive skills that develop later.

Question 2

Which one of the following is the best illustration of metacognition?
A) Andrea is studying for a spelling test. She writes each spelling word five times in her nicest handwriting.
B) Betsy stays up late studying for a geography test. The following morning in school, she is too tired to think straight during the test.
C) Connie is studying for a history test. She knows that she has trouble with dates, so she checks herself by giving herself a short quiz after each chapter.
D) Dolly is preparing to take the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), so she checks out an SAT preparation book from the local library and reads it from cover to cover.

Accepted Answer

Connie's strategy of giving herself a short quiz after each chapter to check her understanding and retention specifically targets her awareness of her own learning process and difficulties, which is a clear example of metacognition.

Question 3

As he talks, 6-year-old William uses his hands a lot, showing dimensions of certain objects, depicting particular movements, and so on. How should a teacher who is working with William respond to his gestures?
A) The teacher should discourage them, as they require a lot of working memory capacity and may interfere with William's logical reasoning capabilities.
B) The teacher should watch William's gestures closely, as they may reveal newly emerging reasoning abilities.
C) The teacher should consult with a specialist, as "talking" with one's hands is often a sign of delayed cognitive development.
D) The teacher should provide extra help with language development, with the hopes that the gestures will eventually decrease in frequency.

Accepted Answer

Gestures can be a powerful tool in learning and development, often indicating emerging cognitive and reasoning abilities in children. Observing and understanding these gestures can provide insights into a child's thought processes and areas where they are beginning to develop new skills.

Question 4

How do young children's estimates of their memory capacity relate to reality?
A) They are usually fairly accurate in their estimates of how much they can recall.
B) They usually underestimate how much they can remember.
C) They usually overestimate how much they can remember.
D) They don't even try to guess how much they can recall.

Accepted Answer

Young children often overestimate their memory capacity, believing they can remember more than they actually can. This overestimation reflects a developmental aspect of their cognitive and metacognitive abilities.

Question 5

Mr. Martinez wants his first-grade students to be able to automatize their ability to recognize common words when they read. Which one of the following techniques will best help his students achieve that goal?
A) Give them lots of practice reading the words.
B) Tell them how important it is for them to know the words.
C) Explain how some of the letters in the words are "silent."
D) Explain how the letters of the words are related to their pronunciation.

Accepted Answer

Repeated reading practice helps students recognize words quickly and automatically, improving their reading fluency and comprehension.

Question 6

Considering developmental trends in learning strategies, choose the statement that best characterizes how high school students are apt to approach school learning tasks.
A) Even at the high school level, most students do little if anything to help them learn and remember school subject matter.
B) High school students rely largely on comprehension monitoring to learn visual information; they are more apt to use rehearsal for auditory information.
C) Some high school students intentionally organize and elaborate on class material; others rely largely on rehearsal.
D) Organization and elaboration decrease over the high school years, in large part because such storage processes are less necessary as the brain matures to its adultlike form.

Accepted Answer

High school students exhibit a range of learning strategies, with some organizing and elaborating on material while others may rely more on rehearsal. This reflects the diversity in learning approaches among individuals at this stage.

Question 7

Other things being equal, which one of the following four boys is likely to learn and remember the most by reading a book about spiders?
A) Eight-year-old Albert, who knows a lot more about spiders than the other boys do
B) Eight-year-old Bernard, for whom the book is slightly above his zone of proximal development
C) Ten-year-old Colt, who performs well on a task involving conservation of weight
D) Ten-year-old Darren, who shows some understanding of simple proportions

Accepted Answer

Albert's prior knowledge about spiders will help him connect new information to what he already knows, making it easier for him to learn and remember more from the book.

Question 8

Which one of the following statements does NOT accurately reflect research findings about cultural diversity in metacognition?
A) In Asian countries, parents and teachers discourage rote memorization as a learning strategy.
B) In China, people believe that learning enables an individual to contribute in significant ways to the betterment of society.
C) African children are better at remembering stories that they hear than American children.
D) In the United States, people believe that the goal of learning is to understand the world and acquire new skills and abilities.

Accepted Answer

Research has shown that in many Asian countries, including China, rote memorization is often encouraged as a learning strategy, contrary to the statement in option A. This method is seen as a way to build a strong foundation of knowledge, which can then be applied to understand more complex concepts.

Question 9

When 5-year-old Clinton looks at the road map his parents are using to plan a trip, he laughs and exclaims, "That's silly. Our car can't fit on roads that small!" Which one of the following best explains Clinton's statement?
A) Clinton is only beginning to develop proportional reasoning.
B) Clinton doesn't yet fully appreciate the symbolic nature of maps.
C) Clinton is the victim of infantile amnesia, in that he can't remember other road maps he's previously seen.
D) Clinton's working memory capacity is insufficient to enable him to look at all parts of the map simultaneously.

