FTCE Professional Education Practice Exam

Which strategy is the teacher using when writing a key word on the board and surrounding it with associated words?

1. Clustering

2. Brainstorming

3. Mind mapping

4. Organizing

The correct answer is: Clustering

The strategy being employed when a teacher writes a key word on the board and surrounds it with associated words is clustering. Clustering involves visually organizing information by grouping related ideas or concepts around a central theme or key term. This technique helps to illustrate how various ideas are connected and allows students to better understand relationships between concepts. By placing a key word in the center and surrounding it with related words, the teacher is creating a visual representation that can aid in memory retention and conceptual clarity. This method encourages students to think about how different pieces of information interrelate, fostering a deeper understanding of the material being taught. The other strategies, while they share some similarities in organizing thoughts, do not precisely fit the described activity. Brainstorming typically focuses on generating a list of ideas without formal organization. Mind mapping is a more structured form of clustering that includes branches to illustrate connections, while organizing can refer to general techniques for arranging information but does not specifically denote the visual grouping seen in clustering.