SAMPLE AEPA

According to the theoretical framework developed by Lev Vygotsky, a young child's cognitive development is most strongly influenced by which of the following factors?

• encounters with conflicting ideas that lead to disequilibrium and motivate change

• positive reinforcement from key individuals in the child's life

• genetically programmed characteristics that unfold gradually throughout childhood

• conversations and other interactions with adults or more able peers

An elementary teacher wishes to use scaffolding to promote student learning. Which of the following is the best example of this strategy?

• prompting students to identify personal goals that they hope to achieve whenever they are preparing for an upcoming project

• giving students charts labeled with relevant variables on which to record data they gather during classroom science experiments

• holding weekly geography bees with students to review important information covered during recent lessons

• marking errors in students' descriptive paragraphs and then having the students rewrite the paragraphs correctly

An elementary student who has a mild cognitive impairment is likely to experience the most difficulty in which of the following areas?

• generalizing learned skills to new contexts

• following classroom routines

• working with a peer on a class activity

• identifying personal interests

A significant challenge for teachers in using essay tests to assess student learning is that such tests:

• tend to be difficult to align with instructional objectives.

• are ineffective in measuring certain types of thinking skills.

• tend to encourage guessing in student responses.

• are difficult to score fairly and objectively.

A teacher is planning lessons for a new instructional unit. The teacher can best ensure the effectiveness of these lessons by considering which of the following questions first?

• What is the fairest and most efficient way to evaluate students' achievement of unit objectives?

• Which unit activities are best completed individually and which activities are best done in a group?

• What background knowledge and experience do students already have with regard to the unit topic?

• In what ways does the unit support the goals of the district curriculum in this subject area?

Which of the following strategies would likely be most effective in improving the quality and effectiveness of cooperative learning experiences for elementary students?

• allowing students to choose their own group members for group activities

• providing students with direct instruction and guided practice in group-process skills

• delaying group work until students have had a chance to get to know each other well

• giving students verbal feedback on their group work instead of assigning them a grade

Students in an early elementary class are completing a unit about their community. Which of the following teacher questions related to the unit would best promote the students' use of divergent thinking?

• What was one important thing you learned about your community during the unit?

• What do police officers do to keep people in your community safe?

• What are some things you can do on your own to keep your community clean and attractive?

• What do people use your community's public library for?

An upper elementary teacher holds regular class meetings with students. The teacher always begins these meetings by giving individual students an opportunity to recognize the efforts or achievement of a classmate or to thank a classmate for assistance with a difficult or challenging task. Beginning class meetings in this way is most likely to have which of the following outcomes?

• creating a learning environment that fosters excellence

• promoting students' self-monitoring of their own behavior

• building a supportive and caring classroom community

• communicating to students high expectations for their learning

As a new school year begins, a second-grade teacher is making plans to hold a conference with the parent(s)/guardian(s) of each student in his class. During each conference, the teacher will discuss broad goals and expectations for all students in the class. Which of the following additional teacher actions during the conferences would best help promote positive communication and a sense of partnership with parents/guardians?

• encouraging parents/guardians to share their own goals for their child's learning and development during the upcoming year as well as any concerns they may have

• providing a thorough review of the second-grade curriculum in each subject and giving parents/guardians time to ask questions about the content to be covered

• soliciting from parents/guardians information about any problematic situations in the home that they believe may affect their child's learning and achievement in school

• sharing information with parents/guardians about the teacher's own personal and educational background and his professional credentials

A new teacher has asked her mentor to observe instruction during several lessons and provide feedback on her teaching. These observations are likely to be most beneficial if the new teacher takes which of the following actions before they occur?

• identifying for the mentor specific aspects of her instruction, such as leading discussions, that she has particular concerns about

• explaining to her students ahead of time the purpose and intended outcomes of the observations

• providing the mentor with an overview of her students' current achievement levels, interests, and behavior patterns

• clarifying for the mentor key aspects of her own current philosophy of teaching and learning