NES Professional Knowledge
Elementary Education Test
Although Mr. Pierce has a few years of experience teaching sixth grade, he has been
assigned a second-grade class for the following year. He wants to plan ahead and
prepare lessons and units for his new students. Which of the following principles is the
most important to consider as he prepares his units?
a.
The major difference between sixth-grade students and second-grade students is their
physical size.
b.
Second-grade students are very different developmentally from sixth-grade students.
c.
Some second-grade students read as well as sixth-grade students.
d.
Sixth-grade students like to read books on topics that are very different from the topics
that second-grade students prefer. - ANSWER-b. Second-grade students are very
different developmentally from sixth-grade students.
Before going on a field trip to the recycling center the students had to research the
recycling process. Each student created a diagram that illustrated the process. After
completing the diagrams, the students went to the recycling center in town. The purpose
of going to the recycling center after the students made the diagrams is,
a.
To summarize the unit.
b.
To allow students to think about their own learning.
c.
To return the students' thinking to the classroom and the test that follows.
d.
To allow the students to make the connection between their current skills and those that
are new to them. - ANSWER-d. To allow the students to make the connection between
their current skills and those that are new to them.
Define Piaget's Stages of development
- Sensorimotor
- Pre-operational
- Concrete Operational
- Formal Operations - ANSWER-- Sensorimotor
Coordination of senses with motor response, sensory curiosity about the world. Object
permanence developed.
, - Pre-operational
Symbolic thinking, use of proper syntax and grammar to express full concepts.
Imagination and intuition strong, complex thought still difficult. Conservation developed.
- Concrete Operational
Concepts attached to concrete situations. Time, space, and quantity understood and
can be applied, but not as independent concepts.
- Formal Operations
Theoretical, hypothetical, and counterfactual thinking. Abstract logic and reasoning.
Strategy and planning become possible. Concepts learned in one context can be
applied to another.
During a unit on Native American Cultures, a field trip is planned for all of the sixth
grade students. The students were allowed to choose between visiting Wupatki,
Montezuma Castle, or Hopi Mesa. Whatever the choice, the students would be
responsible for taking notes about their experience and sharing those notes with the
class the following day.
The field trip:
I. Allowed students to make a connection between their current skills and new
experiences.
II. Allowed the teachers to obtain a summative assessment on how much the students
learned during the unit.
III. Allowed students to be part of a learning community.
IV. Allowed the students to take responsibility for their own learning.
a.
I, III, and IV only.
b.
III only.
c.
IV only.
d.
III and IV only. - ANSWER-a. I, II, and IV only
In Mr. Hamlet's fifth-grade science class, the students observed a demonstration of how
water is heated and evaporates, condenses and turns back into a liquid. The
experiment is more effective than merely displaying a diagram of the water cycle
because his fifth-grade students are at what stage of development?
a.
Piaget's sensorimotor stage.
b.
Piaget's concrete operational stage.
c.
Elementary Education Test
Although Mr. Pierce has a few years of experience teaching sixth grade, he has been
assigned a second-grade class for the following year. He wants to plan ahead and
prepare lessons and units for his new students. Which of the following principles is the
most important to consider as he prepares his units?
a.
The major difference between sixth-grade students and second-grade students is their
physical size.
b.
Second-grade students are very different developmentally from sixth-grade students.
c.
Some second-grade students read as well as sixth-grade students.
d.
Sixth-grade students like to read books on topics that are very different from the topics
that second-grade students prefer. - ANSWER-b. Second-grade students are very
different developmentally from sixth-grade students.
Before going on a field trip to the recycling center the students had to research the
recycling process. Each student created a diagram that illustrated the process. After
completing the diagrams, the students went to the recycling center in town. The purpose
of going to the recycling center after the students made the diagrams is,
a.
To summarize the unit.
b.
To allow students to think about their own learning.
c.
To return the students' thinking to the classroom and the test that follows.
d.
To allow the students to make the connection between their current skills and those that
are new to them. - ANSWER-d. To allow the students to make the connection between
their current skills and those that are new to them.
Define Piaget's Stages of development
- Sensorimotor
- Pre-operational
- Concrete Operational
- Formal Operations - ANSWER-- Sensorimotor
Coordination of senses with motor response, sensory curiosity about the world. Object
permanence developed.
, - Pre-operational
Symbolic thinking, use of proper syntax and grammar to express full concepts.
Imagination and intuition strong, complex thought still difficult. Conservation developed.
- Concrete Operational
Concepts attached to concrete situations. Time, space, and quantity understood and
can be applied, but not as independent concepts.
- Formal Operations
Theoretical, hypothetical, and counterfactual thinking. Abstract logic and reasoning.
Strategy and planning become possible. Concepts learned in one context can be
applied to another.
During a unit on Native American Cultures, a field trip is planned for all of the sixth
grade students. The students were allowed to choose between visiting Wupatki,
Montezuma Castle, or Hopi Mesa. Whatever the choice, the students would be
responsible for taking notes about their experience and sharing those notes with the
class the following day.
The field trip:
I. Allowed students to make a connection between their current skills and new
experiences.
II. Allowed the teachers to obtain a summative assessment on how much the students
learned during the unit.
III. Allowed students to be part of a learning community.
IV. Allowed the students to take responsibility for their own learning.
a.
I, III, and IV only.
b.
III only.
c.
IV only.
d.
III and IV only. - ANSWER-a. I, II, and IV only
In Mr. Hamlet's fifth-grade science class, the students observed a demonstration of how
water is heated and evaporates, condenses and turns back into a liquid. The
experiment is more effective than merely displaying a diagram of the water cycle
because his fifth-grade students are at what stage of development?
a.
Piaget's sensorimotor stage.
b.
Piaget's concrete operational stage.
c.
