Hoff, Ashton

Name:_________________

1
Date:______________

True/False
Directions: Read the statement completely and determine if the statement is true or false.
In the blank provided, write True for a true statement and False for a false statement.
Write your answer in the blank provided. Each True/False question is worth 3 points.
The True/False section is worth a total of 15 points.
Learning Outcome: Develop a repertoire of teaching strategies and material that are
designed to be meaningful, integrative inquiry-orientate, value based, challenging, active
and geared for students abilities and needs.
___________ 1. A good way for students to compare two differing opinions of
historians is by using a Structured Academic Controversy
Correct Answer: True; a Structured Academic Controversy is a strategy of teaching
students, where a teacher allows students to compare two different historical perspectives
to the same question. It allows students to see differing opinions to the same problem
and go about doing history. It is designed to add inquiry into the teaching of history.
Blooms Taxonomy:
Knowledge, Comprehension; This question represents the lower levels on
Blooms Taxonomy because it requires students to know specific facts and recall
them demonstrating the knowledge category. In addition, students demonstrate
comprehension by understanding the concept and how it can be used in the
classroom. Students have to understand what the two different opinions of
historians are called and represented.
Wiggins and McTighe:
Explanation: students have to provide an account of the facts and data. It is
broad general knowledge application without students moving to deeper
understandings by making the question personal, or using the concepts in any new
and different way.
Rules Followed:
Keep the statement short and use simple vocabulary and sentence structure
Avoid trivial statements
Use negative statements sparingly and avoid double negatives
Include only one central idea in each statement
Avoid extraneous clues to the answer
True statements and false statements should be approximately equal in length
The number of true statements and false statements should be approximately
equal
Why Meaningful?

Hoff, Ashton

This question is meaningful because the Structured Academic Controversy is an

important strategy that teachers can use to demonstrate differing points of view
amongst historians. This allows students to see that history isnt as black and
white as they may have thought and develop their own opinion about certain
historical debates.

Learning Outcome: Develop a repertoire of teaching strategies and material that are
designed to be meaningful, integrative inquiry-orientated, value based, challenging,
active and geared for students abilities and needs.
___________ 2. An example of History Alive! Technique is the Teaching U.S. History
as Mystery strategy.
Correct Answer: False; History Alive! is an approach to teaching history that involves
students become more engaged in history. This approach advocates strategies such as
Interactive notebooks, response groups, visual discovery, and much more but not
Teaching U.S. History as Mystery. Instead History as Mystery is a separate strategy
designed to increase historical inquiry by encouraging students to see history as a
mystery they must uncover and solve.
Blooms Taxonomy:
Knowledge, Comprehension: students are asked to demonstrate the basic recall
of specific facts about the history alive techniques. They are required to have
memorized the various history alive strategies and realize that Teaching History
as Mystery is not one of them. Because students are asked to distinguish the
Teaching History as Mystery as a separate strategy from History Alive they move
into the Comprehension domain of Blooms.
Wiggins and McTighe:
Explanation: this question requires students to use only the first facet of
understanding because they are asked to provide the answer to specific facts. It
falls under broad knowledge and doesnt move deeper into Wiggins and McTighe
Rules Followed:
Keep the statement short and use simple vocabulary and sentence structure
Use negative statements sparingly and avoid double negatives
Avoid extraneous clues to the answer
True statements and false statements should be approximately equal in length
The number of true statements and false statements should be approximately
equal
Why Meaningful?
The History Alive strategies have been used effectively in a variety of classroom
settings. They have been tested by other teachers and are proven to make history
more engaging for students. Therefore it is good for all beginning teachers to

Hoff, Ashton

know what they are and how they can be used in their own classroom to engage
their students.
Learning Outcome: Utilize appropriately a range of technologies within the social
studies classroom to encourage historical inquiry and the doing of social studies
___________ 3. The difference between a blog and a wiki is that a wiki can be edited by
people freely.
Correct Answer: True; a wiki is an online technology that allows those who are part of
the wiki to edit its content freely making changes as they see fit. This is a tool such as
wikipedia. A blog however, is registered to a specific user and while others can view and
comment on the blogs content, they are not allowed to make changes and edits, even if
they are followers of the blog.
Blooms Taxonomy:
Knowledge, Comprehension: Students are required to recall the definition of
what a blog and a wiki and distinguish the difference. This requires them to use
their knowledge of the subject to define the answers and their comprehension to
determine the difference.
Wiggins and McTighe:
Explanation, Interpretation: Students demonstrate they can explain the concept
by providing a supported account of the facts (knowing the difference between a
blog and a wiki). In addition, students are interpreting this data by applying it to a
real world situation. The difference is that a wiki is available for anyone to edit,
including themselves.
Rules Followed:
Avoid trivial statements
Keep the statements short and use simple vocabulary and sentence structure
Use negative statements and avoid double negatives
Avoid extraneous clues to the answers
True statements and false statements should be approximately equal in length
Why Meaningful?
Both blogs and wikis are two tools that a teacher can use in their classroom to
reach an increasingly digital youth. It would be unreasonable for teachers to stifle
creative of student projects by not allowing them to explore these new
technological developments. In addition teachers must understand what these
concepts mean to fully appreciate how they can be used in their own classrooms.
Learning Outcome: Reflect and Re-evaluate ones own biographic conceptions of
learning and teaching history and social science

