Psy 212- Educational Psychology
Practice Test - Ch. 1
1) Use of the "common sense" approach to teaching is viewed by educational psychologists as
A) inappropriate unless supported by research.
B) the main factor that differentiates experts from novices.
C) more reliable than scientific judgments.
D) appropriate in most circumstances.
2) When findings in a given area repeatedly support the same conclusion, a(n) __________ can be derived.
3) Research that is designed to determine the relations between two variables is a(n) __________ study.
4) When a correlation coefficient of -0.80 is found between factor A and factor B, the most accurate
interpretation is that
A) there is a very weak relationship between the two factors.
B) a decrease in factor A is strongly related to an increase in factor B.
C) a decrease in factor A is strongly related to a decrease in factor B.
D) there is a significant relationship between the two factors.
5) Discuss the purposes and procedures of the discipline of educational psychology today. What are the
interests of educational psychology with regard to theory vs. application and learning vs. teaching?
6) According to the Woolfolk text, which of the following is true of expert teachers?
A) They have a limited and focused knowledge base.
B) They take more time to solve problems.
C) They deal with new events as if they were new problems.
D) They are more likely than novices to ignore students' wrong answers.
7) Discuss the problems or issues that most concern beginning teachers today. Which of those concerns
would be the most important to you personally? Explain your choice(s).
8) An explanation of how we remember things that we have learned is called a
A) correlation. B) construct. C) theory. D) principle.
9) A researcher who becomes a working member of a class over a period of time in order to record and gain
understanding of the class dynamics is a(n) __________.
10) Broad frameworks that attempt to explain relationships between sets of variables are called ________.
11) The major concern of new teachers is that their knowledge of their subjects is limited. A) T B) F
12) As teachers' experience grows, they tend to become more likely to judge their success by their students'
successes. A) T B) F
13) A theory is an explanation of occurrences in a given field. A) T B) F
14) Differentiate between expert and novice teachers with regard to the approaches they use to teach
knowledge of subject content. Use an example to illustrate how an expert and a novice teacher might
approach this type of teaching differently.
15) Findings considered statistically unlikely to have occurred by chance are described as __________.
16) A statistically significant result in experimental research indicates that the result is a true finding.
A) T B) F
1
, 17) Each person is given an equal opportunity to be in a treatment or control group by means of _______
sampling.
18) Most educators believe that teaching is an art that is incapable of being taught or learned. A) T B) F
19) he type of research that attempts to establish cause and effect relationships is a(n) __________ study.
20) When beginning teachers confront everyday classroom life, they often experience __________.
21) The "art vs. science" issue in teaching is probably best answered by the statement that teaching requires
A) the use of scientific methods. B) learned skills and creativity.
C) imagination and, therefore, is an art. D) the ability to learn and apply specific rules.
22) A case study is an investigation of
A) people from one geographic area. B) a small group of people with similar backgrounds.
C) different groups of people over a period of time. D) one person or group over a specific period of time.
23) A researcher concludes from his study that, on a typical school day, students spend only 50 percent of
their time engaged in learning. What specific type of research must have been conducted in order for this
conclusion to be valid?
A) Experimental B) Descriptive C) Participant-observer D) Single-subject design
24) A correlation coefficient indicates the
A) direction but not the strength of a relationship. B) strength but not the direction of a relationship.
C) strength and direction of a treatment effect. D) direction and strength of a relationship.
25) A researcher reports that students who have the highest test scores in school tend to be more involved
in extracurricular activities than are other students. What specific type of research study must have been
conducted? A) Descriptive B) Ethnographic C) Correlational D) Experimental
26) Research by Ogden, Brophy, and Evertson (1977) on selecting primary-grade students to read aloud
suggests that the best method is to
A) call on students at random. B) have students read as a group (choral response).
C) call on students in a prescribed order. D) ask for volunteers to read.
27) Principles are the product of consistency in research findings over time. A) T B) F
28) A correlation study indicates that teachers' interest in teaching and the amount of the day their students
are engaged in learning correlate at +0.46. This coefficient would indicate that
A) as teacher interest increases, engaged time tends to increase.
B) interest in teaching leads to a large increase in engaged time.
C) there is virtually no relationship between the two variables.
D) as teacher interest decreases, engaged time increases.
29) The study of the processes of teaching and learning is the focus of the discipline of __________.
30) When studies are based only on observations, the results should be expressed as
A) cause-and-effect relationships. B) theories. C) principles. D) descriptions.
31) What type of subject samples should researchers use for studies of cause-and-effect relationships?
A) Controlled samples B) Random samples C) Skilled samples D) Related samples
32) Differentiate between descriptive and experimental research orientations with regard to purpose,
methods, and the interpretation of results.
