MAT Curriculum Design & Instructional Methods 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A teacher notices that two units taught by different grade-level colleagues cover the same standard in the same way. This is a problem of:
- Vertical alignment
- Horizontal alignment
- Curriculum redundancy (Correct answer)
- Scope and sequence
Correct answer: Curriculum redundancy
Curriculum redundancy occurs when the same content is unnecessarily repeated across courses or classrooms at the same level without intentional spiraling.
Question 2: The 'null curriculum' refers to:
- Content explicitly taught in all classrooms
- What is tested on standardized assessments
- Knowledge and perspectives intentionally or unintentionally excluded from the curriculum (Correct answer)
- The hidden messages conveyed through school routines
Correct answer: Knowledge and perspectives intentionally or unintentionally excluded from the curriculum
Elliot Eisner's 'null curriculum' describes what is NOT taught—the knowledge, skills, and perspectives absent from the curriculum by omission.
Question 3: Which assessment practice BEST supports formative use during instruction?
- End-of-unit multiple choice tests graded by the teacher
- Standardized benchmark tests administered quarterly
- Exit tickets reviewed by the teacher to adjust next day's lesson (Correct answer)
- Final portfolio submissions evaluated with a rubric
Correct answer: Exit tickets reviewed by the teacher to adjust next day's lesson
Exit tickets used to inform next-day instruction are formative because they provide immediate feedback that directly adjusts teaching.
Question 4: In project-based learning (PBL), the 'driving question' serves what primary purpose?
- It determines which textbook chapter to assign
- It focuses student inquiry and gives the project meaningful context (Correct answer)
- It identifies which students need remediation
- It lists the standards that will be assessed
Correct answer: It focuses student inquiry and gives the project meaningful context
The driving question in PBL anchors the project in real-world context and sustains student inquiry throughout the learning experience.
Question 5: Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) informs curriculum design by suggesting teachers should:
- Focus only on content students can master independently
- Target tasks slightly beyond students' current independent ability with support (Correct answer)
- Avoid challenging students who are struggling
- Group students by identical ability levels for all tasks
Correct answer: Target tasks slightly beyond students' current independent ability with support
The ZPD is the space between what a learner can do alone and what they can do with guidance, meaning instruction should target this zone with appropriate scaffolding.
Question 6: Which approach to lesson planning MOST directly supports English Language Learners (ELLs) in content area classrooms?
- Sheltered instruction that integrates language and content objectives (Correct answer)
- Providing ELLs with simplified versions of all assignments
- Separating language arts instruction from all other subjects
- Delaying content instruction until students achieve language proficiency
Correct answer: Sheltered instruction that integrates language and content objectives
Sheltered instruction (such as the SIOP model) integrates content and language objectives so ELLs develop both simultaneously within the content area.
Question 7: A teacher uses pre-assessment data to form flexible groups that change as students demonstrate mastery. This practice reflects:
- Tracking students by permanent ability level
- Fixed cooperative learning groups
- Data-driven differentiated grouping (Correct answer)
- Independent study contracts
Correct answer: Data-driven differentiated grouping
Data-driven differentiated grouping uses ongoing assessment data to form flexible groups that are reorganized as student needs and mastery levels change.
MAT Curriculum Design & Instructional Methods 3
A teacher notices that two units taught by different grade-level colleagues cover the same standard in the same way.
This is a problem of: