Last revised: June 2000

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SET A (Dr. Huitt)

Note: Pages in brackets without a reference refer to Gage & Berliner (6th ed.); other references refer to materials available at the copy center in the Education Center. Additional materials (overviews, Power Point presentations, web links) related to these questions are available by selecting the appropriate link.  There are Power Point presentations with audio available on WebCT [select PSYC 7020; id = guest7020; pswd = psyc7020].

1. Draw and discuss a model of the teaching-learning process. Name and define each of the categories of variables in your model and identify some of the research that has been used to build the model. (Be certain to identify the source of your model.) [28-35; SHS CHAPS 1 & 2; Cruickshank; McIlrath & Huitt, 1995]
   
2. Define operant learning and give original examples of four different methods for altering behavior using this theory. Discuss how this theory can be applied to the teaching- learning process, including how the Premack principle can be used to determine reinforcers. Additionally, name and define each of the schedules of reinforcement, and give an example of each kind as it might be used in the classroom. [214-233]
   
3. Define and differentiate the stage, levels-of-processing, parallel distributed processing, and connectionist models of information processing. Draw and discuss the information-processing model of memory and give an example of how it works. Discuss the kinds of stimuli likely to arouse the orienting response and describe how short-term memory and long-term memory operate. Discuss some principles for getting information into both types of memory. How might these principles be implemented to improve instruction? [258-311]
   
4. Suppose you were asked to give a talk to parents and educators on the topic "Can IQ scores be raised?" You are asked to discuss both the hereditarian and environmental aspects of the issue. What would your arguments be for both a strong hereditarian position and a strong environmentalist position? Be certain to give specific suggestions from an environmentalist perspective on how IQ could be raised. [49-95]
   
5. Describe intellectual development according to Piaget, including a discussion of both the process and the stages of development. Note behavioral characteristics of each stage, describing how assimilation and accommodation are exemplified for each stage of development. Describe specific actions that teachers can take to incorporate Piaget's theory into the classroom. Compare Piaget's theory to Vygotsky's sociohistorical theory of cognitive development. [96-109, 111-118]
   
6. Name and define five values you believe are especially important for students in the 21st century. Support your proposal with research, theory, and statements about the requirements of being successful in an information age economy. How would you recommend educators go about teaching those values? Be specific. Which approach would you use for each value? Give examples of how you would do this. 
   
7. Name and describe Erikson's theory of psychosocial development. Note behaviors associated with each stage and the implications of the theory for classroom practice. Evaluate the theory--that is, what evidence exists for its validation or what evidence would lead you to reject it? Compare Erikson's theory to that proposed by Bingham and Stryker for female development. [127-130]
   
8. Discuss social learning theory and the social cognitive theory of learning. Define Bandura's and Vygotsky's viewpoints on the importance of the social context of learning and development. Define conation, describe how it works and how it might develop. How does goal-setting impact conation and learning? How does conation relate to self-regulation and self-control? What can educators do to help students develop conation? [111-114, 234-250, 255, 277-278, 314-315]
   
9. Define learning and compare and contrast the factors that behavioral, cognitive, humanisitc, and social cognitive theorists believe influence the learning process. Mention ways in which the theories are alike and ways in which they are different. Discuss how these theories can impact your role as a professional educator. [review relevant objectives above]
   
10. Define motivation and discuss why a concept like motivation is or is not necessary in a model of teaching and learning and human behavior. If it is necessary to what aspects of learning might it apply? Discuss how the concepts of underachievement and overachievement might be related to motivation. [312-362]
    
11. Define and discuss academic learning time and how it might be improved? (be specific about whether the proposed changes relate to the school or to the classroom; if to the classroom, whether they relate to planning, instruction, or management). [555-562; SHS CHAP 1, 2]

SET B (Dr. Hummel) [with links to Dr. Huitt's materials; also refer to Dr. Hummel's handouts]

1. Bandura's theory of observational learning should be especially important to educators who are concerned with students acquiring specific academic and social skills.

A. Describe Bandura's theory of observational learning including the concepts of: inhibition, disinhibition, vicarious reinforcement/punishment, and the four phases of observational learning ("AReRepMo").

B. Contrast Bandura's theory with operant conditioning on at least three points.

C. Develop a scenario with an introductory student in your subject. Write one or two objectives for the skill the student must learn, and explain how you would use Bandura's four phases of observational learning to teach the student the skill(s).

2. Using what you have learned about objectives, tests/assessments ("A test is a systematic process used to measure a sample of students' performance that is evaluated against standards and norms"), and the relationship(s) that must exist between tests and objectives, describe the various methods you would assess a group of public school students enrolled in a class you are teaching (provide a background scenario of the class). In your answer be certain to focus on how your assessments address the measurement issues of validity and reliability, and tap the levels of the taxonomy of cognitive objectives.

