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Glossary of Educational Terms

A
?Ability Testing:
The use of standardized tests to evaluate the current performance of a person in some defined domain of cognitive, psychomotor, or physical functioning.

?Abstract:
Used as a noun, the term refers to a short summary or outline of a longer work. As an adjective applied to writing or literary works, abstract refers to words or phrases that name things not knowable through the five senses.
?Academic achievement standards:
The expected performance of students on measures of academic achievement. Also known as performance standards.

? Accommodations:
Changes in the way tests are designed or administered to respond to the special needs of students with disabilities and English learners (EL).

? Accountability :
The notion that people (e.g., students or teachers) or an organization (e.g., a school, school district, or state department of education) should be held responsible for improving student achievement and should be rewarded or sanctioned for their success or lack of success in doing so.

?Achievement gap
Persistent differences in achievement among different types of students as indicated by scores on standardized tests, teacher grades and other data. The gaps most frequently referred to are those between whites and minority groups.

? Achievement test
A test to measure a student's knowledge and skills.
A test to evaluate the extent of knowledge or skill attained by a test taker in a content domain in which the test taker had received instruction.

?Active learning methods :
Learning methods that focus on ensure learners play and active role in the process of learning instead of passively receiving information.

?Aim :
The aim of a lesson is its goal or objective.

? Active learning :
Any situation in which students learn by moving around and doing things, rather than sitting at their desks reading, filling out worksheets, or listening to a teacher. Active learning is based on the premise that if students are not active, they are neither fully engaged nor learning as much as they could. Some educators restrict the term to mean activities outside of school, such as voluntary community service, but others would say that acting out a Shakespeare play in the classroom is active learning.

: Adoption
Refers to the chosen curriculum of a particular school.
: Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID)
A four-year elective college preparatory class designed to motivate students to attend college.

:Affective education
Schooling that helps students deal in a positive way with their emotions and values is sometimes called affective to distinguish it from cognitive learning, which is concerned with facts and ideas. Programs designed to help students handle their emotions, which might at one time have been termed affective education, are now more frequently called social and emotional learning.
?Age *****alent :
The chronological age in a defined population for which a given score is the median (middle) score.

? Alignment :
The degree to which assessments, curriculum, instruction, textbooks and other instructional materials, teacher preparation and professional development, and systems of accountability all reflect and reinforce the educational program's objectives and standards.

? Allegory :
A narrative technique in which characters representing things or abstract ideas are used to convey a message or teach a lesson. Allegory is typically used to teach moral, ethical, or religious lessons but is sometimes used for satiric or political purposes.

? Alliteration :
A poetic device where the first consonant sounds or any vowel sounds in words or syllables are repeated .

? Allusion :
A reference to a familiar literary or historical person or event, used to make an idea more easily understood .

? Alternative assessments :
Ways other than standardized tests to get information about what students know and where they need help, such as oral reports, projects, performances, experiments, and class participation.


?Analogy :
A comparison of two things made to explain something unfamiliar through its similarities to something familiar, or to prove one point based on the accepted ness of another. Similes and Metaphors are types of analogies.

? Annual Measurable Objective (AMO) :
The annual target for the percentage of students whose test scores must be proficient or above in English/language arts and mathematics.

?Antonyms ;
Antonyms are words that have an opposite meaning . For example poor is the opposite of rich while dirty is the opposite of clean .

?Anthropomorphism :
The presentation of animals or objects in human shape or with human characteristics. The term is derived from the Greek word for "human form."

? Apostrophe:
A statement, question, or request addressed to an inanimate object or concept or to a nonexistent or absent person.

:aptitude tests
Tests that attempt to predict a person's ability to do something. The most familiar are intelligence tests, which are intended to measure a person's intellectual abilities. The theory underlying intelligence tests is that each person's mental ability is relatively stable and can be determined apart from her knowledge of subject matter or other abilities, such as creativity. Some aptitude tests measure a person's natural ability to learn particular subjects and skills or suitability for certain careers .

:Argument?
The argument of a work is the author's subject matter or principal idea.

