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PSTET Paper 2 study materials
PSTET Paper 2 study resources

PSTET Paper 2 practice questions

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Question 1Child Development and Pedagogy

According to Piaget, a child who can classify objects by more than one criterion and understands conservation of mass is most likely in which stage?

  1. Formal operational stage
  2. Sensorimotor stage
  3. Concrete operational stage Correct answer.
  4. Preoperational stage

Explanation

Conservation and multiple classification are hallmarks of the concrete operational stage, roughly ages 7 to 11. At this stage the child reasons logically about concrete objects but still struggles with abstract hypothetical reasoning.

Question 2Child Development and Pedagogy

Vygotsky's concept of the zone of proximal development refers to the gap between what a learner can do independently and what the learner can do:

  1. with adult guidance or peer collaboration Correct answer.
  2. using only memorised facts
  3. after a period of forgetting
  4. when motivated by rewards

Explanation

The ZPD describes tasks just beyond a learner's independent reach that become achievable with scaffolding from a more knowledgeable other. It is the space where instruction is most effective.

Question 3Child Development and Pedagogy

Kohlberg's stage in which a child conforms to avoid punishment and obey authority is best labelled:

  1. Social contract orientation
  2. Good boy-good girl orientation
  3. Punishment and obedience orientation Correct answer.
  4. Universal ethical principle orientation

Explanation

Punishment and obedience orientation is the first stage of Kohlberg's preconventional level. Moral decisions are judged by physical consequences and avoidance of punishment rather than by internal principles.

Question 4Child Development and Pedagogy

A teacher notices a student who is highly restless, blurts answers, and cannot wait for a turn. These behaviours most closely suggest:

  1. dyscalculia
  2. attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder Correct answer.
  3. hearing impairment
  4. dyslexia

Explanation

Inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity are the core symptom clusters of ADHD. Recognising them helps a teacher plan seating, structured routines, and referral for assessment.

Question 5Child Development and Pedagogy

Erikson's psychosocial crisis of the primary school years, in which children seek recognition through competence in tasks, is:

  1. trust versus mistrust
  2. identity versus role confusion
  3. industry versus inferiority Correct answer.
  4. initiative versus guilt

Explanation

Industry versus inferiority (roughly 6-12 years) centres on mastering skills valued by peers and adults. Repeated failure or ridicule can produce feelings of inadequacy.

Question 6Child Development and Pedagogy

A teacher asks students to recall the definition of 'photosynthesis' verbatim from their textbook. In Bloom's revised taxonomy, this task primarily targets:

  1. creating
  2. applying
  3. evaluating
  4. remembering Correct answer.

Explanation

Retrieving factual information from memory is the remembering level, the lowest rung of the revised taxonomy. It requires recognition or recall, not use of the knowledge in a new situation.

Question 7Child Development and Pedagogy

In Pavlov's classic experiment, the sound of the bell before food repeatedly produced salivation. The bell is best described as:

  1. a conditioned stimulus Correct answer.
  2. a negative reinforcer
  3. an unconditioned response
  4. an unconditioned stimulus

Explanation

A neutral stimulus that acquires the power to elicit a response through pairing with an unconditioned stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus. The bell originally elicited no salivation and later did.

Question 8Child Development and Pedagogy

A child who is consistently undernourished and frequently absent from school is most likely to show which pattern in classroom learning?

  1. Enhanced working memory
  2. Faster language acquisition
  3. Reduced attention and poorer academic performance Correct answer.
  4. Improved emotional regulation

Explanation

Malnutrition and irregular attendance are established risk factors for poor concentration, fatigue, and lower achievement. Development is influenced by nutrition and consistent schooling, not only by innate ability.

Question 9Child Development and Pedagogy

A teacher wants to help students retain new vocabulary for a long time. Which practice best reflects findings on the spacing effect?

  1. Reading the word list silently once
  2. Copying each word ten times in a single sitting
  3. Reviewing words briefly but repeatedly across several days Correct answer.
  4. Massing all practice into one long session before the test

Explanation

The spacing effect shows that distributed practice across intervals produces better long-term retention than massed practice. Brief repeated reviews exploit this principle.