Hoff, Ashton

___________ 4. The purpose of INTASC is a national organization designed to provide

leadership and service to Social Studies
Correct Answer: False; INTASC is a set of ten standards for evaluating an interns
performance in a way that allows reflection upon their experience. In addition INTASC
is used in a variety of contents not specifically Social Studies. Although used nationally,
it is used to evaluate all kinds of internships not simply those in Social Studies or
education.
Blooms Taxonomy:
Knowledge, Comprehension: Students are asked to recall the facts about what
INTASC is and extend their knowledge to how it is used. They are required to
explain that while INTASC is used national, students must distinguish that it is
not used solely in Social Studies but in a variety of other contents.
Wiggins and McTighe:
Explanation: Students only delve into the very first facet of understanding in this
question because they are required to simply recall facts about INTASC without
explaining its personal uses or any of the other criteria to go deeper into the
facets. Students instead must only explain INTASC, nothing deeper.
Rules Followed:
True statements and false statements should be approximately equal in length
The number of true statements and false statements should be approximately
equal
Avoid extraneous clues
Include only one central idea in each statement
Use negative statements sparingly and avoid double negatives
Why Meaningful?
INTASC is what students use to guide their internship and develop a portfolio of
their work. It is important that students recognize what INTASC is what its goals
are, before they can effectively use this to reflect upon their work.
Learning Outcome: Identify, evaluate, and utilize various forms of assessment
___________ 5. One of the purposes of assessing students is to monitor a students
progress
Correct Answer: True, assessing students allows teachers the opportunity to determine if
a student is moving forward or backward in the classroom. This is one of the most
important reasons teachers assess students because it allows the teachers to guide student
learning and ensure that the learning objectives are being met.
Blooms Taxonomy:

Hoff, Ashton

Knowledge: this question is designed to test what students know about the
purpose of assessment they are asked to identify that this is a purpose of assessing
students without going a step beyond anything other than memorizing. Therefore
this question relies solely on the lowest level of Blooms levels.

Wiggins and McTighe:

Explanation: students are required to have a broad knowledge of the purposes of
assessment and to recall these facts for this particular question. They are not
required to move deeper because this question is in no way personal or takes on a
point of view of another; instead it focuses completely on the students ability to
recall data.
Rules Followed:
Include only one central idea in each statement
Use negative statements sparingly and avoid double negatives
Avoid extraneous clues to the answers
Avoid trivial statements
Keep the statement short and use simple vocabulary and sentence structure
Why Meaningful?
Assessing students is one of the most important jobs a teacher can do, because it
allows both the teacher and the student to see their progress and what they need to
review. Beginning teachers, especially, need to recognize the purposes of
assessment so they can defend why they assess and develop a method of grading
their students.

Hoff, Ashton

Multiple Choice
Directions: Read each question and all the answers thoroughly and then identify the
choice that best completes the statement or answers the questions below. For each
question there is only one correct answer. Place the correct answer (A-D) in capital
letters in the box provided next to each numbered question. Each multiple choice
question will be worth a total of 3 points. The entire multiple choice section is worth 15
points.