:Aristotelian Criticism?
Specifically, the method of evaluating and analyzing tragedy formulated by the Greek philosopher Aristotle in his Poetics. More generally, the term indicates any form of criticism that follows Aristotle's views. Aristotelian criticism focuses on the form and logical structure of a work, apart from its historical or social context, in contrast to "Platonic Criticism," which stresses the usefulness of art.

? Assessment :
Teacher-made tests, standardized tests, or tests from textbook companies that are used to evaluate student performance.

?Assonance:
The repetition of similar vowel sounds in poetry.
? At-risk student :
Students may be labeled at risk if they are not succeeding in school based on information gathered from test scores, attendance, or discipline problems.
?Audio-lingual approach :
A behaviorist approach to language learning, which stems from the belief that the ability to make a sound or use correct grammar is an automatic, unconscious act. Instruction is teacher-centered and makes use of drills and dialogue. Vocabulary and sentence patterns are carefully graded and introduced in a sequence, skills of listening and speaking are introduced before reading and writing, and emphasis is placed on accuracy of pronunciation and grammar. The aim is for the learner to gain an automatic, accurate control of basic sentence structures, sounds, and vocabulary. The approach was very popular in the 1950s and 60s, but its use has declined in favor of the Communicative Approach .

? Authentic assessment
Assessment that measures realistically the knowledge and skills needed for success in adult life. The term is often used as the *****alent of performance assessment, which, rather than asking students to choose a response to a multiple-choice test item, involves having students perform a task.
Authentic assessments are performance assessments that are not artificial or contrived.
:Authentic learning?
Schooling related to real-life situations?the kinds of problems faced by adult citizens, consumers, or professionals. Advocates complain that what is taught in school has little relationship to anything people do in the world outside of school; efforts to make learning more authentic are intended to overcome that problem. Authentic learning situations require teamwork, problem-solving skills, and the ability to organize and prioritize the tasks needed to complete the project. Students should know what is expected before beginning their work. Consultation with others, including the instructor, is encouraged. The goal is to produce a high-quality solution to a real problem, not to see how much the student can remember.

? Average class size :
The number of students in classes divided by the number of classes. Because some teachers, such as reading specialists, have assignments outside the regular classroom, the average class size is usually larger than the pupil-teacher ratio.

? Average daily attendance (ADA) :
The total number of days of student attendance divided by the total number of days in the regular school year.


B
? Basic skills:
The fundamental skills needed to succeed in school and eventually in life. Most people think of basic skills as the ability to read, write, and compute. Others, however, would broaden the term to include such skills as the ability to use a computer, the ability to work cooperatively with others, or even the temperament to cope with continuous change.

?Behaviorism :
A theory suggesting that learning occurs when an environmental stimulus triggers a response or behavior. Based on classical conditioning theory, behaviorism applies to educational practices that reward performance behaviors to encourage repetition of those behaviors. Rote memorization and drill-and-practice instruction are supported by behaviorist theory.

?Behavior modification:
Use of an approach based on behavioral science to change a person's way of doing things?specifically, systematic use of rewards, and sometimes punishments, to shape students' classroom deportment. Such systems usually involve explicit objectives, elaborate record keeping, and visible tracking of progress.
Used especially in special education classes for behaviorally disturbed students, behavior modification is controversial. Opponents say it is impersonal and mechanistic, makes students dependent rather than independent (at least at first), and borders on cruelty. Advocates see it as scientifically based and effective.

? Benchmarks :
A detailed description of a specific level of student achievement expected of students at particular ages, grades, or developmental levels; academic goals set for each grade level.

? Bilingual education :
An in-school program for students whose first language is not English or who have limited English skills. Bilingual education provides English language development plus subject area instruction in the student's native language. The goal is for the child to gain knowledge and be literate in two languages.
?Bilingualism :
Is the ability to use two languages. However, defining bilingualism is problematic since individuals with varying bilingual characteristics may be classified as bilingual. There may exist distinctions between ability and use of a language; variation in proficiency across the four language dimensions (listening, speaking, reading and writing); differences in proficiency between the two languages; variation in proficiency due to the use of each language for different functions and purposes; and variation in language proficiency over time (Baker & Jones, 1998). People may become bilingual either by acquiring two languages at the same time in childhood or by learning a second language sometime after acquiring their first language.
? Biliteracy :
The ability to effectively communicate or understand thoughts and ideas through two languages' grammatical systems and vocabulary, using their written symbols .
? Block scheduling :
Instead of traditional 40- to 50-minute periods, block scheduling allows for periods of an hour or more so that teachers can accomplish more during a class session. It also allows for teamwork across subject areas in some schools.
?Bloom's taxonomy :
A classification of educational objectives developed in the 1950s by a group of researchers headed by Benjamin Bloom of the University of Chicago. Commonly refers to the objectives for the cognitive domain, which range from knowledge and comprehension (lowest) to synthesis and evaluation (highest). The taxonomy has been widely used by teachers to determine the focus of their instruction and is probably the original reference of the term higher-order thinking.

