TEA Learning Theories & Psychology 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which scenario BEST illustrates the use of negative reinforcement in a school setting?
- A teacher gives students stickers for completing homework
- A student earns the removal of after-school detention by improving attendance (Correct answer)
- A principal suspends a student for fighting
- A teacher ignores off-task behavior to extinguish it
Correct answer: A student earns the removal of after-school detention by improving attendance
Negative reinforcement increases a behavior by removing an aversive stimulus (detention) when the desired behavior (improved attendance) occurs.
Question 2: A principal implementing trauma-informed practices is drawing on which area of psychology?
- Behavioral conditioning theory
- Developmental and neuropsychology of adverse childhood experiences (Correct answer)
- Classical information processing models
- Piaget's structural stages of development
Correct answer: Developmental and neuropsychology of adverse childhood experiences
Trauma-informed practices are grounded in neuropsychology and developmental psychology research on how ACEs affect brain structure and learning.
Question 3: According to Erikson's psychosocial development theory, adolescents in high school are primarily navigating which stage?
- Industry vs. Inferiority
- Intimacy vs. Isolation
- Identity vs. Role Confusion (Correct answer)
- Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt
Correct answer: Identity vs. Role Confusion
Erikson's fifth stage, Identity vs. Role Confusion, occurs during adolescence when individuals explore personal identity and future roles.
Question 4: A campus principal wants teachers to use spaced practice instead of massed practice. Which cognitive science principle BEST supports this recommendation?
- Cognitive load theory — spreading practice reduces working memory overload in single sessions
- The spacing effect — distributed practice produces stronger long-term retention than cramming (Correct answer)
- Schema theory — massed practice builds schemas more efficiently than spaced sessions
- Dual coding — massed practice engages both verbal and visual channels simultaneously
Correct answer: The spacing effect — distributed practice produces stronger long-term retention than cramming
The spacing effect demonstrates that distributing practice over time leads to significantly better long-term retention than equivalent massed practice.
Question 5: Which instructional strategy is MOST consistent with Bandura's concept of self-efficacy development?
- Assigning tasks well above student current ability to promote challenge
- Providing mastery experiences through scaffolded, achievable tasks (Correct answer)
- Relying exclusively on peer comparison and competitive grading
- Eliminating verbal feedback so students develop internal motivation
Correct answer: Providing mastery experiences through scaffolded, achievable tasks
Bandura identified mastery experiences (successfully completing progressively challenging tasks) as the strongest source of self-efficacy.
Question 6: A principal analyzes data showing that students recall information better when it is taught using both images and words together. This finding aligns with which cognitive theory?
- Bloom's Taxonomy
- Paivio's Dual Coding Theory (Correct answer)
- Kohlberg's Moral Development Theory
- Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory
Correct answer: Paivio's Dual Coding Theory
Paivio's Dual Coding Theory holds that verbal and visual information are processed in separate but interconnected channels, improving recall when both are used.
Question 7: When a principal uses student interest surveys to help teachers connect curriculum to students' personal lives, which motivational theory is being applied?
- Operant conditioning
- Self-Determination Theory — addressing the need for relatedness and autonomy (Correct answer)
- Classical conditioning
- Maslow's physiological needs level
Correct answer: Self-Determination Theory — addressing the need for relatedness and autonomy
Self-Determination Theory identifies autonomy, competence, and relatedness as intrinsic motivational needs; connecting content to personal interests supports all three.
TEA Learning Theories & Psychology 3
Which scenario BEST illustrates the use of negative reinforcement in a school setting?