2
Practice Test - Ch. 1
1) Use of the "common sense" approach to teaching is viewed by educational psychologists as
A) inappropriate unless supported by research.
B) the main factor that differentiates experts from novices.
C) more reliable than scientific judgments.
D) appropriate in most circumstances.
2) When findings in a given area repeatedly support the same conclusion, a(n) __________ can be derived.
3) Research that is designed to determine the relations between two variables is a(n) __________ study.
4) When a correlation coefficient of -0.80 is found between factor A and factor B, the most accurate
interpretation is that
A) there is a very weak relationship between the two factors.
B) a decrease in factor A is strongly related to an increase in factor B.
C) a decrease in factor A is strongly related to a decrease in factor B.
D) there is a significant relationship between the two factors.
5) Discuss the purposes and procedures of the discipline of educational psychology today. What are the
interests of educational psychology with regard to theory vs. application and learning vs. teaching?
6) According to the Woolfolk text, which of the following is true of expert teachers?
A) They have a limited and focused knowledge base.
B) They take more time to solve problems.
C) They deal with new events as if they were new problems.
D) They are more likely than novices to ignore students' wrong answers.
7) Discuss the problems or issues that most concern beginning teachers today. Which of those concerns
would be the most important to you personally? Explain your choice(s).
8) An explanation of how we remember things that we have learned is called a
A) correlation. B) construct. C) theory. D) principle.
9) A researcher who becomes a working member of a class over a period of time in order to record and gain
understanding of the class dynamics is a(n) __________.
10) Broad frameworks that attempt to explain relationships between sets of variables are called ________.
11) The major concern of new teachers is that their knowledge of their subjects is limited. A) T B) F
12) As teachers' experience grows, they tend to become more likely to judge their success by their students'
successes. A) T B) F
13) A theory is an explanation of occurrences in a given field. A) T B) F
14) Differentiate between expert and novice teachers with regard to the approaches they use to teach
knowledge of subject content. Use an example to illustrate how an expert and a novice teacher might
approach this type of teaching differently.
15) Findings considered statistically unlikely to have occurred by chance are described as __________.
16) A statistically significant result in experimental research indicates that the result is a true finding.
A) T B) F
1
, 17) Each person is given an equal opportunity to be in a treatment or control group by means of _______
sampling.
18) Most educators believe that teaching is an art that is incapable of being taught or learned. A) T B) F
19) he type of research that attempts to establish cause and effect relationships is a(n) __________ study.
20) When beginning teachers confront everyday classroom life, they often experience __________.
21) The "art vs. science" issue in teaching is probably best answered by the statement that teaching requires
A) the use of scientific methods. B) learned skills and creativity.
C) imagination and, therefore, is an art. D) the ability to learn and apply specific rules.
22) A case study is an investigation of
A) people from one geographic area. B) a small group of people with similar backgrounds.
C) different groups of people over a period of time. D) one person or group over a specific period of time.
23) A researcher concludes from his study that, on a typical school day, students spend only 50 percent of
their time engaged in learning. What specific type of research must have been conducted in order for this
conclusion to be valid?
A) Experimental B) Descriptive C) Participant-observer D) Single-subject design
24) A correlation coefficient indicates the
A) direction but not the strength of a relationship. B) strength but not the direction of a relationship.
C) strength and direction of a treatment effect. D) direction and strength of a relationship.
25) A researcher reports that students who have the highest test scores in school tend to be more involved
in extracurricular activities than are other students. What specific type of research study must have been
conducted? A) Descriptive B) Ethnographic C) Correlational D) Experimental
26) Research by Ogden, Brophy, and Evertson (1977) on selecting primary-grade students to read aloud
suggests that the best method is to
A) call on students at random. B) have students read as a group (choral response).
C) call on students in a prescribed order. D) ask for volunteers to read.
27) Principles are the product of consistency in research findings over time. A) T B) F
28) A correlation study indicates that teachers' interest in teaching and the amount of the day their students
are engaged in learning correlate at +0.46. This coefficient would indicate that
A) as teacher interest increases, engaged time tends to increase.
B) interest in teaching leads to a large increase in engaged time.
C) there is virtually no relationship between the two variables.
D) as teacher interest decreases, engaged time increases.
29) The study of the processes of teaching and learning is the focus of the discipline of __________.
30) When studies are based only on observations, the results should be expressed as
A) cause-and-effect relationships. B) theories. C) principles. D) descriptions.
31) What type of subject samples should researchers use for studies of cause-and-effect relationships?
A) Controlled samples B) Random samples C) Skilled samples D) Related samples
32) Differentiate between descriptive and experimental research orientations with regard to purpose,
methods, and the interpretation of results.
2