Question 10Child Development and Pedagogy

During a mathematics lesson, a teacher gives a struggling student a simpler version of the same problem and gradually increases difficulty as the student succeeds. This best illustrates:

  1. summative assessment
  2. classical conditioning
  3. scaffolding Correct answer.
  4. negative transfer

Explanation

Scaffolding provides temporary, adjustable support that is withdrawn as competence grows, consistent with Vygotsky's ZPD. Adjusting task difficulty to the learner's current level is the defining feature.

Question 11Child Development and Pedagogy

A student who once panicked during an oral exam now feels anxious whenever entering the examination hall. In classical conditioning terms, the examination hall has become:

  1. a conditioned stimulus Correct answer.
  2. a reinforcer
  3. an operant response
  4. an unconditioned response

Explanation

A previously neutral place paired with a frightening event can become a conditioned stimulus that triggers anxiety. The hall itself now evokes a learned fear response.

Question 12Child Development and Pedagogy

A teacher praises a shy student each time she voluntarily answers in class, and the student begins answering more often. This practice is best described as:

  1. extinction
  2. negative reinforcement
  3. positive reinforcement Correct answer.
  4. punishment

Explanation

Adding a pleasant consequence (praise) after a behaviour that increases its frequency is positive reinforcement. The defining feature is the addition of a favourable stimulus that strengthens the response.

Question 13Child Development and Pedagogy

A teacher uses a rubric with clear criteria and gives students feedback on the quality of their project against those criteria. This primarily supports:

  1. intelligence testing
  2. summative assessment
  3. formative assessment Correct answer.
  4. norm-referenced testing

Explanation

Formative assessment provides feedback during learning to improve performance against explicit criteria. Rubric-based feedback is a typical formative tool.

Question 14Child Development and Pedagogy

According to Piaget, a preoperational child who says 'the tall thin glass has more water' after watching water poured from a short wide glass is showing:

  1. centration Correct answer.
  2. conservation
  3. reversibility
  4. decentration

Explanation

Centration is the tendency to focus on a single perceptual dimension (height) while ignoring others (width). This explains the failure of conservation in preoperational children.

Question 15Child Development and Pedagogy

A teacher plans a group activity in which students of mixed ability discuss a problem and the more capable peers explain reasoning to others. This arrangement draws most directly on:

  1. Skinner's operant conditioning
  2. Kohlberg's moral development
  3. Vygotsky's social constructivism Correct answer.
  4. Piaget's concept of egocentrism

Explanation

Vygotsky emphasised that learning is constructed through social interaction with more knowledgeable others. Peer explanation within the ZPD is a direct application of social constructivism.

Question 16Child Development and Pedagogy

A child says 'I goed to the market' instead of 'I went'. This error most likely reflects:

  1. a hearing problem
  2. lack of exposure to the language
  3. a language disorder requiring immediate therapy
  4. overgeneralisation of a grammatical rule Correct answer.

Explanation

Overgeneralisation occurs when a child applies a regular rule (add -ed) to an irregular verb. It is a normal sign that the child has internalised the rule and is actively constructing grammar.

Question 17Child Development and Pedagogy

A teacher notices that a student who is generally bright struggles specifically with reading fluency and decoding despite adequate instruction. The most appropriate first step is:

  1. increasing homework quantity
  2. ignoring the difficulty as developmental lag
  3. screening for a specific learning disability such as dyslexia Correct answer.
  4. recommending grade retention

Explanation

Persistent difficulty with accurate and fluent word reading despite adequate instruction suggests a specific learning disability such as dyslexia. Early screening enables targeted intervention.

Question 18Child Development and Pedagogy

A teacher creates a classroom where students feel safe to make mistakes and are praised for effort and strategy use. This most directly fosters:

  1. learned helplessness
  2. extrinsic motivation only
  3. test anxiety
  4. a growth mindset Correct answer.

Explanation

Praising effort and strategy use supports a growth mindset, the belief that ability can develop through effort. A safe climate for errors encourages persistence and learning.

