GACE: Professional Pedagogy

The Professional Pedagogy assessment, offered as part of the Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators, is divided into two tests.

The first test consists of 60 selected-response questions (80% of the test score) and 2 constructed-response assignments (20% of the test score). The content areas covered by the first test are: student development and learning; and the learning environment. The topics covered by the student development and learning subarea are: human development, including the factors that affect development; learning processes and the factors that affect student learning; and student diversity. The topics covered by the learning environment subarea are: establishing a safe, inclusive, and positive learning environment; strategies for creating an organized and productive learning environment; fostering students' ability to self-monitor; and principles of effective motivation and communication in the classroom.

The second test consists of 60 selected-response questions (80% of the test score) and 2 constructed-response questions (20% of the test score). The content areas covered by the second test are: instruction and assessment; and professional roles and responsibilities. The topics covered by the instruction and assessment subarea are: they types of assessment; the relationships among goals, assessment, instruction, and learning; curricular and instructional planning procedures; and the various instructional approaches. The topics covered by the professional roles and responsibilities subarea are: strategies for promoting positive, productive relationships among school, home, community; strategies for working with colleagues; self-reflection as a professional; receiving feedback from a variety of sources; and continually improving professional knowledge, skills, and effectiveness; the rights and responsibilities of students, parents/guardians, teachers, and other school personnel in various contexts; and the legal and ethical guidelines for educators in Georgia.

The examination must be completed within four hours. The total test score is placed on a scale of 100 to 300, with 220 as the lowest passing score. Scores are based on the number of selected-response questions answered correctly and the scores assigned by judges to the constructed responses. Test-takers will also receive performance indices indicating their success in each subarea of the examination. Scores will be available approximately a month after the date of the examination; unofficial results are posted on the internet, and an official score report is mailed to the test-taker, the Professional Standards Commission, and the institution specified by the test-taker during registration.

Practice Questions

1. A mathematics teacher incorporates manipulatives into the lesson whenever possible. Which of the following will be the most likely result?

A: Students will ignore the lesson and focus on playing with the manipulatives.
B: Auditory learners will lose interest in math.
C: Students will work together to achieve mastery of core concepts.
D: Tactile learners will improve their understanding of mathematical concepts.

2. On the first day of class, a teacher allows students to sit wherever they like in the classroom. What will be the most likely result?

A: Students will sit at random.
B: Students will sit near their friends and be more likely to disrupt instruction.
C: Students will pay more attention to instruction.
D: Students will tend to come into conflict more often.

3. A second-grade teacher needs to introduce some difficult content-area knowledge to her class. Her students also need to go to lunch and have recess. Which of the following would be the ideal sequence for these activities?

A: recess, instruction, lunch
B: lunch, recess, instruction
C: recess, lunch, instruction
D: instruction, lunch, recess

4. Which of the following activities is most appropriate for teaching students about character development in a short story?

A: role play
B: constructing a diorama
C: class discussion
D: journal entry

5. A teacher is leading a mathematics unit when he notices that some students do not understand a prerequisite concept. How should the teacher handle this situation?

A: He should continue with the new lesson.
B: He should briefly review the earlier concept.
C: He should stop the current lesson and do the prior lesson again in its entirety.
D: He should try to incorporate the old lesson into the new as much as possible.

Answer Key

1. D. Research suggests that some students retain more information when they are physically engaged.
2. B. It is better to assign seating in order to minimize classroom disruptions.
3. A. Research suggests that students retain information better after exercise, but will have a hard time concentrating immediately after lunch.
4. A. Acting out character roles can be a good way to explore personal traits.
5. B. It is important that all students in the class understand the prerequisite concept before going ahead. If a brief review does not suffice, the teacher should separate those students who lag behind and work with them individually.