MTTC TEST LOWER ELEMENTARY TEST -117 ACTUAL

MTTC TEST (LOWER ELEMENTARY TEST -117) ACTUAL

EXAM QUESTIONS AND CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS

GRADED A

• A first-grade teacher wants to learn more about effective instructional strategies for students

identified with a cognitive impairment. Which of the following actions would expand the teacher's professional knowledge on this topic?

• creating an in-depth list of research topics pertaining to the most inclusive grade-level pedagogical

approaches

• joining an online message board for early childhood teachers where novice teachers can request

information

• collaborating with an experienced special education teacher to identify relevant resources and

materials

• reading a research article about diagnostic measures used to identify disabilities in young students -

ANSWER✔✔.A. Identifying topics for research would not address the more immediate need for knowledge addressing instructional strategies.

• Online resources may not provide vetted and research-based information that is important for

identifying effective instructional strategies.

• CORRECT. Obtaining mentoring from an experienced teacher who specializes in working with students

with disabilities would provide the most valid and useful information when seeking resources and materials.

• Learning about diagnostic measures, such as norm-referenced assessments, will not provide helpful

information on instructional strategies for a student with this diagnosis.

• Which of the following teacher activities most effectively promotes the ongoing development of

positive relationships with families? 1 / 4

• communicating regularly through emails, phone calls, and positive note cards

• preparing a back-to-school night presentation to share classroom expectations

• sending a monthly newsletter home with ideas for activities to support instruction

• developing a classroom website to post important information, pictures, and events - ANSWER✔✔.A.

CORRECT. Direct communication through emails, phone calls, and positive notes is the most effective strategy for establishing positive relationships with families. These communication strategies are likely to establish interpersonal connections with families because they encourage the exchange of thoughts, ideas, and feelings.

• Presentations may not allow for communicative exchanges, and the focus is on providing information

periodically rather than emphasizing more frequent interactions.

• Sending home information is another strategy for providing families with information but does not

integrate responses from families that are necessary to develop positive relationships.

• Developing a classroom website, which not all families may be able to access, does not engage

families in an interpersonal way and does not develop relationships with families.A second-grade teacher gives each student three cards with colored squares on them: one with a red square, one with a yellow square, and one with a green square. When students are engaged in individual or paired work, the teacher asks students to place their red card on their desk if they do not understand or are confused. They place the yellow card on their desk if they want to check in or need a little help, and green if they feel they understand the task they are working on. In which of the following ways does this approach help students become more engaged learners?

• increasing their ability to generalize their learning

• providing structure to the learning environment

• supporting self-reflection on their own learning 2 / 4

• maintaining a rapid pace of learning - ANSWER✔✔.A. The focus of this strategy is more about

reflecting on learning, not on applying learning to new contexts.

• The cards themselves do not provide structure, although they are used within a structured

environment.

• CORRECT. Students will need to reflect on their level of understanding to identify when they need help

and how much help they need.

• Using these cards does not directly address pace of learning, although students may be able to get

help quickly if they indicate the need for it.At the end of a learning activity, a first-grade teacher asks students to get together in small groups of two to three students for a discussion activity. Each group presents the teacher with two thoughts and a question about the content they learned during the lesson. The primary benefit of this extension activity is that it achieves which of the following goals?

• providing additional data to monitor and assess progress on learning standards

• building on student thinking and informing the direction of subsequent learning

• supporting development of prerequisite skills needed for independent work

• allowing the teacher to observe how successfully students collaborate - ANSWER✔✔.A. This activity is

not about collecting data and students may not comment or ask questions about specific standards.

• CORRECT. The discussion requires collaborative interactions that develop students' reflection and

thinking about what they have learned, and the teacher can integrate their questions into instruction to address what students still want to learn.

• Since the focus is on group interaction, the skills developed are more likely to be collaborative skills,

but this is still not the primary benefit of this activity. 3 / 4

• While this activity can give relevant information to the teacher about how well different students are

able to collaborate, the focus is more on the results of the activity.A third-grade teacher learns that a student is missing school due to some difficult family issues. Which of the following teacher actions best supports the student during this time?

• offering to tutor the student after school hours

• planning assignments for independent completion

• giving the family time before reaching out with academic support

• waiting to provide supplemental instruction until after the student returns - ANSWER✔✔.A. In this

situation, the student may not be able to access tutoring services.

• CORRECT. Ensuring continuity in the student's learning will help prevent too many gaps from

occurring.

• It would be better to be proactive in helping the student keep up than to wait until after the student

has already fallen behind before addressing the gap.

• It would not be fair to increase the workload expected from this student significantly compared to the

workload expected from other students.A second-grade teacher works with students to create the following list of rules before beginning a small-group assignment.

Ground Rules for Group Work Everyone should do their fair share of the work.Stay with the group; don't go off alone.Give everyone a chance to speak and contribute.

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