Question 19Child Development and Pedagogy

A teacher who uses a variety of activities, visual aids, and group work to reach students with different strengths is applying the principle of:

  1. competitive ranking
  2. differentiated instruction Correct answer.
  3. standardisation
  4. rote learning

Explanation

Differentiated instruction adjusts content, process, and product to learner differences. Varying modalities and grouping responds to diverse readiness and learning profiles.

Question 20Child Development and Pedagogy

A student who attributes a failed test to 'I am just not smart' rather than to insufficient preparation is displaying:

  1. mastery goal orientation
  2. an external, unstable, controllable attribution
  3. an internal, stable, uncontrollable attribution Correct answer.
  4. high self-efficacy

Explanation

Attributing failure to low ability is internal, stable, and uncontrollable, which tends to undermine persistence. Attribution theory predicts that such explanations reduce effort and self-efficacy.

Question 21Child Development and Pedagogy

A teacher wants to reduce a student's habit of calling out. She ignores the calling out and only responds to the student when he raises his hand. Over time, calling out decreases. This is best explained by:

  1. negative reinforcement of calling out
  2. punishment of calling out
  3. positive reinforcement of hand-raising combined with extinction of calling out Correct answer.
  4. observational learning

Explanation

Reinforcing the desirable alternative while withholding attention for the undesirable behaviour combines positive reinforcement with extinction. The decrease in calling out results from removal of its reinforcing consequence.

Question 22Child Development and Pedagogy

A test consistently yields the same score when administered to the same student on repeated occasions, but its items do not reflect the taught curriculum. This test is:

  1. both reliable and valid
  2. neither reliable nor valid
  3. reliable but not valid for that purpose Correct answer.
  4. valid but not reliable

Explanation

Reliability concerns consistency of scores across occasions, while validity concerns whether the test measures what it is intended to measure. A test can be consistent yet fail to cover the intended curriculum.

Question 23Child Development and Pedagogy

A teacher observes that a student can solve a problem alone after watching a peer solve a similar problem, though he could not solve it before. This change is best interpreted through:

  1. classical conditioning of the solution
  2. a decrease in the student's cognitive load
  3. maturation of the student's brain alone
  4. the ZPD and observational learning from a more capable peer Correct answer.

Explanation

The student moved from unassisted failure to assisted success, which is the ZPD in action, and he learned by observing a capable peer. Both social guidance and modelling explain the gain.

Question 24Child Development and Pedagogy

A teacher who believes intelligence is fixed tends to label students as 'bright' or 'weak' early in the year. Compared with a teacher holding a growth mindset, this teacher is more likely to:

  1. offer richer learning opportunities to labelled-weak students
  2. focus on effort and strategy feedback for all
  3. provide equal challenge to all students regardless of labels
  4. reduce challenge for labelled-weak students and widen gaps Correct answer.

Explanation

Fixed-ability beliefs can lead teachers to lower expectations and reduce challenge for students labelled weak, which widens achievement gaps. Growth-mindset teachers instead emphasise effort and strategy.

Question 25Child Development and Pedagogy

A student with a specific difficulty in understanding number magnitude and arithmetic facts, but with age-appropriate reading, is most likely to be identified with:

  1. dyscalculia Correct answer.
  2. dysgraphia
  3. dyslexia
  4. ADHD

Explanation

Dyscalculia is a specific learning difficulty affecting number sense, magnitude understanding, and arithmetic fact retrieval. Intact reading distinguishes it from dyslexia.

Question 26Child Development and Pedagogy

According to Vygotsky, the gap between what a child can do independently and what the child can do with guidance from a more knowledgeable person is called:

  1. Concrete operational stage
  2. Law of effect
  3. Sensorimotor stage
  4. Zone of proximal development Correct answer.

Explanation

Vygotsky defined the zone of proximal development as the distance between the child's actual independent performance and the level reachable with adult or peer scaffolding. It is the region where instruction is most productive because the task is just beyond independent reach.

Question 27Child Development and Pedagogy

A teacher notices a nine-year-old can now classify objects by two features at once and understands that a flattened ball of clay still contains the same amount as a round one. These abilities indicate the child has entered which of Piaget's stages?