? Bond measure :
A method of borrowing used by school districts to pay for construction or renovation projects. A bond measure requires a 55 percent majority to pass. The principal and interest are repaid by local property owners through an increase in property taxes.

?Brainstorming
Typically used in writing, but is any activity where individuals general ideas related to a topic or task; done in either groups or individually with no restriction on quality of ideas. Once ideas are generation, they are they evaluated and a decision about which to pursue is made.


C
? Categorical aid :
Funds from the state or federal government granted to qualifying schools or districts for specific children with special needs, certain programs such as class size reduction, or special purposes such as transportation. In general, schools or districts must spend the money for the specific purpose. All districts receive categorical aid in varying amounts. This aid is in addition to the funding schools received for their general education program.

?Classroom climate :
The "feel" or tone of a classroom, indicated by the total environment, including especially the way teacher and students relate to one another. Some classrooms have a cold, impersonal, or even antagonistic, climate, while others are warm and friendly. Some are business-like and productive, others disorganized and inefficient.
?Classroom management :
The way a teacher organizes and administers routines to make classroom life as productive and satisfying as possible. What some people might describe narrowly as "discipline." For example, teachers with good classroom management clarify how various things (such as distribution of supplies and equipment) are to be done and may even begin the school year by having students practice the expected procedures.
? Class size reduction :
A state-funded program for kindergarten through third grade classes to ensure that there are no more than 20 students per teacher. A separate program supports some smaller classes for core subjects in ninth grade.
? Closed campus :
This usually indicates that the school has one point of entry and a sign-in procedure as safety measures. It also refers to a high school that does not allow students to leave the campus for lunch or does not allow students to come and go without permission during the school day.
? Code-switching:
The term used to describe any switch among languages in the course of a conversation, whether at the level of words, sentences or blocks of speech. Code-switching most often occurs when bilinguals are in the presence of other bilinguals who speak the same languages .
? Colloquialism:
A word, phrase, or form of pronunciation that is acceptable in casual conversation but not in formal, written communication. It is considered more acceptable than slang.
?Cognates
Cognates are words in the students' own language that have the same, or very similar, form as the target language words.

?Cognitive development :
The process, which begins at birth, of learning through sensory perception, memory, and observation. Children are born into cultures and backgrounds that affect what they learn as well as how they learn. Children from enriched environments (in which parents and caregivers read to and with them, teach them letters and numbers, and take them to plays and museums) come to school prepared to learn; children from impoverished or abusive backgrounds often lack most or all of these preschool advantages. To stimulate the cognitive development of such children, teachers use strategies such as placing learning into a meaningful context, providing situations in which students can be active participants, and combining general information with specific learning situations.
?Cognitive learning :
The mental processes involved in learning, such as remembering and understanding facts and ideas. Educators have always been interested in how people learn but are now becoming better informed about cognition from the work of cognitive psychologists, who in recent years have compiled a great deal of new information about thinking and learning .
?Cognitive Assessment:
The process of systematically gathering test scores and related data in order to make judgments about an individual's ability to perform various mental activities involved in the processing, acquisition, retention, conceptualization, and organization of sensory, perceptual, verbal, spatial, and psychomotor information .
?Collaborative learning or Cooperative learning:
An instructional approach in which students of varying abilities and interests work together in small groups to solve a problem, complete a project, or achieve a common goal.
? Cluster :
To place small groups of students together for instruction.