3. Information processing is concerned with memory and learning. Educators are concerned with how to make (in their teaching) content easier for students to learn, and to make learned information easily accessible/retrievable. We discussed many methods designed to improve memory: hierarchic organization; outlines, key words and phrases; increasing meaningfulness; active recitation; bimodal processing (Pavio); Bransford's theory on the similarity between teaching/testing environments; distributed vs. massed practice; mnemonics, etc. Describe how teachers can: (a) use these methods within-and-across lessons in their presentations to students; and (b) what a teacher could do to insure that students, too, practice and use these methods when studying (i.e., how can teachers get students to do them).

4. Researchers have identified several types of self-concept including personal/general and academic (academic has several subtypes such as math and English). Research shows that there are definite relationships between academic performance and self-concepts. Unfortunately, most lay people, and too many educators, misunderstand the relationships that exist between students' self-concepts and their academic achievement.

A. Describe the relationship(s) between achievement and self-concept, and address the issue of teachers being responsible for improving students' self-esteem and self-concept.

B. Explain how a teacher's philosophical orientation (humanistic, cognitive, behavioral) is related to how the teacher promotes students' self-concept.

5. In education today, there are multiple issues involving bilingualism and acceptance of English dialects including non-standard English.

A. Describe how bilingual programs are typically perceived in education today, and how we teach (1) non-native speakers English, and (2) how we teach native English speaking students a foreign language.

B. Explain why acceptance of non-standard English (opposed to standard) in education may place students in jeopardy from social and economic perspectives.

6. Describe three of the many ways standardized test results are reported and explain how a teacher can use these derived scores to interpret the meaning of the results to students/parents.

7. Formal assessment, to many educators, means "exams," though this is an incomplete description. A test is "a systematic process used to measure a sample of students' performance that is evaluated against standards and norms."

A. Analyze the components of the definition.

B. Describe the relationship(s) that should exist between teachers' assessments and objectives.

C. Describe two differences between select (objective) and supply (non-objective) test items.

1. Compare/contrast (using at least two dimensions) three types of objective items.

2. Describe the difference between the two types of supply items.

D. Objective items can be written to tap into ALL levels of Bloom's taxonomy (knowledge through evaluation), though the vast majority of objective test items reflect the knowledge and comprehension levels. Even if teachers used objective items that did reflect all levels of the taxonomy, teachers do their students a disservice by overusing such items. Explain why all teachers at all levels should regularly use supply questions in addition to select ones.

8. Many educators and psychologists believe that intrinsic motivation (or intrinsic reinforcement) is superior to extrinsic motivation/reinforcement. Describe the difference(s) between the two types of motivation, and explain how what is called intrinsic motivation can be (a) a product of extrinsic, or (b) an example of extrinsic motivation.

9. Piaget's descriptive theory of intellectual development has many implications for education, especially with respect to what students can most readily learn at various levels/ages which ought to affect what/how we teach them.

(a) List/describe (no more than five sentences per stage) the stages of intellectual development associated with Piaget's theory.

(b) Describe the relationship between intelligence and Piaget's constructs of: assimilation, accommodation, schemes, structures, and operations.

(c) Write four objectives that are appropriate to the grade-and-course you teach, identify which level of Bloom's Taxonomy each objective is associated with, and explain why the objective is associated with that level.

10. Compare and contrast Behavioral Objectives, Instructional Objectives, and Educational Goals/ Objectives. Explain why Behavioral Objectives can be more valuable to teachers and students than either of the other two types. Describe the features of all good Behavioral Objectives (hint: "ABCD"). Write a behavioral objective for a lesson you teach in one of your classes, and develop TWO test items for the objectives that reflects the application, analysis, synthesis, or evaluation levels of Bloom's taxonomy (specify which level the item taps). Accompany each test item with an explanation that shows how the item directly relates to the particular objective, and why it "taps" that particular level of Bloom's Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain..

11. Describe the difference(s) between teaching (as in public schools) and learning (as in colleges) environments. Explain why making K-12 TOO much like a learning environment might not be educationally/psychologically sound. Also, describe cooperative learning and show how the method can be a productive linkage between the teaching and learning environments in grades K-12.

12. Develop a scenario for your school setting in which one or more students are exhibiting either an academic or social misbehavior. Describe the general steps associated with a behavior modification program. Then describe exactly (step-by-step with an appropriate rationale) how you would change this behavior. Points to include (this is NOT an exhaustive listing): single subject design; how you would measure the behavior(s); the specific procedure(s) you would employ; how you would evaluate the effectiveness of the program; and schedules of reinforcement used.

13. Perhaps the most common manner schools employ to accommodate student differences is ability grouping. Describe the different types of ability grouping and evaluate its role in our schools. Describe and evaluate (using the five dimensions of Carroll's theory of learning and instruction) at least 2 other ways teachers can accommodate individual differences in K-12 classes.