Description

This course includes five sessions, each two hours long. The Early Childhood prep course begins with an introduction to essential test-taking strategies and the Open Response, then concludes with a review of the specific content included—and what is NOT included—on the exam; we focus on only what is necessary to pass. Test-taking skills and strategies are a focus of the first session and interwoven through each subsequent session.

The curriculum is a copywritten series of documents and practice exams written specifically for this MTEL. The curriculum and the ETI guarantee* are included with the program fee.

• Session 1: The first class will focus on the basics of the exam and the best strategies to apply in order to pass. The instructor guides students through reliable test-taking strategies. Students learn how to recognize multiple choice answers designed to distract or confuse them. They discover the best logical process for narrowing down answer choices. This is unlike other “test-taking strategy” sessions you have experienced. Multiple-choice exams are a game, but you have not been taught the rules—it’s unfair. This session will give you the tools you need to play the game. You will learn how to NOT fall for attractors, answer choices written specifically to confuse you, how and when to apply the “process of elimination,” and even how to correctly answer questions that you do not know the answer to. Logic and phenomenology drove the development of this program, and it will change the way you experience and approach multiple-choice exams.

• Session 2: The instructor reviews the open response (OR), highlighting what graders look for and how to compose an answer that fulfills each of the four prompts. Current and past MTELs are provided to review and practice the test-taking skills and strategies. Practice OR questions based on real MTEL content are provided for practice. You will be given appropriate language to use to assist your preparation for any open response you see come test day.

• Session 3: Important math concepts for the updated exam will be reviewed and practiced.  Students will work in practice problems modeled after actual problems to ensure that they are well prepared for what they will see on the exam.  Teaching strategies that are found on the exam will be emphasized. 
• Sessions 4 & 5: While the recently updated Early Childhood MTEL no longer requires a knowledge of a depth of history, science, or English, many important academic concepts in these disciplines are critical to understand in order to do well. These concepts, such as maps/globes, the scientific method and experimental design, and the writing process, will be covered in detail and practiced with practice problems based on actual MTEL questions.