? Community college :
A two-year college, also referred to as a junior college. Anyone who is 18 years old or holds a high school diploma (or *****alent) is eligible to attend a community college.
? Community-based learning :
Students, faculty, administrators, and community members working together to create new learning opportunities within local communities but generally outside traditional learning institutions.
? Comparable growth :
Subgroups of students in a school must improve their scores on standardized tests. They are expected to achieve 80 percent of the predominant student group's target, which is known as comparable growth.

?Competency tests :
Tests created by a school district or state that students must pass before graduating. Sometimes called minimum competency tests, such tests are intended to ensure that graduates have reached minimal proficiency in basic skills. In recent years, some states have replaced minimum competency tests adopted in the 1970s or '80s with more demanding tests aligned with adopted curriculum standards.

? Comprehension :
Ability to find and construct meaning from texts.

?Comprehension approach
Use the text for comprehension purposes; set out to get an understanding of the text or dialogue .

?Computer assisted learning :
An instructional format where the computer supplements the instructions, exercises, information and/or feedback provided by an instructor.
?Computer-based learning:
An instructional format where the computer provides instructions, exercises, information and feedback in place of an instructor.
?Computer conferencing :
A format for holding discussions by participants in different places by connecting through computer networks to transmit messages that are either text, audio, and or visual. This can be asynchronous using email or a list server or synchronous using conferencing software.
?Computer-assisted instruction :
Educational programs delivered through the use of computers and educational software. As computers have become more common in schools, the term and its abbreviation, CAI, are used less frequently.
? Concept :
Concept refers to the meaning of a particular piece of language, usually grammar. Many grammatical items are used in different ways, they have different concepts.

? Conflict management :
A strategy that schools use to prevent and address behavior problems by using peer counselors, mediators, or a school curriculum or program. It usually includes a set of expectations for behavior.

?Connotation:
The impression that a word gives beyond its defined meaning.

? Content standards :
Standards that describe what students should know and be able to do in core academic subjects at each grade level.

?Context /Contextualized :
Context is a word for the situation in which language occurs naturally. Students will learn and remember better if the language is presented in an appropriate context.

?Constructed response :
Test items on which students must provide an answer (short answer, explanation of the process for determining the answer, etc.) in contrast with items (known as selected response or multiple-choice) on which students choose from among answers provided. Some psychometricians say that selected response items are preferable because they are scored by machine and the results are therefore more reliable. Others, however, believe constructed response items are a better test of what students can actually do.

?Constructivism :
An approach to teaching based on research about how people learn. Many researchers say that each individual "constructs" knowledge rather than receiving it from others. People disagree about how to achieve constructive learning, but many educators believe that students come to understand abstract concepts best through exploration, reasoning, and discussion.

?Continuous progress :
A system of education in which individuals or small groups of students go through a sequence of lessons at their own pace, rather than at the pace of the entire classroom group. Continuous progress has also been called individualized education or individualized instruction and is one version of mastery learning.

?Controlled practice :
A type of exercise that gives the students repeated opportunities to use recognize and/or manipulate a particular language point. Repetition is often a part of these activities. The aim is to develop accurate use of the form and fix it in the students' minds.
? Cooperative learning :
A teaching method in which students of differing abilities work together on an assignment. Each student has a specific responsibility within the group. Students complete assignments together and receive a common grade.
?Creationism :
The view that human beings were specifically created by God and did not evolve from other forms of animal life through the process of natural selection. Advocates of scientific creationism believe that the creationist view should be taught alongside evolution in science classes. Opponents argue that creationism is a religious, not a scientific, position. They insist that the only ideas that should be taught in science classes are those that are based on scientific evidence and that are subject to rigorous scientific scrutiny.
? Creative thinking :
Thought processes designed to encourage originality in the development and elaboration of original and diverse ideas.
? Criterion-referenced test :
A test that measures how well a student has learned a specific body of knowledge and skills. The goal is typically to have every student attain a passing mark, not to compare students to each other.

?Critical thinking :
Logical thinking based on sound evidence; the opposite of biased, sloppy thinking. Some people take the word critical to mean negative and faultfinding, but philosophers consider it to mean thinking that is skillful and responsible. A critical thinker can accurately and fairly explain a point of view that he does not agree with.

? Curriculum:
The courses of study offered by a school or district. California has developed a set of standards that are intended to guide curriculum and instruction. The final decisions about school curriculum are the responsibility of the local school board.

