21.

Which one of these is a principle of child development?

• Development occurs due to interaction between maturation and experience

• Development can accurately predict the pace of each individual child

• Experience is the sole determinant of development

• Development is determined by reinforcement and punishment

A major difference between the perspectives of Vygotsky and Piaget pertains to

• their critique of behaviouristic principles

• their conception of children as active constructors of knowledge

• the role of providing a nurturing environment to children

• their views about language and thought

In the context of 'nature-nurture' debate, which one of the following statements seems appropriate to you?

• A child is like a blank slate whose character can be moulded by the environment into any shape

• Children are genetically predisposed to what they would be like irrespective of whatever environment they grow up in

• Environmental influences only have a little value in shaping up a child's behaviour which is primarily genetically determined

• Heredity and environment are inseparably interwoven and both influence development

Of the following statements, which one do you agree with?

• Learning is completely governed by external stimuli

• Learning takes place in a socio-cultural context

• Learning cannot take place unless it is assessed externally in terms of marks

• Learning has taken place only if it is evident in behavior

The rationale behind inclusive education is that

• society is heterogeneous and schools need to be inclusive to cater to heterogeneous society

• the benchmarks for performance of each child should be uniform and standardized

• we need to take pity on special children and provide them access to facilities

• it is not cost-effective to provide for separate schools for special children

An upper primary school constructivist classroom would foresee the following role of students in their own assessment

• make detailed guidelines for how marks would be correlated to students' achievement and prestige in class

• denying that assessment has a role in teaching-learning

• students would be the sole determinants of their own assessment

• students would plan for assessment with the teacher

Which one of the following would be the most effective way to identify a creative child by the teacher?

• Observing how the child interacts with peers in team tasks

• Detailed observation of the child especially when she solves problems

• Administering standardized intelligence tests

• Giving objective type tests

As an upper primary school mathematics teacher you believe that

• students' errors provide insights into their thinking

• students need to possess procedural knowledge even if they don't understand conceptual basis

• not all children have the ability to study mathematics in upper primary school

• boys will learn mathematics without much effort since they are 'born with it' and you need to pay more attention to girls.

Which one of these statements do you agree with?

• A child fails because the government is not giving enough technological resources in schools

• A child's failure is primarily due to lack of parent's education and economic status

• A child's failure can be attributed directly to the genetic material he/she has acquired from his/her parents

• A child's failure is a reflection on the system and its inability to respond to the child

The amount and type of scaffolding to a child would change depending on the

• mood of the teacher

• child's innate abilities

• rewards offered for the task

• level of the child's performance