PSYC 7010: LEARNING AND ASSESSMENT
Possible Comprehensive Exam Questions
Last revised: March 2001
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The following set of possible comprehensive exam questions are provided for those faculty who may require a question from this course (e.g., Art Education, Music Education, Vocational Education). Students should be prepared to answer any question from this list. You may narrow the list for particular students, provide alternatives from which the student would select at the time of the test, or simply pick one of these questions as you see fit.
Links are provided to materials that will assist students in
their preparation for the exam. Pages in brackets without a reference refer to
Gage & Berliner (6th ed.); other references refer to materials available at
the copy center in the
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.)
2. 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). To which theoretical approach to learning is the concept of ALT most closely linked?
3. 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.
4. Define and differentiate the stage, levels-of-processing, parallel distributed processing, and connectionist models of information processing. Draw and discuss the stage 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?
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.
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 this theory to that developed by Bingham and Stryker as it relates to the development of girls and women.
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?
9. Define learning and compare and contrast the factors that behavioral, cognitive, humanisitic, 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.