D
?Data-based decision making :
Analyzing existing sources of information (class and school attendance, grades, test scores) and other data (portfolios, surveys, interviews) to make decisions about the school. The process involves organizing and interpreting the data and creating action plans.

?Decentralization :
The deliberate reassignment of decision-making authority from states or districts to local schools based on the beliefs that people who are closest to a situation make better decisions and that people work hardest when implementing their own decisions. The primary vehicle for school decentralization in recent decades has been site-based management, under which decision-making authority has been delegated to local schools, often accompanied by a requirement that schools establish representative school councils.
?Deadline :
Final date for the submission of assignment or other required work.
?Deductive method :
The deductive method of teaching grammar is the academic and scholarly one which was devised in order to teach Latin and Greek. The teacher writes an example on the board or draws attention to example in the textbook. Then the underlying rule is explained. The whole approach is cognitive , with learners considering the rules and weighing their words .
?Deep learning :
Learning aimed at having students extract principles and underlying meanings in order to integrate them with previously acquired knowledge; contrast with surface learning.
?Democratic education :
Advocates of democratic education believe that students, if they are to acquire the skills, knowledge, and values they need to perform their roles as citizens in a democracy, should receive a type of education that actively engages them as citizens in their own schools and communities. For example, they believe that students should participate in the governance of the school and engage in service-learning activities in their local communities
?Democratic purposes of education :
Schools are expected to ensure that all children, regardless of family economic status or future occupation, acquire the skills, knowledge, and civic values they need to perform their roles as citizens in a democracy
?Detracking :
Reducing or eliminating grouping by ability, resulting in classes with students from all ability levels. The result of detracking is also called heterogeneous rather than homogeneous (or ability) grouping. Strictly speaking, tracking refers to students being lumped into groups for all their classes based on their general ability to learn.

? Developmental screening tests :
? Used to identify students who may have disabilities, sensory impairments (e.g., near-sightedness or reduced hearing), or behavioral and developmental disabilities.

?Developmentally appropriate education :
Curriculum and instruction that is in accord with the physical and mental development of the student. Developmentally appropriate education is especially important for young children because their physical and mental abilities change quickly and vary greatly from child to child.
?Diagnostic Test:
A test used to "diagnose" or analyze; that is, to locate an individual's specific areas of weakness or strength, to determine the nature of his weaknesses or deficiencies, and, wherever possible, to suggest their cause. Such a test yields measures of the components or subparts of some larger body of information or skill. Diagnostic achievement tests are most commonly prepared for the skill subjects.

? Differentiated instruction :
This is also referred to as "individualized" or "customized" instruction. The curriculum offers several different learning experiences within one lesson to meet students' varied needs or learning styles. For example, different teaching methods for students with learning disabilities.
?Direct instruction :
Instruction in which the teacher explains the intended purpose and presents the content in a clear, orderly way. Contrasts with inductive, discovery, or constructive teaching, in which students are led, by means of investigation or discussion, to develop their own ideas.

? Disaggregated data:
? The presentation of data broken into segments of the student population instead of the entire enrollment. Typical segments include students who are economically disadvantaged, from racial or ethnic minority groups, have disabilities, or have limited English fluency. Disaggregated data allows parents and teachers to see how each student group is performing in a school.

?Discovery learning :
Learning activities designed so that students discover facts and principles themselves rather than having them explained by a textbook or a teacher. These activities are used most often in science classes where, for example, students can directly observe effects of various substances on other substances and infer possible reasons.

? Distance education :
Any format of education provided to students who do not need to be physically present at an institution; previously materials were sent to students but now materials are provided via computer conferencing, video, Internet, and other electronic means.

?Distance learning :
Taking classes in locations other than the classroom or places where teachers present the lessons. Distance learning uses various forms of technology, especially television and computers, to provide educational materials and experiences to students. Small high schools may arrange for their students to take courses, such as those for advanced foreign language instruction, by television. Many colleges and universities broadcast credit courses for students who live in isolated locations or who for other reasons cannot attend classes on campus.

? Dropouts :
Students who leave high school before receiving a diploma. Because it is difficult to keep track of adolescents no longer in school, because students may re-enter schools and drop out again more than once, and because many students eventually get the *****alent of secondary education by means of GED tests.

