CPS Student Learning & Development 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A student consistently struggles to transfer a math skill learned in isolation to word problems. This difficulty BEST reflects a deficit in which cognitive process?
- Rote memorization
- Generalization (Correct answer)
- Encoding speed
- Phonological awareness
Correct answer: Generalization
Generalization is the ability to apply a learned skill across novel contexts, and deficits in it prevent transfer from isolated to applied settings.
Question 2: According to Erikson's psychosocial stages, a 10-year-old who repeatedly gives up on academic tasks after minor failures is MOST likely struggling with which conflict?
- Autonomy vs. shame and doubt
- Initiative vs. guilt
- Industry vs. inferiority (Correct answer)
- Identity vs. role confusion
Correct answer: Industry vs. inferiority
Industry vs. inferiority is the stage (ages 6–12) in which children develop competence through productive work; persistent failure fosters a sense of inferiority.
Question 3: Which instructional strategy BEST supports students with limited working memory capacity during multi-step problem solving?
- Increasing task length to build endurance
- Providing external memory aids such as graphic organizers (Correct answer)
- Relying on verbal-only instruction
- Reducing wait time between steps
Correct answer: Providing external memory aids such as graphic organizers
External memory aids reduce the cognitive load on working memory by offloading intermediate information to a visual scaffold.
Question 4: A psycho-educational specialist notices that a student performs significantly better on tasks that involve hands-on manipulation than on paper-and-pencil tests. This pattern is MOST consistent with which theoretical framework?
- Behaviorism
- Multiple Intelligences theory (Correct answer)
- Social learning theory
- Psychodynamic theory
Correct answer: Multiple Intelligences theory
Gardner's Multiple Intelligences theory recognizes that learners have distinct intellectual strengths, including bodily-kinesthetic intelligence that favors hands-on activity.
Question 5: During a dynamic assessment, an evaluator provides graduated prompts to help a student solve a problem. The primary purpose of this approach is to measure the student's:
- Crystallized intelligence
- Zone of proximal development (Correct answer)
- Long-term memory consolidation
- Receptive language ability
Correct answer: Zone of proximal development
Dynamic assessment operationalizes Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development by identifying the level of support needed for a student to succeed.
Question 6: A 7-year-old can sound out simple CVC words but cannot yet read multisyllabic words without assistance. According to Chall's stages of reading development, this student is MOST likely in which stage?
- Stage 0 – Pre-reading
- Stage 1 – Decoding (Correct answer)
- Stage 2 – Confirmation and fluency
- Stage 3 – Reading to learn
Correct answer: Stage 1 – Decoding
Stage 1 (Decoding) spans roughly grades 1–2 and is characterized by learning letter-sound correspondences and decoding simple words.
Question 7: Which of the following BEST describes the concept of 'scaffolding' in educational practice?
- Providing permanent accommodations regardless of student progress
- Offering temporary, adjustable support that is gradually removed as competence grows (Correct answer)
- Grouping students by ability for all instruction
- Using punishment to shape behavior toward academic goals
Correct answer: Offering temporary, adjustable support that is gradually removed as competence grows
Scaffolding involves providing structured support that is systematically faded as the learner gains independence, consistent with Vygotskian principles.
CPS Student Learning & Development 2
A student consistently struggles to transfer a math skill learned in isolation to word problems.
This difficulty BEST reflects a deficit in which cognitive process?