Accepted Answer

Clinton's statement reflects a misunderstanding of the symbolic representation of real-world objects on a map, indicating he hasn't yet fully grasped that the map is a scaled-down version of reality, not a literal depiction.

Question 10

Which form of problem solving are you likely to see in a one-year-old?
A) Removing a barrier to get to a desired toy
B) Using a pointed object to break a cookie into pieces
C) Moving wooden blocks in systematic, repetitive ways as a precursor to counting
D) Sorting a group of objects according to both size and color

Accepted Answer

One-year-olds are likely to engage in problem-solving that involves direct, physical interaction with their environment, such as removing a barrier to reach a toy. This reflects their developing motor skills and understanding of cause and effect. The other options are too complex for the typical cognitive and motor skills of a one-year-old.

Question 11

Tyler learns that Christopher Columbus's first voyage across the Atlantic was financed by Queen Isabella of Spain. He thinks to himself, "She probably thought she would make a profit on her investment." By considering the queen's motives, Tyler is demonstrating which one of the following processes?
A) rehearsal
B) elaboration
C) organization
D) comprehension monitoring

Accepted Answer

Elaboration involves adding to or enriching information in some way, such as by linking new information to existing knowledge or by considering motives or implications. Tyler is engaging in elaboration by thinking about Queen Isabella's possible motives for financing Columbus's voyage.

Question 12

Three of the following students are showing signs of self-regulated learning. Which student does not show any evidence of self-regulated learning?
A) As Adam studies his German vocabulary words, he occasionally stops to check himself to see which words he needs to study further.
B) Blake knows that for purposes of college admission, his performance in math class is more important than his performance in drama class, so he works harder in the first class than in the second.
C) Craig beams with pleasure when his teacher praises his English essay, because her opinion of his work is very important to him.
D) Drew thinks to himself, "Tonight I'll skim the reading assignment in history just to get a general idea of what the chapter's all about. Tomorrow I'll read it again in more depth."

Accepted Answer

Craig's reaction is more about external validation (teacher's praise) than about self-regulation, which involves setting personal goals, monitoring one's own understanding, and adjusting strategies accordingly.

Question 13

Marco is taking an elective class on world religions. As he studies, he thinks about how certain tenets of Islam are in some ways similar to his own Christian beliefs. What learning strategy is Marco using?
A) comprehension monitoring
B) rehearsal
C) intersubjectivity
D) elaboration

Accepted Answer

Elaboration is a learning strategy where a learner makes connections between new information and what they already know, enhancing understanding and memory. Marco is relating the tenets of Islam to his Christian beliefs, which is a form of elaboration.

Question 14

After looking up the word rhinoceros in the dictionary, Miguel repeats the letters over and over to himself to help him remember them. Which one of the following strategies does Miguel's behavior illustrate?
A) rehearsal
B) elaboration
C) organization
D) comprehension monitoring

Accepted Answer

Rehearsal is a memory strategy that involves repeating information over and over to retain it in short-term memory. Miguel's repetition of the letters of the word "rhinoceros" is a classic example of rehearsal.

Question 15

When 3-year-old Julia comes home from her first day at preschool, her father asks her, "What's your teacher's name?" Julia answers by saying, "I forget." Yet when Dad drops Julia off at preschool the following morning, the teacher apologizes to both of them: "How silly of me! Yesterday when you came to school, Julia, I didn't tell you my name. It's Miss Martin." Obviously, of course, Julia couldn't "forget" something she never knew. How can we best explain her response to her father's question?
A) Young children have little awareness of the nature of their own thinking.
B) Young children often lie to cover up self-perceived weaknesses in their memories.
C) Young children typically assume they know everything there is to know.
D) Young children often confuse something they've learned in one situation with something they've learned in another, very different situation.

Accepted Answer

Young children, like Julia, may not fully understand the nature of their own cognitive processes, including memory. When Julia said she "forgot" her teacher's name, it likely reflects a lack of awareness about what forgetting entails, rather than an intentional lie or confusion with other situations.

Question 16

Maria is trying to remember all of the objects in her locker at school. "Let me think . . . pens, pencils, markers . . . um, math book, science book, notebooks . . . my coat, hat, and gloves . . . I can't remember any more." What learning strategy does Maria's response illustrate?
A) rehearsal
B) elaboration
C) organization
D) comprehension monitoring

Accepted Answer

Maria's response illustrates the learning strategy of organization, as she groups similar items together (writing instruments, books, and clothing items) to remember them more easily.