  1. Preoperational
  2. Sensorimotor
  3. Concrete operational Correct answer.
  4. Formal operational

Explanation

Conservation of mass and the ability to classify on more than one dimension are hallmarks of the concrete operational stage, roughly ages seven to eleven. At this stage children reason logically about tangible situations but still struggle with abstract hypothetical reasoning.

Question 28Child Development and Pedagogy

Kohlberg's stage in which a child conforms to rules mainly to earn approval and be seen as a 'good boy' or 'good girl' belongs to which level of moral reasoning?

  1. Conventional Correct answer.
  2. Preconventional
  3. Postconventional
  4. Amoral

Explanation

Kohlberg's conventional level includes the interpersonal conformity orientation, where moral decisions are guided by social approval and maintaining expected roles. It sits between punishment-and-obedience reasoning and principled autonomous reasoning.

Question 29Child Development and Pedagogy

Erikson's psychosocial theory identifies the central crisis of adolescence as:

  1. Trust versus mistrust
  2. Intimacy versus isolation
  3. Industry versus inferiority
  4. Identity versus role confusion Correct answer.

Explanation

Erikson placed identity versus role confusion in adolescence, when young people explore values, roles, and commitments to form a coherent sense of self. Successful resolution yields a stable identity that supports later intimacy.

Question 30Child Development and Pedagogy

A teacher gives a class a difficult puzzle. One group is told 'you are very intelligent'; another is told 'you worked hard on your strategy'. On a later harder puzzle, the first group gives up sooner. This result is best explained by research on:

  1. Innate intelligence quotients
  2. Maturation of the prefrontal cortex
  3. Classical conditioning of emotions
  4. Praise for ability versus praise for effort Correct answer.

Explanation

Dweck's research shows that praise for fixed ability fosters a performance goal and fear of failure, while praise for effort and strategy supports a mastery orientation and persistence. The ability-praised group therefore avoids challenge when success is uncertain.

Question 31Child Development and Pedagogy

A teacher uses think-pair-share so that each student first thinks alone, then discusses with a partner, then shares with the class. From a Vygotskian perspective, the main value of the pair stage is that it:

  1. Reduces the teacher's need to assess understanding
  2. Lets more knowledgeable peers provide scaffolded support within the learner's zone of proximal development Correct answer.
  3. Guarantees every student receives an identical explanation
  4. Removes the need for individual practice

Explanation

In think-pair-share, the partner dialogue lets a more capable peer model reasoning and adjust support to the learner's current level, which is exactly the social mediation Vygotsky described. The teacher still monitors and assesses, so the activity complements rather than replaces instruction.

Question 32Child Development and Pedagogy

A teacher wants to help students move information from working memory into long-term memory during a lesson on the water cycle. Which strategy is most consistent with cognitive load theory?

  1. Increasing the number of new terms introduced per minute
  2. Removing all diagrams so students rely purely on listening
  3. Chunking the cycle into labelled stages with worked examples before independent practice Correct answer.
  4. Presenting the entire cycle in one dense paragraph and asking students to memorise it

Explanation

Cognitive load theory recommends breaking complex material into manageable chunks and using worked examples to reduce extraneous load before learners practise independently. This frees working memory capacity for schema construction.

Question 33Child Development and Pedagogy

A teacher observes that a student can explain a concept clearly in her first language but produces very limited English when asked the same question. The most appropriate interpretation is that the student:

  1. Lacks conceptual understanding of the topic
  2. Is still developing academic language proficiency in the second language Correct answer.
  3. Has a specific learning disability in reading
  4. Has a general language disorder affecting all languages

Explanation

The ability to explain the concept in the first language shows that understanding is intact; the difficulty is with second-language proficiency, particularly academic language. Teachers should distinguish language acquisition from learning disability before referring for assessment.

Question 34Child Development and Pedagogy

A teacher wants to assess a student's ability to design a fair experiment rather than recall definitions. Which assessment task best matches this objective?

