Chapter 5: Learners with Exceptionalities
c. Use carefully prescribed ability grouping.
d. Spend more instructional time on critical thinking skills.
Use the following case study for items 29–30.
Tony, a high school junior, has a somewhat difficult time in school compared to his peers, particularly with word
problems in math and other areas that aren’t tangible. In spite of high motivation, he still struggles, and new
situations and problems “throw him” more than they do his classmates. In order to succeed, he needs a lot of
practice, and his approach is somewhat more “mechanical” than that of his peers. He comments, “I need to be able
to ‘see it’ to understand it. Some of these ideas are just too abstract for me. Who cares about what would have
happened if the Crusades had been more successful for Christianity? I can get it though, if I get enough practice.”
When he gets frustrated, he retreats to his room, where he plays his guitar; he has even done some of his own
arrangements. Tony is very skilled at working with people, and some of his peers turn to him as an arbitrator when
clashes occur in club and other organizational meetings.
** 29. If we were asked to assess Tony’s intelligence according to researchers’ and experts’ traditional
conceptions of intelligence, which of the following is the most valid prediction?
a. He will probably score lower on a test of intelligence than his typical peers.
b. He will probably get a score on an intelligence test that is similar to that of his typical peers.
c. He will probably score higher on an intelligence test than his typical peers.
d. We don’t have enough evidence in the case study to assess his intelligence based on researchers’
traditional conceptions of intelligence.
** 30. Consider Tony’s intelligence according to Gardner’s theory of intelligence. Based on information in the
case study and Gardner’s work, which of the following statements is most valid?
a. Tony would be described as low in intelligence according to each of Gardner’s dimensions of
intelligence.
b. Tony would be described as high in intelligence according to each of Gardner’s dimensions of
intelligence.
c. Tony would be described as high in intelligence for some of Gardner’s dimensions and unintelligent
for the rest of the dimensions.
d. Tony would be described as low in intelligence for some dimensions, high in intelligence for others,
and information is lacking for the rest of the dimensions.
** 31. Consider Tony’s intelligence according to Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence. Based on the case
study and Sternberg’s work, which of the following statements is most valid?
a. He is probably a bit lower in intelligence than his peers.
b. His intelligence is probably about similar to that of his peers.
c. He is probably a bit higher in intelligence than his peers.
d. His intelligence is much higher than his peers.
Use the following case study for items 33 and 34.
Jackie is a fifth grader at Landmark Elementary School—a school near an affluent neighborhood in a suburb of a
major city. Jackie, who lives with her divorced mother—a high school dropout with a steady job as a minimum
wage housekeeper—has a very limited experiential background. In a discussion of the “Old West,” for example, she
asked what a saddle horn was, as Mrs. Markham talked about the western saddles the cowboys used. Also, she had
never heard of the wild turkey, thinking of turkey as what we eat on Thanksgiving. However, Jackie “picks up” new
ideas in class more quickly than most of her classmates, and she periodically asks questions atypical of fifth graders,
such as, “Wouldn’t our country be better off if some of the money we spent on war materials was spent on educating
poor people instead?”