Question 17

Considering developmental trends in learning strategies, choose the statement that best characterizes how kindergartners are apt to approach school learning tasks.
A) They construct vivid visual and auditory images of what they see and hear in the classroom.
B) They make mental lists of things to remember, but with little follow-through in studying the lists.
C) They continually put things into categories to help them remember those things.
D) They make few if any intentional efforts to learn and remember something.

Accepted Answer

Kindergartners are at a developmental stage where intentional efforts to learn and remember information are not typically a part of their learning strategies. They are more likely to learn through play, exploration, and direct experiences rather than through deliberate memorization or categorization techniques.

Question 18

Which one of the following statements best describes children's acquisition of new learning and problem-solving strategies?
A) When children first acquire a new strategy, they use it infrequently and sometimes ineffectively.
B) When children acquire a new strategy, they almost immediately abandon their earlier, less mature strategies.
C) Children's new strategies are usually simple modifications of previous strategies.
D) Children acquire new, more effective strategies only when adults encourage them to do so.

Accepted Answer

Children often begin using new strategies infrequently and may not apply them effectively right away. Their ability to use these strategies improves with practice and experience.

Question 19

The textbook recommends a number of strategies for capturing and maintaining children's attention on important tasks and activities. Which one of the following is not consistent with the textbook's recommendations for increasing attention?
A) Get children physically involved in lessons.
B) Teach important skills within the context of interesting topics.
C) Regularly intersperse quiet activities with more physically active ones.
D) Regularly introduce distractions into the environment so that children grow accustomed to them.

Accepted Answer

Introducing distractions into the environment is not recommended for increasing attention. Instead, strategies aim to minimize distractions to help children focus better on tasks and activities.

Question 20

Alicia (who is African American), Amy (who is Japanese American), and Ann (whose Jewish grandparents immigrated from Poland) are in the same tenth-grade history class. They are studying together for a test on World War II. The girls share the opinion that racism was a widespread problem during the war, but they disagree about which actions were most racist in nature. Which one of the following explanations of their differences is most consistent with contemporary theories of cognitive development?
A) After puberty, many youngsters (especially girls) tend to enjoy a good argument.
B) At their age, they probably don't yet have a good understanding of such an abstract concept as racism.
C) Their differing heritages lead them to bring different knowledge bases to their interpretations of history.
D) Children whose parents or grandparents immigrated from one country to another tend to have exceptionally strong opinions about many issues.

Accepted Answer

Their differing heritages likely influence their perspectives and knowledge bases, leading to varied interpretations of historical events related to racism.

Quiz 7: Cognitive Development: Cognitive Processes

Which learning strategy are we most likely to see second graders use?

Which one of the following is the best illustration of metacognition?

As he talks, 6-year-old William uses his hands a lot, showing dimensions of certain objects, depicting particular movements, and so on. How should a teacher who is working with William respond to his gestures?

How do young children's estimates of their memory capacity relate to reality?

Mr. Martinez wants his first-grade students to be able to automatize their ability to recognize common words when they read. Which one of the following techniques will best help his students achieve that goal?

Considering developmental trends in learning strategies, choose the statement that best characterizes how high school students are apt to approach school learning tasks.

Other things being equal, which one of the following four boys is likely to learn and remember the most by reading a book about spiders?

Which one of the following statements does NOT accurately reflect research findings about cultural diversity in metacognition?

When 5-year-old Clinton looks at the road map his parents are using to plan a trip, he laughs and exclaims, "That's silly. Our car can't fit on roads that small!" Which one of the following best explains Clinton's statement?

Which form of problem solving are you likely to see in a one-year-old?

Tyler learns that Christopher Columbus's first voyage across the Atlantic was financed by Queen Isabella of Spain. He thinks to himself, "She probably thought she would make a profit on her investment." By considering the queen's motives, Tyler is demonstrating which one of the following processes?

Three of the following students are showing signs of self-regulated learning. Which student does not show any evidence of self-regulated learning?

Marco is taking an elective class on world religions. As he studies, he thinks about how certain tenets of Islam are in some ways similar to his own Christian beliefs. What learning strategy is Marco using?

After looking up the word rhinoceros in the dictionary, Miguel repeats the letters over and over to himself to help him remember them. Which one of the following strategies does Miguel's behavior illustrate?

Maria is trying to remember all of the objects in her locker at school. "Let me think . . . pens, pencils, markers . . . um, math book, science book, notebooks . . . my coat, hat, and gloves . . . I can't remember any more." What learning strategy does Maria's response illustrate?

Considering developmental trends in learning strategies, choose the statement that best characterizes how kindergartners are apt to approach school learning tasks.

Which one of the following statements best describes children's acquisition of new learning and problem-solving strategies?

The textbook recommends a number of strategies for capturing and maintaining children's attention on important tasks and activities. Which one of the following is not consistent with the textbook's recommendations for increasing attention?