  1. A multiple-choice quiz on the steps of the scientific method
  2. A performance task in which students plan an investigation and justify their controls Correct answer.
  3. An oral recitation of the definition of a controlled variable
  4. A spelling test of science vocabulary

Explanation

A performance task requiring students to plan an investigation and justify controls directly elicits the target skill of experimental design. Assessment should align with the intended learning outcome rather than with easier-to-score recall formats.

Question 35Child Development and Pedagogy

A teacher notices a student frequently leaves seat work unfinished, calls out, and interrupts peers, and the behaviour occurs across subjects and settings. Before considering a referral, the teacher's most appropriate first step is to:

  1. Collect systematic observational data on antecedents, behaviour, and consequences across settings Correct answer.
  2. Ignore the behaviour until it disappears on its own
  3. Immediately recommend medication to the parents
  4. Assume the student is deliberately defiant and apply punishment

Explanation

Systematic observation using an antecedent-behaviour-consequence record identifies patterns, triggers, and functions of behaviour across settings, which is the foundation for planning support and for any later referral. Decisions about medication are outside the teacher's role.

Question 36Child Development and Pedagogy

A teacher uses a token system in which students earn points for completing homework and exchange them for a class privilege. After several weeks, students complete homework only when tokens are offered. This outcome best illustrates:

  1. Observational learning
  2. Overjustification effect Correct answer.
  3. Spontaneous recovery
  4. Intrinsic motivation

Explanation

The overjustification effect occurs when an external reward undermines intrinsic interest, so the activity is performed mainly for the reward. Removing the reward typically leads to a decline in the behaviour, as seen here.

Question 37Child Development and Pedagogy

A teacher plans a unit for a mixed-ability class. Which approach best reflects differentiated instruction?

  1. Teaching the same content in the same way to all students to ensure fairness
  2. Grouping students permanently by ability and never regrouping
  3. Varying content, process, or product based on readiness while keeping common learning goals Correct answer.
  4. Assigning weaker students only easier content and exempting them from key concepts

Explanation

Differentiated instruction adjusts content, process, or product in response to learner readiness, interests, and profiles while holding common goals constant. This preserves high expectations for all students rather than lowering them.

Question 38Child Development and Pedagogy

A teacher reads a student's answer and thinks, 'This student clearly understands the concept but has weak writing.' Which concept does the teacher need in order to separate subject mastery from the medium of expression?

  1. Item difficulty index
  2. Construct validity of the assessment Correct answer.
  3. Inter-rater reliability
  4. Test-retest reliability

Explanation

Construct validity asks whether an assessment actually measures the intended construct; if writing skill contaminates a science score, the interpretation about science understanding is threatened. Separating the construct from the response format protects valid inferences.

Question 39Child Development and Pedagogy

A teacher finds that a student solves a division problem correctly when given a concrete array of counters but fails the same problem in symbolic form. Which instructional decision is best supported by this evidence?

  1. Remove all concrete materials to force symbolic thinking
  2. Provide bridging experiences that link the concrete array to the symbolic algorithm Correct answer.
  3. Conclude the student cannot learn division and move on to the next topic
  4. Increase the number of symbolic problems without additional support

Explanation

The student demonstrates understanding at the concrete level, so the gap is in the transition to symbolic representation. Bridging experiences, such as drawing arrays and connecting them to the written algorithm, build the representational link.

Question 40Child Development and Pedagogy

A teacher wants to reduce a student's test anxiety. The student reports thinking 'If I fail this, everyone will think I am stupid.' Which intervention targets the cognitive component of this anxiety most directly?

  1. Scheduling the test in a quieter room
  2. Allowing extra time on the test
  3. Providing a snack before the test
  4. Teaching the student to identify and challenge catastrophic beliefs about failure Correct answer.

Explanation

The student's anxiety is maintained by a catastrophic belief about social judgement, so cognitive restructuring that identifies and challenges that belief addresses the cognitive component directly. Environmental and physiological adjustments address other components but leave the belief intact.

Question 41Mathematics and Science (for Mathematics/Science teachers)

A shopkeeper marks an article at ₹800 and allows two successive discounts of 10% and 5%. What is the final selling price?

  1. ₹760
  2. ₹720
  3. ₹680
  4. ₹684 Correct answer.

