DOMAIN I

A grade 9 teacher is concerned that the low achievement levels of her ELL students, who are not meeting satisfactory standards on the campus benchmarks, will negatively impact their development of higher levels of English proficiency. The teacher’s concern demonstrates awareness of

• the connection between the belief that success is possible and the motivation to learn.

• the difficulty of promoting English proficiency in students who lack basic language abilities.

• the lack of correlation between ELPS and day-to-day classroom activities.

• the reality that ELLs need long-term bilingual education to sustain progress.

Answer explanation

The teacher's concern highlights the connection between believing in success and motivation, suggesting that low achievement may erode ELL students' confidence and willingness to learn, ultimately impacting their English proficiency.

A science teacher in grade 7 creates interest centres throughout the classroom that include short videos, pamphlets, testimonials, magazine articles, and good websites for a wide variety of careers. After the students have a chance to visit several centres, the teacher pulls the class together into a discussion circle and invites students to talk about which centres interested them most and why. This strategy reflects the teacher’s understanding of which stage of Erikson’s psychosocial development the students are currently in.

• Trust versus mistrust

• Integrity versus despair

• Industry versus inferiority

• Identity versus role confusion

Answer explanation

The teacher's strategy of engaging students in discussions about their interests reflects the 'Industry versus inferiority' stage, where students develop skills and a sense of competence through exploration and feedback.

A second-grade teacher maintains a chart entitled Trying All the Time. Each time a student attempts something new or risky—like trying to pronounce a difficult new word during read-alouds or volunteering to solve a math problem on the board—the student gets to put a red star on his or her row on the chart. This strategy primarily demonstrates the teacher’s awareness of the students’ developmental needs and characteristics by

• showing students that failure does not matter.

• rewarding students for attempting things that are within their current abilities.

• creating a culture of high expectations in a developmentally appropriate context.

• showing students that grades are not the only way to measure achievement.

Answer explanation

The teacher's strategy fosters a supportive environment where students are encouraged to take risks, aligning with their developmental stage. This approach creates high expectations while being appropriate for their growth.

Ms. Bensen, a grade 11 English teacher, notices that Joel has been arriving late each day, is nonparticipatory, and is failing his daily work. Several days a week, the students write in their journals. If

• Initiative versus guilt

• Identity versus role confusion

• Intimacy versus isolation

Answer explanation

Joel's behavior reflects the struggle of 'Intimacy versus isolation,' common in adolescence. His lateness and lack of participation may indicate difficulties in forming connections with peers, leading to feelings of isolation.

Joel submits an entry in which he writes about how depressed he is because his girlfriend broke up with him. The behaviour Ms. Bensen has observed fits which of Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development?

• Trust versus mistrust

• Autonomy versus shame and doubt

• Identity versus role confusion

• Integrity versus despair

Answer explanation

Joel's feelings of depression after a breakup indicate a struggle with identity versus role confusion, as he is likely questioning his self-worth and identity following the end of a significant relationship.

Ms. Benitez, a grade 2 teacher, includes a 15-minute play period several times throughout the school day. Children can play cooperatively or they can play alone. This strategy is appropriate for this age level because children at this age

• are easily bored and need breaks from academic work.

• develop social, cognitive, and motor skills through play.

• learn content-area material more effectively through play.

• need to feel that school offers the same activities as home.

Answer explanation

The correct choice is that children develop social, cognitive, and motor skills through play. This aligns with their developmental needs at this age, making play an essential part of their learning process.

A grade 5 teacher arranges his class sessions to include a cooperative work time when students can share each other’s homework results and make changes prior to submitting homework for a grade. The teacher notices that some students work alone even when while they are in the group, others are easily distracted by environmental factors such as noises and other groups’ conversations, and others work together only for a few minutes and then resort to individual work. Which of the following explanations best accounts for the students’ behavior during cooperative work times?

• Grade 5 students are not socially or cognitively mature enough to work productively in groups.

• Grade 5 students are temperamentally more suited for structured learning environments, such as traditional lecture and demonstration approaches.

• Grade 5 students vary greatly in physical, social, and cognitive development and need guidance in working effectively in cooperative settings.

• Grade 5 students need to have all classroom behavioral expectations and consequences articulated specifically.

Answer explanation

Grade 5 students exhibit varied physical, social, and cognitive development, which affects their ability to collaborate. They require guidance to work effectively in cooperative settings, explaining their differing behaviors during group work.

Which three of the following rationales explain how play contributes to learners’ developmental growth?

• Play creates opportunities for social growth.

• Play enables students to role play.

• Play invites learners to integrate real-world learning into classroom situations.

• Play provides downtime for students to take a mental break from strenuous class activities.

• Play allows special needs students to participate fully and equitably in all class activities.

Answer explanation

Play fosters social growth by encouraging interaction, allows role play for empathy and understanding, and integrates real-world learning, making lessons more relevant and engaging for students.

Which three of the following learner characteristics should teachers factor into instructional plans?

• Students’ variable participation in independent and collaborative activities

• Students’ persistence in working through challenging material

• Students’ attention span

• Students’ grades in the previous academic year

• Students’ performance on the latest benchmark exams

Answer explanation

The correct responses are A, B, and C. It focuses on observable student behavior that impacts their participation in learning activities, and which the teacher can address by modulating the presentation of information and the organization of class activities.

A grade 4 teacher uses whole-class discussions to ask questions about the lesson he has just presented. Several students never raise their hands and when he calls on them, they shrug their shoulders or they say “I don’t know.” The teacher knows that the students understand the material because their homework, seatwork, and quiz averages are strong. Which of the following strategies would best address the teacher’s goal to get the nonresponsive students to participate in whole-class discussions?

• Having more group discussions so that these students will not be overwhelmed by speaking in front of the whole class.

• Assigning participation grades each week based on the number of times students respond to questions throughout the week’s discussions.

• Allowing the unresponsive students to independently develop their abilities to speak confidently before the whole class.

• Asking the students to stay after class to discuss their reasons for not participating

Answer explanation

Having more group discussions allows nonresponsive students to participate in a less intimidating environment, encouraging them to engage without the pressure of speaking in front of the entire class.