?Dyslexia :
Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.

E
?Early childhood education :
The education of young children. Many educators think of early childhood education as including children ages 3 through 7. Recent research information about the brain development of infants is causing many specialists to think of this period of rapid learning as beginning at birth.

? Educational software :
Software designed to facilitate teaching and learning.
?E-learning :
Learning activities based on any electronic format.
?Electronic discussion board :
Computer discussion area where individuals can post messages and other individuals will respond at a later time.
? Electronic mail (E-mail):
A form of messages delivered over a network of communications computers; typically these messages are text but may include images and hyperlinks.

?English as a Second Language (ESL) :
Teaching English to non-English-speaking or limited-English-proficient (LEP) students to help them learn and succeed in schools. ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) has generally the same meaning as ESL.

?English language learner (ELL) :
A student whose first language is other than English and who is in a special program for learning English (which may be bilingual education or English as a second language).
A student who is not proficient enough in the English language to succeed in the school's regular instructional programs and who qualifies for extra help.

? English Language Advisory Committee (ELAC):
Variations include "English Language Advisory Council," and "English Language Learner Advisory Committee/Council." The group consists of parents and school staff who work together to address the academic needs of students still learning English.

? Enrichment:
Additional courses outside those required for graduation.
?Environmental education :
According to the Environmental Education and Training Partnership (EETAP), environmental education "is a learning process that increases people's knowledge and awareness about the environment and associated challenges, develops the necessary skills and expertise to address the challenges, and fosters attitudes, motivations, and commitments to make informed decisions and take responsible action."

?Elicit /Eliciting/Elicitation :
Eliciting is a technique for encouraging the students to be involved in and actively contributing to the lesson. Rather than the teacher telling the students everything, the teacher asks the students for responses and information throughout the lesson. Eliciting can be done through questions, gesture, mime and pictures.

? Equity :
The goal of equity is to achieve a high-quality education for all students, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, disabilities, or special needs. Studies show widespread inequities in financial support, classroom expectations, texts and technological resources, and quality of teaching, especially in inner cities and among poor populations. Because needs are greater in some situations than others, equal treatment is not necessarily equitable.

?ESL :
English as a second language. Teaching English to non-English-speaking or limited-English-proficient (LEP) students to help them learn and succeed in schools. ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) has generally the same meaning as ESL.

?Experiential education :
Education that emphasizes personal experience of the learner rather than learning from lectures, books, and other secondhand sources. Experiential education, sometimes called experiential learning, may take the form of internships, service learning, school-to-work programs, field studies, cross-cultural education, and leadership development.
?Evaluation :
Process of assessing work completed by an individual, group, or institution with the aim of determining whether the individual, group, or institution has meet predetermined standards.


F
? Feedback :
Feedback is a response from the teacher to the class after an exercise or task has been completed. It takes a number of Forms but could, for example, be praise or correction of errors the teacher has heard.

? Field work :
Learning activities completed in real life settings as opposed to the classroom.- Process of data collection that requires researcher to leave the primary place of work.

?Flashcard
A flashcard is a simple picture on a piece of card or paper.
?Flexible learning :
Format of education where students are allowed to determine their own time for study and the topic(s) they will examine.
?Flowcharts :
Schematic graphical representation of a sequence of operations often used to illustrate a particular process.
?Fluency :
Ability to read text or converse with others accurately and quickly.
? Fluent English Proficient (FEP):
A designation that means that a student is no longer considered as part of the school's English learner population. It refers to students who have learned English.

? Formative assessment :
Any form of assessment used by an educator to evaluate students' knowledge and understanding of particular content and then to adjust instructional practices accordingly toward improving student achievement in that area.

?Formative test :
A test given primarily to determine what students have learned in order to plan further instruction. By contrast, an examination used primarily to document students' achievement at the end of a unit or course is considered a summative test

?Freer practice :
Freer practice activities, sometimes called ?less-controlled? activities, are used to activate the students? language. Through these activities, students have the opportunity to use the target language in a reasonably natural contextualized situation.
This means that they may need to use a wide range of English as well as the target language. Role plays and discussions are examples of freer practice activities.