Learning Outcomes: Develop a repertoire of teaching strategies and material that are
designed to be meaningful, integrative inquiry-orientate, value based, challenging, active
and geared for students abilities and needs.
1. Which of the following is a History Alive! Strategy designed to illicit
quality whole class discussion, by giving students the confidence to
participate?
a. Visual Discovery
b. Experiential Exercises
c. Response Groups
d. Interactive Notebooks
Correct Answer: C; Response groups is the correct answer because it the only one of
these specifically created to give students confidence to participate in whole class
discussion. The other strategies are all part of history alive but they rely more on
students individual knowledge rather than a group discussion.
Blooms Taxonomy:
Knowledge, Comprehension: Students are required to know the definition,
description of the above strategies and identify them. In addition it covers
comprehension because they are required to distinguish a particular strategy
from the list. For these reasons this question is designed to test only the
lowest levels of understanding.
Wiggins and McTighe:
Explanation, Interpretation: Students have to recall specific facts about
each of the strategies and then think about the real world application of that
strategy in the classroom. They have to know the definition but then also
show how these ideas can be used in the classroom
Rules Followed:
Avoid using the alternative all of the above and use none of the above
with extreme caution
The relative length of the correct answer should not provide a clue to the
answer
All distracters should be plausible and attractive to the uninformed

Hoff, Ashton

An item should contain only one correct or clearly best answer

Put as much wording as possible in the stem of the item
Design each item to measure an important learning outcome

Why Meaningful?
The History Alive strategies have been used in a variety of classroom setting with
success. Response groups is a great way to overcome the problems usually faced
with traditional classroom discussionstudent reluctance because they dont feel
confident in their answers. Teachers have to have a plan to overcome these issues
and response groups are one way to do this.
Learning Outcomes: Examine major curricular and instructional issues in social studies
(history and social science education)

2. According to Harry Wong, which of the following is advocated as a

classroom management strategy?
a. Historical inquiry
b. Non-verbal cues
c. Incorrect modeling
d. Threats
Correct Answer: B; Harry Wong advocates the use of non-verbal cues in his writings as
an effective classroom management strategy. This allows students to know they need to
stop the inappropriate behavior without embarrassing or calling too much attention to
them. The other answers are clearly wrong because they advocate either inappropriate
actions according to wrong or are not a classroom management strategy at all.
Blooms Taxonomy:
Knowledge, Comprehension: This question tests what students recall about
classroom management by knowing specific facts. In addition they must distinguish
wrong answers from the correct response, requiring them to extend their thinking into
the second step in the Taxonomy
Wiggins and McTighe:
Explanation: The question only requires students to know the data, in other words
what does Harry Wong say without any other facets of understanding. Students just
have to spit back the data they learned about the classroom management strategy.
Rules Followed:
Avoid using the alternative all of the above and use none of the above
with extreme caution
The relative length of the correct answer should not provide a clue to the
answer
All distracters should be plausible and attractive to the uninformed
Put as much wording as possible in the stem of the item

Hoff, Ashton

Design each item to measure an important learning outcome

State the stem of the item in simple, clear language

Why Meaningful?
Effective classroom management is something that all teachers have to have in
their classrooms. Without the teacher having a certain amount of control over the
classroom they are unable to teach the content the students need. It is vital for all
teachers to understand what good ways to deter behavior are and what strategies
are not successful to be a great teacher.
Learning Outcomes: Develop a repertoire of teaching strategies and material that are
designed to be meaningful, integrative inquiry-orientate, value based, challenging, active
and geared for students abilities and needs.

3. This strategy that uses examples, non-examples, and attributes to reach a

definition is known as:
a. 3-2-1 Processor
b. Think Aloud
c. Diamond 9
d. Concept Attainment
Correct Answer: D; this strategy is explicitly laid out in the stem of this question with
the examples, non examples and is used when trying to reach a definition. The other
answers all detail other strategies and none of them specifically deal with reaching a
definition like concept attainments do.
Blooms Taxonomy:
Knowledge, Comprehension: In the above question students have to identify the
following strategies and recall their definition. In addition students must use their
comprehension skills by understanding why the other answers are not the correct
choice; because they have to distinguish the right answer from the wrong they
enter these two domains of understanding.
Wiggins and McTighe:
Explanation: Students only have to use this facet of understanding because they
are supporting their answer with facts and data they had previously learned. They
dont make the question personal or apply it to a new situation.
Rules Followed:
Put as much wording as possible in the stem of the item
State the stem in simple, clear language
Present a clearly formulated problem in the stem of the item
Design each item to measure an important learning outcome
All distracters should be plausible and attractive to the uninformed

Hoff, Ashton

Avoid using the alternative all of the above and use none of the above with
extreme caution
Why Meaningful?
Concept attainment is a great strategy when introducing new, difficult vocabulary
because it allows students to guide their own learning by examining both the true
examples of the concept and what it is not. This is a great way for teachers to
allow students to learn a new concept.

Learning Outcomes: Develop a repertoire of teaching strategies and material that are
designed to be meaningful, integrative inquiry-orientate, value based, challenging, active
and geared for students abilities and needs.

