WGU D658 Planning Instructional Strategies for Meaningful
Learning Exam Prep | Complete Practice QUESTIONs, Answers
& Detailed Explanations 2026/2027
QUESTION 1
When a teacher applies Wiggins and McTighe's Backward Design
model, what is the initial step that must be completed before selecting
instructional materials or planning classroom activities?
A. Creating summative multiple-choice exams
B. Identifying desired results and enduring understandings
C. Scheduling classroom seating arrangements
D. Establishing daily behavior reward charts
Correct Answer: B. Identifying desired results and enduring
understandings
Detailed Rationale: Stage 1 of Backward Design requires educators to
determine what students should know, understand, and be able to do
before designing assessments or instructional lessons.
QUESTION 2
During Stage 2 of the Backward Design process, what must an educator
establish prior to designing daily learning activities?
A. The textbook publisher's profit margins
B. Acceptable evidence of learning through formative and summative
assessments
,C. The exact color scheme for classroom bulletin boards
D. The final semester grade point averages
Correct Answer: B. Acceptable evidence of learning through formative
and summative assessments
Detailed Rationale: Stage 2 focuses on determining how teachers will
verify student mastery and assess whether the desired learning
outcomes from Stage 1 have been achieved.
QUESTION 3
What is the primary purpose of Stage 3 in the Backward Design model?
A. Administering standardized state board exams
B. Writing state curriculum frameworks
C. Planning learning experiences, instructional strategies, and daily
lessons
D. Finalizing student graduation eligibility
Correct Answer: C. Planning learning experiences, instructional
strategies, and daily lessons
Detailed Rationale: Stage 3 involves designing the actual instructional
activities, teaching methods, and practice opportunities that prepare
students to succeed on the assessments established in Stage 2.
QUESTION 4
An educator uses points systems, positive reinforcement, and repetitive
drill-and-practice software to help students master basic arithmetic
facts. Which learning theory is being applied?
,A. Constructivism
B. Behaviorism
C. Connectivism
D. Humanism
Correct Answer: B. Behaviorism
Detailed Rationale: Behaviorism focuses on observable behaviors
shaped through external stimuli, reinforcement schedules, and
repetitive practice drills.
QUESTION 5
A science instructor helps students connect new ecological concepts to
their existing mental frameworks (schemas) regarding local watersheds.
Which learning theory guides this approach?
A. Behaviorism
B. Cognitivism
C. Classical conditioning
D. Rote memorization
Correct Answer: B. Cognitivism
Detailed Rationale: Cognitivism examines internal mental processes,
information processing, schema development, and how the brain stores
and retrieves knowledge.
QUESTION 6
, Students in a social studies class work collaboratively in small groups to
investigate primary source documents and construct their own
historical explanations. Which learning theory underpins this activity?
A. Constructivism
B. Behaviorism
C. Direct instruction conditioning
D. Connectivism
Correct Answer: A. Constructivism
Detailed Rationale: Constructivism posits that learners actively
construct knowledge and meaning from their experiences and
collaborative interactions rather than absorbing information passively.
QUESTION 7
An online professional development course encourages participants to
build personal learning networks (PLNs) by connecting digital nodes,
blogs, and databases across the internet. Which learning theory is
demonstrated?
A. Behaviorism
B. Connectivism
C. Cognitivism
D. Psychoanalysis
Correct Answer: B. Connectivism
Learning Exam Prep | Complete Practice QUESTIONs, Answers
& Detailed Explanations 2026/2027
QUESTION 1
When a teacher applies Wiggins and McTighe's Backward Design
model, what is the initial step that must be completed before selecting
instructional materials or planning classroom activities?
A. Creating summative multiple-choice exams
B. Identifying desired results and enduring understandings
C. Scheduling classroom seating arrangements
D. Establishing daily behavior reward charts
Correct Answer: B. Identifying desired results and enduring
understandings
Detailed Rationale: Stage 1 of Backward Design requires educators to
determine what students should know, understand, and be able to do
before designing assessments or instructional lessons.
QUESTION 2
During Stage 2 of the Backward Design process, what must an educator
establish prior to designing daily learning activities?
A. The textbook publisher's profit margins
B. Acceptable evidence of learning through formative and summative
assessments
,C. The exact color scheme for classroom bulletin boards
D. The final semester grade point averages
Correct Answer: B. Acceptable evidence of learning through formative
and summative assessments
Detailed Rationale: Stage 2 focuses on determining how teachers will
verify student mastery and assess whether the desired learning
outcomes from Stage 1 have been achieved.
QUESTION 3
What is the primary purpose of Stage 3 in the Backward Design model?
A. Administering standardized state board exams
B. Writing state curriculum frameworks
C. Planning learning experiences, instructional strategies, and daily
lessons
D. Finalizing student graduation eligibility
Correct Answer: C. Planning learning experiences, instructional
strategies, and daily lessons
Detailed Rationale: Stage 3 involves designing the actual instructional
activities, teaching methods, and practice opportunities that prepare
students to succeed on the assessments established in Stage 2.
QUESTION 4
An educator uses points systems, positive reinforcement, and repetitive
drill-and-practice software to help students master basic arithmetic
facts. Which learning theory is being applied?
,A. Constructivism
B. Behaviorism
C. Connectivism
D. Humanism
Correct Answer: B. Behaviorism
Detailed Rationale: Behaviorism focuses on observable behaviors
shaped through external stimuli, reinforcement schedules, and
repetitive practice drills.
QUESTION 5
A science instructor helps students connect new ecological concepts to
their existing mental frameworks (schemas) regarding local watersheds.
Which learning theory guides this approach?
A. Behaviorism
B. Cognitivism
C. Classical conditioning
D. Rote memorization
Correct Answer: B. Cognitivism
Detailed Rationale: Cognitivism examines internal mental processes,
information processing, schema development, and how the brain stores
and retrieves knowledge.
QUESTION 6
, Students in a social studies class work collaboratively in small groups to
investigate primary source documents and construct their own
historical explanations. Which learning theory underpins this activity?
A. Constructivism
B. Behaviorism
C. Direct instruction conditioning
D. Connectivism
Correct Answer: A. Constructivism
Detailed Rationale: Constructivism posits that learners actively
construct knowledge and meaning from their experiences and
collaborative interactions rather than absorbing information passively.
QUESTION 7
An online professional development course encourages participants to
build personal learning networks (PLNs) by connecting digital nodes,
blogs, and databases across the internet. Which learning theory is
demonstrated?
A. Behaviorism
B. Connectivism
C. Cognitivism
D. Psychoanalysis
Correct Answer: B. Connectivism