Explanation

Successive discounts multiply rather than add. The selling price is 800 × 0.90 × 0.95 = 800 × 0.855 = ₹684, which is less than a flat 15% discount of ₹680 off? No-flat 15% gives 800 × 0.85 = ₹680, so the successive discount yields ₹684.

Question 42Mathematics and Science (for Mathematics/Science teachers)

The HCF of two numbers is 12 and their LCM is 180. If one number is 36, what is the other number?

  1. 54
  2. 72
  3. 60 Correct answer.
  4. 45

Explanation

For any two positive integers, the product of the numbers equals the product of their HCF and LCM. So the other number is (12 × 180) ÷ 36 = 2160 ÷ 36 = 60.

Question 43Mathematics and Science (for Mathematics/Science teachers)

Which of the following is an irrational number?

  1. √16
  2. √2 Correct answer.
  3. 0.25
  4. 22/7

Explanation

An irrational number cannot be written as a ratio of two integers. √2 has a non-terminating, non-repeating decimal expansion, so it is irrational, whereas √16 = 4, 0.25 = 1/4, and 22/7 are all rational.

Question 44Mathematics and Science (for Mathematics/Science teachers)

The sum of the interior angles of a regular polygon is 1080°. How many sides does the polygon have?

  1. 6
  2. 8 Correct answer.
  3. 9
  4. 7

Explanation

The interior angle sum of an n-sided polygon is (n − 2) × 180°. Setting (n − 2) × 180 = 1080 gives n − 2 = 6, so n = 8.

Question 45Mathematics and Science (for Mathematics/Science teachers)

A body starts from rest and moves with uniform acceleration of 4 m/s². What distance does it travel in the first 5 seconds?

  1. 50 m Correct answer.
  2. 40 m
  3. 20 m
  4. 100 m

Explanation

Using s = ut + ½at² with u = 0, a = 4 m/s², and t = 5 s gives s = ½ × 4 × 25 = 50 m. The initial velocity being zero removes the ut term.

Question 46Mathematics and Science (for Mathematics/Science teachers)

Which of the following is a vector quantity?

  1. Temperature
  2. Displacement Correct answer.
  3. Speed
  4. Mass

Explanation

A vector quantity has both magnitude and direction. Displacement specifies how far and in which direction an object has moved, whereas speed, mass, and temperature are scalars described fully by magnitude alone.

Question 47Mathematics and Science (for Mathematics/Science teachers)

Which gas is released when dilute hydrochloric acid reacts with zinc granules?

  1. Oxygen
  2. Carbon dioxide
  3. Chlorine
  4. Hydrogen Correct answer.

Explanation

Zinc is above hydrogen in the reactivity series, so it displaces hydrogen from the acid: Zn + 2HCl → ZnCl₂ + H₂. The gas evolved burns with a pop sound, confirming hydrogen.

Question 48Mathematics and Science (for Mathematics/Science teachers)

Which part of a flowering plant develops into the fruit after fertilisation?

  1. Ovule
  2. Anther
  3. Ovary Correct answer.
  4. Stigma

Explanation

After fertilisation, the ovary wall develops into the pericarp and the ovary as a whole becomes the fruit. The ovules inside it become the seeds, while stigma and anther are floral parts that wither.

Question 49Mathematics and Science (for Mathematics/Science teachers)

A train 150 m long crosses a pole in 10 seconds. What is the speed of the train in km/h?

  1. 60 km/h
  2. 54 km/h Correct answer.
  3. 45 km/h
  4. 36 km/h

Explanation

Crossing a pole requires covering the train's own length, so speed = 150 ÷ 10 = 15 m/s. Converting to km/h by multiplying by 18/5 gives 15 × 18/5 = 54 km/h.

Question 50Mathematics and Science (for Mathematics/Science teachers)

If x + 1/x = 5, what is the value of x² + 1/x²?

  1. 23 Correct answer.
  2. 27
  3. 21
  4. 25

Explanation

Squaring both sides gives x² + 2 + 1/x² = 25, since the cross term 2·x·(1/x) equals 2. Subtracting 2 produces x² + 1/x² = 23.