4. Which of these strategies is used to allow students to prioritize a list of

events?
a. Causation Cards
b. Diamond 9
c. 3-2-1 Processor
d. Think Alouds
Correct Answer: B; Diamond 9s are a strategy teachers can use when students have a
list of concepts that they wish to prioritize. The other answers are incorrect because they
are not used to specifically prioritize. Think Alouds are used to model metacognition, 32-1 processors help students process new information, and causation cards are used to
show the causes of a Revolution. Since none of these are used to prioritize diamond 9 is
the correct response.
Blooms Taxonomy:
Knowledge and Comprehension: Students use their knowledge by knowing the
basic definition of these four strategies. They then are asked to use their
comprehension when they must distinguish the difference between the four and
pick out the correct choice.
Wiggins and McTighe:
Explanation: Students are only using the basic recalls of the facts. They are not
required to do any of the understandings that would take them deeper into the
facets of understanding. They simply have to know the definition of the strategies
and memorize them; there is no application or adapting a point of view.
Rules Followed:
Design each item to measure an important learning outcome
Put as much of the wording as possible in the stem of the item
An item should contain only one correct or clearly best answer
All distracters should be plausible and attractive to the uninformed
The relative length of the correct answer should not provide a clue to the answer

Hoff, Ashton

10

Why Meaningful?
A Diamond 9 is one of the best tools a teacher can use to allow students to
prioritize their thoughts. If students are presented with a list of items it is often
complicated for them to list what information they find relevant vs. that
information that is irrelevant. Diamond 9s can help this process by allowing
students this scaffold to guide their thinking.
Learning Outcomes: Develop a repertoire of teaching strategies and material that are
designed to be meaningful, integrative inquiry-orientate, value based, challenging, active
and geared for students abilities and needs.
5. Which of these History Alive! Strategies encourages students to experience
key social studies concepts with short memorable activities
a. Experiential Exercises
b. Response Groups
c. Visual Discovery
d. Social Studies Skill Builder
Correct Answer: A; History Alive uses experiential to create short memorable activities
where students use physical movements to experience the emotions of a moment in social
studies. Response Groups and Social Studies Skill Builders are designed to extend
student thinking in other ways while Visual Discovery involves specific images. For
these reasons response A is the best.
Blooms Taxonomy:
Knowledge, Comprehension: Students have to know the History Alive
techniques to correctly answer this question, and know the basic definition and
explanation of each strategy. They must choose the right choice from the other
plausible answers and recall what each strategy does.
Wiggins and McTighe:
Explanation: The main reason that this falls into the first facet of understanding
only is that students are not asked to make a personal connection or shape this
into a new dimension. Therefore, because they are simply dealing with facts and
data they are only using this first level.
Rules Followed:
Present a single clearly formulated problem in the stem of the item
Design each item to measure an important learning outcome
State the stem of the item in simple, clear language
An item should contain only one correct or clearly best answer
All distracters should be plausible and attractive to the uninformed
The relative length of the correct answer should not provide a clue to the answer
Avoid using the alternative all of the above and use none of the above with
extreme causation

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11

Why Meaningful?
History Alive strategies are some of the best strategies to use to engage students
in the learning of history. They have been used in a number of classroom settings
so they are proven to work. In addition they are practical and easy to understand
so beginning teachers can use them easily in their classrooms.

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12

Short Answer
Directions: Read the statement below completely and thoroughly then fill in the blank
using the words provided in the word bank. Each word will only be used once and there
are some words that wont be used at all. Choose the word that BEST completes the
statement or answers the question. Each short answer question will be worth a TOTAL
of three points. The short answer section is worth a combined 15 points.
Word Bank
Causes of a Revolution

Eye Contact

Think Aloud

Chronology of Historical
Events

Illicit Group Discussion

Threats

Concept Attainment

KWL Chart

3-2-1 Processor

Diamond 9

Nagging

Digitalizer

Promote Writing Skills

Digital Native

Proximity

Digital Technocrat

SCIM-C

Learning Outcomes: Examine major curricular and instructional issues in social studies
(history and social science education)
1. Which of the following are 2 methods of effective classroom management according to
Harry Wong?
1.
2.
Correct Answer: Proximity and Eye Contact, In The First Days of School these are two
of the methods Harry and Rosemary Wong advocated as being effective classroom
management strategies. They say that eye contact and proximity can often curb bad
behavior without calling too much attention to the student and embarrassing them in the
class.
Blooms Taxonomy:
Knowledge, Comprehension: This question is designed to focus on the first two
sections of Blooms Taxonomy, because it requires them to recall facts about
Wongs classroom management and then summarize two of those concepts here.