?Functional illiteracy
The inability to read or write well enough to perform many necessary tasks in life, such as writing a check, filling out a job application, reading a classified advertisement, or understanding a newspaper headline

G
?General English :
An expression used for e everyday English. That is, the students are not studying for an exam, or because they want to learn business or other specialized vocabulary, for example. General English topics include, for example, going to the shops, asking for directions, writing postcards, and so on.

? Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) :
A program that offers supplemental, differentiated, challenging curriculum and instruction for students identified as being intellectually gifted or talented.

?Grade :
To grade your language means to simplify what you say so that it is understandable for the class. When teaching lower levels, teachers need to grade their language carefully.

?Group formation :
Process of organizing learners into groups.

?Group work :
Learning activities requiring several students to work together.

?Guided Reading :
A practice whereby a teacher or instructor leads small groups of student through short texts to facilitate learning of fluency, comprehension, and problem-solving strategies.

? Guidelines:
Statements specifying recommended procedures for completing a specific task.


H
? Handout :
Typically a sheet provided to all members of group that contains vital information, a task to be completed, or other guidelines for an assignment.

?Heterogeneous grouping :
Intentionally mixing students of varying talents and needs in the same classroom (the opposite of homogeneous grouping). The success of this method, also called mixed-ability grouping, depends on the teacher's skill in differentiating instruction so that all students feel challenged and successful.

?Hidden curriculum :
The habits and values taught in schools that are not specified in the official written curriculum. May refer to what critics see as an overemphasis on obedience, dependence, and conformity.
?Higher-order thinking:
Researcher Lauren Resnick has defined higher-order thinking as the kind of thinking needed when the path to finding a solution is not specified, and that yields multiple solutions rather than one. Higher-order thinking requires mental effort because it involves interpretation, self-regulation, and the use of multiple criteria, which may be conflicting.
Teachers who seek to develop students' higher-order thinking abilities engage them in analyzing, comparing, contrasting, generalizing, problem solving, investigating, experimenting, and creating, rather than only in recalling information. Other terms used to refer to higher-order thinking include critical thinking, complex reasoning, and thinking skills.

? Highly qualified teacher:
A teacher who has obtained full state teacher certification or has passed the state teacher licensing examination and holds a license to teach in the state; holds a minimum of a bachelor?s degree; and has demonstrated subject area competence in each of the academic subjects in which the teacher teaches.

?High-stakes tests:
Tests used to determine which individual students get rewards, honors, or sanctions. Low-stakes tests are used primarily to improve student learning. Tests with high stakes attached include college entrance examinations and tests students must pass to be promoted to the next grade. Tests affecting the status of schools, such as those on which a given percentage of students must receive a passing grade, are also considered high stakes.

?Holistic learning:
A theory of education that places importance on the complete experience of learning and the ways in which the separate parts of the learning experience are interrelated. Canadian scholar John Miller defines holistic learning as essentially concerned with connections in human experience, such as the connections among mind and body, rational thought and intuition, various subject matters, and the individual in society.

?Home schooling :
Teaching children at home instead of sending them to public or private schools. Over the past decade, the number of home schooling families has grown dramatically.
?Homogeneous grouping :
Assigning students to separate classes according to their apparent abilities. Placing students in groups for all their classes based supposedly on their general learning ability has been called tracking.
Proponents of ability grouping believe it allows students to excel within their levels. Less capable students are not intimidated by their more capable peers, and gifted students are not bored by the slower pace considered necessary for regular students. Critics say tracking is undemocratic, allows unequal access to higher-level content, and creates low self-esteem. Opponents also say that students who learn more slowly become subject to lower expectations from teachers.

I
?Ice-breakers :
Short, entertaining activities at the start of lessons to get the class ?warmed-up? or to get a new class working together. Another word for ?warmers?

?Illiteracy :
Lack of the skills needed in a literate society. Whereas literacy once meant minimal ability to read and write, the term is now used to refer to many types of knowledge and skills, such as computer literacy. People may also speak of scientific, mathematical, economic, or musical literacy

? Immersion education :
A program that teaches children to speak, read, and write in a second language by surrounding them with conversation and instruction in that language. Note that English immersion may differ from other immersion programs.

