TExES PPR EC-12 (160) cheat sheet

Piaget's stages: sensorimotor (0-2), preoperational (2-7), concrete operational (7-11), formal operational (11+); tasks must fit the cognitive limits of the stage.

Vygotsky holds that learning is social; the zone of proximal development is the gap between independent performance and performance with adult or peer scaffolding.

Bloom's revised taxonomy order is remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, create; objectives, activities, and test items should sit at the same cognitive level.

Formative assessment is ongoing and used to adjust instruction; summative assessment is end-of-learning and is used to judge mastery.

Validity means the test measures what it claims; reliability means consistent results. A test can be reliable yet invalid, but it cannot be valid without reliability.

Criterion-referenced tests compare performance to a fixed standard (e.g., TEKS); norm-referenced tests compare a student's score to a norming group.

The TEKS define the required Texas curriculum for each grade and content area; STAAR and district assessments must be aligned to them.

Maslow's hierarchy orders needs as physiological, safety, belonging, esteem, self-actualization; unmet lower-level needs reduce capacity to engage in learning.

Erikson pairs each developmental period with a psychosocial crisis (e.g., industry vs. inferiority, roughly ages 6-12); repeated failure during a stage shapes self-concept.

Kounin's management variables are withitness, overlapping, group alerting, smoothness, momentum, and avoiding satiation; high ratings on these correlate with on-task behavior.

Withitness is the teacher's demonstrated awareness of and prompt response to multiple events in the room; it stops minor problems before they escalate.

Rules should be few (about 4-6), stated positively, taught, modeled, and rehearsed; procedures are routines for specific activities and are taught separately from rules.

Positive reinforcement (adding a consequence) increases behavior; extinction (withholding the maintaining reinforcement) decreases it; punishment suppresses behavior but does not teach a replacement.

Wait time of 3-5 seconds after a question increases response length, number of respondents, and participation of English learners and reluctant students.

Equitable response distribution (randomization, cold call, equity sticks) prevents over-reliance on volunteers and raises overall engagement.

Intrinsic motivation grows when tasks support autonomy, competence, and relatedness; heavy or arbitrary use of extrinsic rewards can undermine intrinsic interest.

Seating arrangement is a management decision: rows suit independent work and direct instruction, clusters suit cooperative work, and clear sightlines are required for supervision.

Effective praise is specific, contingent on the behavior, and attributed to effort or strategy rather than to fixed ability.

Explicit instruction sequence: model (I do), guided practice (we do) with checks for understanding, then independent practice (you do).

Questioning should build from lower-order recall to higher-order analysis, evaluation, and creation, with adequate wait time at each level.

Feedback produces the largest achievement gains when it is specific, timely, and criterion-referenced; general praise such as 'good job' yields little gain.

Differentiation modifies content, process, or product based on readiness, interest, and learning profile, while the standard or objective stays constant.

Accommodations change how a student learns (extended time, preferential seating, read-aloud); modifications change what is taught or the performance expectation.

Cooperative learning requires positive interdependence, individual accountability, promotive interaction, and group processing; unstructured groups do not meet the criteria.

Sheltered instruction pairs content objectives with language objectives and uses visuals, gestures, sentence frames, and comprehensible input for English learners.

RTI is a multi-tier framework: Tier 1 core instruction for all, Tier 2 targeted small-group support, Tier 3 intensive individualized intervention, with progress monitoring driving movement.

Technology integration is effective when technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge overlap (TPACK) and the tool serves the stated learning objective.

Texas educator ethics standards cover four areas: professional ethical conduct, professional practice and performance, professional communication, and compliance with policies, laws, and regulations.

Suspected child abuse or neglect must be reported to DFPS or law enforcement within 48 hours; the duty is personal to the educator and cannot be delegated to a campus administrator.

FERPA gives parents and eligible students the right to inspect and request amendment of education records and restricts disclosure without consent.

IDEA guarantees a free appropriate public education, an IEP, procedural safeguards, parental consent for evaluation, and the least restrictive environment.

Section 504 requires accommodations and equal access for students with disabilities who do not qualify for special education services under IDEA.

An LPAC identifies, places, monitors, and exits English learners; membership must include a parent who is not a district employee.

Epstein's six types of involvement are parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision making, and collaborating with the community.

A standard Texas certificate renews every five years with 150 continuing professional education clock hours, plus role-specific required training.

Student information may be shared only with staff who have a legitimate educational interest, and only to the extent needed for that purpose.