Hoff, Ashton

13

They are required to sift through their minds and distinguish which two methods
Wong advocated and identify them in the question.
Wiggins and McTighe:
Explanation: Question requires that students have a knowledge and recall of
facts and data about Wong. They are not required to apply these to real world
situations but just identify and list them in the space above. Therefore this only
deals with the first facet of understanding.
Rules Followed:
The item should measure a meaningful and specific learning outcome
Item should require a single, brief response
The reading level of the item should be commensurate with the students reading
level
Direct question format is preferable to incomplete sentence format
Item phraseology should not provide clues as to the items answer
Why Meaningful?
Teachers have to have good classroom management to effectively teach their
students. These two strategies, proximity and eye contact, should be some of the
first things a teacher does to curb bad behavior and ensure that students know
their behavior is inappropriate. These strategies dont take time out of class and
are great ways to curb student behavior before a teacher loses control of the
classroom.
Learning Outcomes: Develop a repertoire of teaching strategies and material that are
designed to be meaningful, integrative inquiry-orientate, value based, challenging, active
and geared for students abilities and needs.
2. A strategy that asks students what they know, want to know, and what they learn after
an activity is known as ________________ .
Correct Answer: KWL chart: this is the correct answer, the K part of the worksheet is
what student already knows about a topic, the W asks what the student hopes or wants to
learn, and the L is what they learned from the activity. This is the only potential answer
for this question because it is the only strategy that fits this technique.
Blooms Taxonomy:
Knowledge, Comprehension: This question is lowest level of Blooms
Taxonomy because it requires students to know this strategy and recall it on the
test. The students are asked to understand the facts but only at a bare minimum
without applying it to any new situations. This falls under comprehension because
students are asked to understand the strategy in that they have to know what it is
and how it is used.
Wiggins and McTighe:

Hoff, Ashton

14

Explanation: Students only use this facet of understanding because they are
recalling what a kwl chart is for the test. They just have to memorize facts and
provide that information on the test without grasping the actual meaning of how
to use a kwl chart or evaluate it as a strategy in terms of them, which would
indicate deeper understanding.

Rules Followed:
The item should require a single brief response
The blank should represent a key word/phrase/concept, not trivia details
Use only a single or at most two, blanks per item and locate the blanks near the
ends of the item
Blanks should be the same length
The reading level of the item should be commensurate with the students reading
level
Why Meaningful?
This is an important strategy to know, because it provides both an anticipatory set
and a complete closure all in one chart. In addition this strategy allows teachers
to assess prior knowledge. If in the K section students have already mastered
certain content, then a teacher would not need to dwell or spend much time on this
topic. Furthermore this is a good strategy to have on hand because it guides
students and is one of our small strategies that fosters active learning
Learning Outcomes: Develop a repertoire of teaching strategies and material that are
designed to be meaningful, integrative inquiry-orientate, value based, challenging, active
and geared for students abilities and needs.
3. A strategy teachers can use when teaching students to analyze primary documents is
the ________________ method.
Correct Answer: SCIM-C: although there are a variety of strategies one could use to
fully analyze primary documents, SCIM-C is the only one that appears in the Word Bank
listed above and is the primary method we have learned about throughout this semester.
Blooms Taxonomy:
Knowledge, Comprehension: The above question only requires students to recall
basic concepts and specific facts about the SCIM-C method. They only have to
identify the method and understand its use; because students have to understand
how the SCIM-C method is used they are also using comprehension by explaining
one way they can use this strategy in their own teaching.
Wiggins and McTighe:
Explanation: According to Wiggins and McTighe this question relies solely on
the explanation because it only requires the tester to know broad knowledge and
facts about the strategy without any application of its use or replicating the
process.

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15

Rules Followed:
The blank should represent a key word/phrase/concept, not trivia details
Use only a single or at most two, blanks per item and locate the blanks near the
ends of the item
Blanks should be the same length
Item phraseology should not provide clues as to the items answer
Why Meaningful?
Analyzing primary documents is difficult for many students without some form of
scaffolding. Although it is very important for students to examine primary
sources for hands on history, it is often something they struggle with. SCIM-C is
one strategy used so that students can have a guide while they are trying to delve
more deeply into a primary document. In addition because it asks students to
compare sources it can also serve as a base for an essay.
Learning Outcomes: Develop a repertoire of teaching strategies and material that are
designed to be meaningful, integrative inquiry-orientate, value based, challenging, active
and geared for students abilities and needs.
4. What are two specific examples of how you could use Causation/Significance Cards
in the classroom?
1.
2.
Correct Answer: Causes of a Revolution, Chronology of Events: Causation and
Significance Cards are designed to teach students Causes and Significance. They can be
used to teach the causes of an event or how that event can be laid out in a timeline.
Blooms Taxonomy:
Knowledge, Comprehension, and Application: Unlike the other questions, this
requires the student to think about how they would use causation cards and give
specific examples. This shows an application because they are taking this
strategy and moving it into a practical situation (the classroom). They are asked
to know the basics of the concept, understand what it means, and then relate it to
how they might use this method.
Wiggins and McTighe:
Explanation, Interpretation, Application: This question directly represents
application because it requires the student to use what they know about the
strategy and adapt it to the classroom environment. They are describing two ways
to use causation cards, and although they are using a word bank they must use the
ideas and processes to determine two functions of the cards.
Rules Followed:

