Chapter 3 Test Items
Chapter 3 Multiple-choice Items
1. Which instructional software function would probably be the most appropriate choice for allowing students to
discover rules for genetics?
A) drill and practice
B) tutorial
C) simulation
D) problem solving
2. Which software function could help students memorize the correct names of chemical elements?
A) tutorial
B) drill and practice
C) simulation
D) problem solving
3. A driver education teacher might use this kind of software to let students “practice” driving before actually
getting in a car.
A) drill and practice
B) tutorial
C) simulation
D) problem solving
4. Which is an acknowledged benefit of drill and practice software?
A) extensive explanations
B) guaranteed success
C) entertaining environment
D) immediate feedback
5. This is a general term for all computer programs designed specifically to deliver instruction or to assist with the
delivery of instruction on a content-area topic.
A) instructional software
B) Logo
C) Integrated Learning Systems
D) content-based software
6. Sites such as edshelf, Graphite, PowerMyLearning, and EduStar have emerged to help with this.
A) creating software matched to standards (
B) identifying software available to download
C) selecting effective instructional software
D) creating software for any content area
7. Which of the following is not a type of feedback typically used by drill and practice programs in response to
student input?
A) animated displays
B) simple videos
C) verbal explanations
D) verbal responses
8. These are the two categories people usually use to describe tutorial software functions.
A) simple and complex
B) animated and non-animated
C) verbal and animated
D) linear and branching
9. Which of the following is not a quality to look for in good tutorial software?
A) extensive interactivity
B) various answer formats
C) thorough user control
D) appropriate graphics
10. These two kinds of software are designed primarily for use by individuals rather than by groups of students.
A) tutorials and drills
B) drills and simulations
C) games and simulations
D) tutorials and simulations
11. This content area arguably has had more instructional simulations designed for it than any other.
A) history
B) mathematics
C) foreign language
D) science
12. Which of the following is not a benefit offered by simulations?
A) offers alternate instruction
B) gets students involved
C) slows down processes
D) makes experimentation safe
13. What is a typical classroom application for instructional games?
A) for step-by-step explanations of difficult concepts
B) in place of or as supplements to lab experiments
C) in place of worksheets or exercises
D) whenever students tire of other teaching methods
14. This is usually a characteristic common to most Personalized Learning Systems (PLS).
A) has curriculum matched to CCSS
B) focuses on using a single media format
C) provides various rewards for effective performance
D) uses an interdisciplinary approach to instruction
Chapter 3 Short-Answer Items
1. This kind of software choice is the best way to use available data on student performance to create personal
learning plans and track progress.
2. Which kind of software function is often called by various terms in software catalogs, though products may not
necessarily fulfill the function they say it does?
3. Drill-and-practice programs are especially good at helping students develop this kind of automatic recall of
lower-order prerequisite skills.
4. This kind of sophisticated tutorial directs learners along alternate paths depending on how they respond to
questions and whether they show mastery of certain parts of the material.
5. This kind of instructional software is a computerized model of a real or imagined system that is designed to
teach how the system works.
6. According to Alessi and Trollip, this type of simulation teaches the appropriate sequences of steps to perform
certain procedures.
7. Whenever learning involves physical danger, this type of instructional software is the strategy of choice.
8. This kind of instructional software is sometimes used as a reward for students’ good classroom performance.
9. What kind of software, if well designed, could supply whole lessons to teach advanced calculus?
10. Which kind of software should you select if your students are preparing for an exam and need a way of
practicing lots of sample items quickly?
11. Although many instructional software products claim to foster this skill, companies who sell them usually
provide little data available to support these claims.
12. Seymour Papert used this software to introduce young children to problem solving through programming.
13. Drill and tutorial software products are used in these kinds of strategies, which are considered the opposite of
constructivist strategies.
14. These kinds of software products have many features and capabilities, but large-scale research results are
lacking at this time.
Chapter 3 Essay Questions
1. Explain why constructivists may not be fond of drill-and-practice activities.
2. Describe some of the objections teachers have to using instructional game software in the classroom.
Chapter 3 Test Item Answer Key
Chapter 3 Multiple-choice Items
Chapter 3 Short-Answer Items
Chapter 3 Essay Questions