TExES Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities EC–12 (160) — All Questions
14 questions
During the first week, a teacher spends time teaching how to enter the room, get materials and turn in work. Why is this valuable?
- a.It fills time until the real curriculum begins
- b.Routines matter only for younger students
- c.Taught routines save time and prevent problems✓
- d.It lets the teacher avoid planning lessons that week
The framework asks teachers to establish "age-appropriate routines and procedures to promote an organized and productive learning environment." Treating it as filler is tempting, but routines protect instructional time all year. The 2025 standards likewise call for "consistent routines for effective classroom management."PPR framework, Competency 006
A teacher wants a warm climate in her middle school class. Which practice best supports it?
- a.Using sarcasm to keep students alert
- b.Greeting students and noting efforts✓
- c.Correcting mistakes in front of the class
- d.Posting grades publicly to motivate effort
Teachers create "a safe, nurturing and affirming classroom environment" that respects students' dignity. Posting grades is tempting as motivation, but public comparison embarrasses students. Research also finds students participate more when the classroom is "a caring, supportive place."PPR framework, Competency 005
Which arrangement best supports a whole-class discussion?
- a.Desks in a circle or U-shape✓
- b.Desks pushed against the walls
- c.Desks in pairs facing the door
- d.Desks in rows facing the board
The framework asks teachers to understand "the benefits and limitations of various arrangements of furniture" for different contexts; a circle lets students face each other. Rows are tempting because they aid visibility, but students cannot see each other while discussing. For discussion, students need to face one another; cooperative-learning research stresses "face-to-face academic conversations."PPR framework, Competency 005
A student uses a phone during class in violation of the district's personal communication device policy. What should the teacher do?
- a.Post the student's name on the board as a warning
- b.Allow it because the policy is new
- c.Keep the phone for the rest of the school year
- d.Follow the policy's disciplinary steps✓
Texas law requires each district's policy to "establish disciplinary measures to be imposed for violation of the prohibition." Allowing it because the policy is new is tempting, but the law took effect June 20, 2025 and districts must enforce it.Texas Education Code 37.082
A student often disrupts class when asked to write. What should the teacher do first?
- a.Assign more writing as a consequence
- b.Note what happens before and after it✓
- c.Ignore the behavior until it stops
- d.Move the student to the hallway during writing
The IES guide recommends identifying "the specifics of the problem behavior and the conditions that prompt and reinforce it." Moving the student to the hallway is tempting, but if the disruptions help the student avoid writing, removal rewards them.IES Practice Guide: Behavior (2008)
What does "positive interdependence" mean in cooperative learning?
- a.Each student works alone on a separate task
- b.Students compete to finish first
- c.The teacher grades only the group leader
- d.Group members succeed or fail together✓
Teachers structure tasks "so that students come to believe that they sink or swim together." Working alone is tempting because it ensures individual work, but that describes individual, not cooperative, learning.ERIC ED370881 (cooperative learning)
Under Texas Education Code §37.002, what protection does a teacher have when documenting student misconduct?
- a.The teacher's documentation must be approved by parents
- b.The district may not discipline her for it✓
- c.The documentation must be kept secret from the principal
- d.The teacher may document only three incidents a year
The law lets a teacher document conduct that violates the student code of conduct and says "A school district may not discipline a teacher on the basis of documentation submitted under this subsection." Parent approval is tempting as a safeguard, but the statute requires none.Texas Education Code 37.002
When a Texas teacher sends a student out to maintain discipline under §37.002, whose office does the student go to?
- a.A parent volunteer's
- b.The regional service center's
- c.The campus behavior coordinator's✓
- d.The school nurse's
A teacher "may send a student to the campus behavior coordinator's office to maintain effective discipline," and each campus designates one person as coordinator. The nurse is tempting as a support person, but discipline goes to the coordinator.Texas Education Code 37.002, 37.0012
Under Texas law, what counts as bullying?
- a.Only conduct that happens during class
- b.Acts that exploit a power imbalance✓
- c.Any disagreement between two students
- d.Only physical fights on school property
Texas defines bullying as "a single significant act or a pattern of acts by one or more students directed at another student that exploits an imbalance of power," including cyberbullying. Physical fights only is tempting, but the definition includes words and electronic means.Texas Education Code 37.0832
Since June 20, 2025, what must every Texas district's personal communication device policy do?
- a.Allow phones during lunch and passing periods
- b.Bar student device use during the school day✓
- c.Leave phone rules to each classroom teacher
- d.Require students to carry phones for safety
Texas Education Code §37.082 requires a policy "prohibiting a student from using a personal communication device while on school property during the school day." Leaving it to each teacher is tempting because teachers enforce it, but the law requires a district policy.Texas Education Code 37.082
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Since House Bill 6 (2025), on what basis may a Texas teacher remove a disruptive student from class?
- a.Five incidents
- b.A single listed incident✓
- c.Only with a parent's written permission
- d.Only if the principal is present in the room
Texas Education Code §37.002 now lets a teacher remove a student "based on a single incident" of the listed behavior. Five incidents is tempting because removal is serious, but the law no longer requires repeated incidents.Texas Education Code 37.002
Which practice may a Texas school district employee never use with a student?
- a.Giving the student a time-out in an unlocked area
- b.Calling the student's parents about behavior
- c.Placing the student in seclusion✓
- d.Sending the student to the campus behavior coordinator
Texas law states that a district employee "may not place a student in seclusion." Time-out in an unlocked area is tempting to rule out, but it is allowed when the exit is not blocked.Texas Education Code 37.0021
What is peer mediation?
- a.Teachers assigning detention for conflicts
- b.Students serving as neutral third parties✓
- c.Principals suspending students who argue
- d.Parents resolving disputes at home
Peer mediation is "a specific form of conflict resolution utilizing students as neutral third parties in resolving disputes." Teacher-assigned detention is tempting because it ends disputes, but it is traditional discipline, not mediation.ERIC ED387456 (conflict resolution)
In Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which need is at the top?
- a.Self-actualization✓
- b.Belonging
- c.Safety
- d.Survival
The hierarchy is "illustrated as a pyramid with the survival need at the broad-based bottom and the self-actualization need at the narrow top." Survival is tempting because it comes first, but it is at the base.ERIC ED421486 (Maslow)