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16

Item phraseology should not provide clues as to the items answer

The direct question format is preferable to the incomplete sentence format
Avoid using textbook language, or sentences directly from a text
The item should measure a meaningful and specific learning outcome

Why Meaningful?
This question asks students to develop an application for the real world.
Strategies are useless unless they are able to put them into practice. These are but
two ways causation/significance cards could be used and teachers should be able
to take strategies given and demonstrate ways that they could be used to teach
history. Without this link the strategies would be useless.
Learning Outcome: Utilize appropriately a range of technologies within the social
studies classroom to encourage historical inquiry and the doing of social studies
5. A person who has grown up with technology such as computers, MP3s, phones and
the internet is known as a ________________.
Correct Answer: Digital Native; this is the definition of a digital native; someone who
uses has grown up around technology and is proficient in its use. There is no other
concept that fits that definition as completely as digital native, especially considering the
other options in the word bank
Blooms Taxonomy:
Knowledge: For this particular question, students only have to recall specific
facts by giving the definition of a digital native. They have to know the principles
but they dont really have to understand what the principle means or separate it
from other concepts.
Wiggins and McTighe:
Explanation: students are only being asked for particular facts. They must use
their broad knowledge of the concept without any attachment to grasp the
meaning of the concept or delving deeper into the facets of understanding.
Because this is a definition of a term it only covers the very lowest levels of
understanding.
Rules Followed:
The item should require a single brief response
The blank should represent a key word/phrase/concept, not trivia details
Use only a single or at most two, blanks per item and locate the blanks near the
ends of the item
Blanks should be the same length
Why Meaningful?
If you look at this definition of a digital native as a person who has grown up with
technology you will also recognize that many of the students that beginning

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17

teachers will move into teaching fall into this category. Respecting one another as
individuals is one of the first steps to making connections with our students, so
realizing that this is their world provides us with knowledge about where they are
coming from. It is important to recognize that their knowledge of digital
technology is going to shape the way they see literacy, research, and other aspects
of Social Studies education.

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18

Matching
Directions: Fill in the blank next to each item with the correct corresponding letter in
capital letters (A-M). For each item there is only one correct answer. NO option will be
used more then once and some options will NOT be used at all. Each matching question
will be worth 2 points. The matching section is worth twenty total points.

Learning Outcome: Students will be able to examine major curricular and instructional
issues in social studies (history and social science education).

Theme Items

Options

___ 1. Theme 1

A. Anthropology and Multiculturalism

___ 2. Theme 2

B. Civic Ideals and Practices

___ 3. Theme 3

C. Culture

___ 4. Theme 4

D. Economic and Consumption Science

___ 5. Theme 5

E. Global Connections

___ 6. Theme 6

F. Humanities and the Social Sciences

___ 7. Theme 7

G. Individual Development and Identity

___ 8. Theme 8

H. Individuals, Groups, and Institutions

___ 9. Theme 9

I. People, Places, and Environment

___ 10. Theme 10

J. Power, Authority, and Governance

K. Production, Distribution, and
Consumption
L. Science, Technology and Society
M. Time, Continuity, and Change

Correct Answer: 1-C, 2-M, 3-I, 4-G, 5-H, 6-J, 7-K, 8-L, 9-E, 10-Beach of these
corresponds to the correct NCSS Theme. These themes are put out by the National
Council of Social Studies and serve as a curriculum guide for Social Studies. Option D,

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19

Economic and Consumption Science is similar to NCSS theme 7 but isnt one of the ten
designated themes. Option A, Anthropology and Multiculturalism, and Option F,
Humanities and the Social Sciences correspond with the disciplinary connections used in
school courses rather than the ten established themes.

Blooms Taxonomy:
Knowledge: This set of matching falls under this category in the taxonomy
because it requires the learner to know basic concepts and specific facts. The
learner is asked to match the ten NCSS themes with their specific names. They
are required to know basic facts without delving into deeper domains of
understanding. They are not asked to explain or do any kind of inferring which
would fall under comprehension. They arent asked to apply changes or
manipulate problems by predicting or solving, indicating there was no application,
and students arent asked to complete any analysis by breaking down material.
For these reasons this matching set falls strictly under the low level of the
knowledge domain.
Wiggins and McTighe:
Explanation: Students are asked to provide an account of the facts and data by
matching up the ten NCSS themes. This falls under the domain of explanation
because students are doing basic understanding involving facts and things they
simply would have to memorize. Students are not asked to make the facts
personal, adapt it for different contexts, see the big picture, find value or empathy,
or awareness of their own point of view; because these components are not
present in this question, students are operating at the lower level of thinking,
explanation without moving into deeper facets.
Rules Followed:
Include only homogenous materials in each matching exercise: all of the above
are NCSS themes

In the directions clearly provide rationale for matching: directions stated that each
option was only used once and that there were more options than items

Used a larger number of responses than premises: There are 13 options while
only 10 themes

Place items on the left and number them, place options on the right with a letter

Arrange items and options in a systematic order: the options are alphabetical
while the items are numbered

Limited a matching to ten or fifteen items: there are 10 NCSS themes above

All items and options are on a single page

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Why is this meaningful?

The ten NCSS themes serve as a guide for Social Studies teachers. The National
Council of Social Studies is a national organization respected for the materials
they put out for Social Studies teachers. Social Studies is designed to promote
better citizenship and these themes can be broken down to a variety of disciplines
such as anthropology, economics, geography, history, law, philosophy, and many
more. In a sense, the ten themes are able to capture all the disciplines of Social
Studies into these categories.

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21

Essay
Directions: Answer the following question on your own piece of paper. Your essay
should be well constructed with an introduction/conclusion (a paragraph each), a body
(two to three paragraphs), and supporting evidence. Be sure to think carefully about
your answer BEFORE you begin writing by completing a pre-writing activity (e.g.
graphic organizer, web diagram, etc.) The essay is worth a total of 35 points (see the
rubric below for more specific details)
Learning outcome: recognize characteristics of school culture and classroom climate that
affect the teaching and learning process; identify school, parental, and community
expectations of teachers; identify, recognize, and reflect upon the characteristics of
effective teaching.

Reflect upon YOUR experience as a student aide; what factors (school, community,
parental, classroom climate, etc.) have YOU observed affecting the teaching and learning
process in a positive or negative way? Support your answer with specific examples from
your field experience.

Rubric:
Prewriting Exercise (7 points)
Was there a creation of a graphic organizer, web, outline, or some sort of prewriting exercise?
o Students should outline how they will answer the question and establish
the three paragraphs they will be exploringIt Must Follow What
Students Actually Write About!
Writing (13 points)
Is there an introductory paragraph to the essay?
o Students should complete a paragraph introducing the essay with an
appropriate thesis. In other words have they laid out what they will talk
about in the next few paragraphs
Is there a body to the essay?
o Has the student demonstrated that they can include at least two to three
paragraphs in the body and supported each with supporting evidence
make sure to develop your argument in these paragraphs and include
specific examples
o Make sure it makes sensedont just ramble on but include things you
have actually seen and that have shaped the way you think about teaching
and learning
Is there a conclusion paragraph to the essay?
o Students should complete this conclusion to wrap up the essay and detail
any reflections they want to add before completing their argument

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Content (15 points)

Has the student included specific examples they have observed?
o This essay must include things you have seen in your field placement and
detail SPECIFICALLY how they impacted teaching and learning
Does the student make clear connections to the impact on teaching and learning?
o This essay is designed to see what factors you observed in the schools and
how they impacted your teaching and learningin other words what
impact did it have on you, your cooperating teacher, or the students
Is the essay personally connected to the student writing it?
o Remember this isnt the time to compare things you have seen in other
classrooms or heard about from other people but what YOU observed so
keep that in mind as you reflect

Model Answer
Pre-Writing

School

Parents

So many duties
(lunch, hall,
assemblies) to
consider it is as if
a teacher never
has the
opportunity o
think about their
teaching and
properly reflectI
wondered Did I
get a masters
degree to watch
people eat, or
make sure they
take off their hat?

Always mean well

but when grades
came out
experienced
parents who
wanted additional
help for their
childsaid that
student should be
given quiet
environment and
other concessions
not available to
other students,
moral dilemma
about what to do?

Factors that
impact Teaching
and Learning

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23

EssayModel Answer
During my time in my field experience I have had my eyes opened to many
factors that impact the teaching and learning process usually for the worse. It is these
factors that are often sources of frustration and a hindrance and make one wonder why
they even went into the profession at all. Although there were many of these factors the
two I noticed most prominently were school duties and parental involvement.
At first glance it might seem as if school duties, like lunch duty, hall duty, etc. are
a necessary evil and that every job has its downside. However in my field placement I
think it has hindered and helped the teaching and learning process in different ways. It
hinders because it takes away precise time for teachers to plan and develop activities for
their classroom. In my opinion this is a real problem because in an ideal world a
teachers sole concern should be a commitment to their students education. In other
ways it helps the teaching and learning process because it allows the teachers to learn
more about their students. Who are these people outside of my classroom? Who do they
sit with and date etc.? When we learn more about people we find it easier to help them
because we are respected each other as individuals. In my opinion this is one of the most
important ways these duties can help teachers and the way they should justify them when
they thing about why they are doing this.
Another example of something that can hinder of help the teaching and learning
process is parental involvement. In some instances this can be extremely beneficial
because when parents are involved they can help their child in numerous ways.
However, helicopter parents that refuse to place any blame on their child can hinder the
process of learning because it puts teachers on the defensive. For example in my field
placement I saw both examples. Once we caught a student cheating on a homework
assignment and promptly emailed her father. Instead of yelling at us for making a big
deal out of a homework assignment, her father was extremely supportive and told us to
take whatever action we thought was appropriate. In addition he also said he was
committed to his daughters education and would discuss the matter with her at home.
The daughter was going to learn a valuable lesson and we could continue teaching
without fear of isolating the students parent. Although this example highlights how

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24

parents can benefit the learning process, they can also hold back teachers by placing
unfair demands. I observed this behavior as well in my field placements when a parent
was unhappy with her daughters grade. Her daughter was truly struggling in an honors
level class and was unable to drop the class because they thought she could succeed at
this higher level. However when she began to fail her mom felt that she should be given
additional concessions, such as additional time and quiet environment to take tests. This
seems like an easy concession to make but this would have been unfair to the other
students who worked just as hard and would have benefited from additional time on the
exam. This was a profound lesson for me to learn about how a parent could hinder their
childs learning by placing unreasonable demands on both the child (demanding she stay
in honors) and the teacher by giving them a moral dilemma to deal with.
Even though all these factors impacted the learning and teaching process in
different ways they were important concepts to learn. I am fortunate that I was able to
see how these situations played out in my field experience because they have made me a
better teacher and have better prepared me for situations I might encounter. In the end
there are many factors that influence teaching and learning; school duties and parental are
but a few examples of how they played out in my field placement.

Hoff, Ashton

25

Blooms Taxonomy:
Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, and Analysis: this question allows
the writer to illustrate their point of view by relating their assertions with real
world examples from their own teaching experiences. They have to show a real
world application by showing how they observed these factors in their own field
experience. They are also delving into analysis by relating these concepts to
specific examples from their teaching, and separate out whether this is impacting
teaching, learning, and in what waypositive or negatively. They are using all of
Blooms Taxonomy because they have to have knowledge of basic facts
definitions, defend and explain themselves, apply this to a situation they
experienced, and break down whether these factors positively or negatively
impact teaching and learning as a process.

Wiggins and McTighe:

Explanation, Interpretation, Application, Perspective, Empathize; this essay
question is unique from many, because it requires the student to reflect upon a
personal experience. They must step back from and review their experiences to
think about what shaped teaching and learning. They have to see things from
other perspectives to truly reflect on their experiences and see the bigger picture.
Focus on specific examples that fit into the macro idea of these experiences shape
teaching and learning. They are applying their examples to real world settings
and describing how factors influence others not only themselves in this process.
This question involves delving into some of the deepest facets of understanding
because the student must empathize and take on a new perspective from just
themselves.
Rules Followed:
The item should measure a meaningful and complex learning outcome
Make sure the essay question is carefully focused on the complex learning
outcome
The content and length of essay question response should be conveyed to the
student
The use of optional questions should be avoided (no answer 5 out of 7)
Why Meaningful?
Reflection is one of the most important things for a beginning teacher to
participate in because it allows them to look back on their early beliefs and see
how they have evolved into their new ideas and concepts. In addition these
factors are important to recognize because they will appear in a variety of schools
in a number of classrooms and are not unique to my field experience.