? Inclusion :
The practice of placing students with disabilities in regular classrooms. Also known as mainstreaming.
?Independent learning :
Learning completed by an individual without the assistance of an instructor.
?Independent Reading :
Activity of students reading material on their own.
? Independent study :
Specially designed instruction in courses taught through a variety of delivery methods that complement traditional high school curricula and provide an accredited diploma.
?Individual differences :
Unique characteristics of individuals that have an impact on how they learn.

? Individual Education Program (IEP) :
A written plan created for a student with learning disabilities by the student's teachers, parents or guardians, the school administrator, and other interested parties. The plan is tailored to the student's specific needs and abilities, and outlines goals for the student to reach. The IEP should be reviewed at least once a year.
?Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) :
A revision of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, the IDEA is a federal law passed in 1991 and amended in 1997 that guarantees a free appropriate public education for eligible children and youth with disabilities. According to the law, a child with a disability means a child with mental retardation, hearing impairments (including deafness), speech or language impairments, visual impairments (including blindness), serious emotional disturbance, orthopedic impairments, autism, traumatic brain injury, other health impairments, or specific learning disabilities.

?Inductive Method :
The inductive method of teaching grammar is to induce the learners to realize grammar rules without any form of prior explanation. By this approach, the rules will become evident if learners are given enough appropriate examples. The grammar point is shown on the board only after extensive practice.

?Initiation phase :
In a lesson, this is the opening stage where the instructor begins the lesson.
?Inquiry-based learning :
Learning methodology where students are presented a problem to solve using knowledge and skills they have acquired or need to develop.
?Information literacy :
The ability to use a variety of sources, including computers, to locate desired information .
?Inservice :
This is the continuing education needed by people in most professions when they have completed their preservice training and are employed. In education, inservice training or education is now usually called staff development or professional development.

? Integrated curriculum :
Refers to the practice of using a single theme to teach a variety of subjects. It also refers to an interdisciplinary curriculum, which combines several school subjects into one project.

?Integrated learning systems :
Computer-based systems that provide interactive instruction to individual students and maintain records of each student's progress. Sophisticated systems adapt the level of instruction to the student's achievement, giving slower students additional help and moving successful students to more challenging levels.

?Interactive learning :
Occurs when the source of instruction communicates directly with the learner, shaping responses to the learner's needs. Tutoring?one teacher teaching a single student?is highly interactive. Computers and other modern technological applications have made it theoretically possible to provide effective interactive instruction to any learner on any subject.

?Interdisciplinary curriculum :
A way of organizing the curriculum in which content is drawn from two or more subject areas to focus on a particular topic or theme. Rather than studying literature and social studies separately, for example, a class might study a unit called The Sea, reading poems and stories about people who spend their lives on or near the ocean, learning about the geography of coastal areas, and investigating why coastal and inland populations have different livelihoods. Effective interdisciplinary studies have the following elements:
· A topic that lends itself to study from several points of view.
· One or more themes (or essential questions) the teacher wants the students to explore.
· Activities intended to further students' understanding by establishing relationships among knowledge from more than one discipline or school subject.
Interdisciplinary curriculum, which draws content from particular disciplines that are ordinarily taught separately, is different from integrated curriculum, which involves investigation of topics without regard to where, or even whether, they appear in the typical school curriculum at all.

?IQ :
Intelligence quotient?a number derived by dividing a child's "mental age" (derived from her score on an intelligence test) by her actual age. IQ is based on the principle that children who score well on intelligence tests have mental ability comparable to older children who are only average. A child whose performance would be expected for his age has an IQ of 100. A child with mental ability considerably higher than his actual age might have an IQ of 130. The term "IQ" is no longer used as frequently as it used to be, but intelligence tests continue to be scored using the familiar scale.
L
?Laboratory based education :
Educational format in which learners complete experiments in a laboratory in order to learn experimental methods or test hypotheses they are studying.
?Lateral thinking :
Attempting to solve a problem by using non-traditional methods in order to create and identify new concepts and ideas.
?Learning and teaching strategy :
Methodology and assumptions an instructor uses to ensure learning occurs.
?Learning Centers :
Designated classroom areas where students engage in specific activities to facilitate learning skills or knowledge; students typically work in learning centers without direct oversight by the instructor.
?Learning disability :
A condition that interferes with a student's ability to learn. Even the definition of this term is controversial. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act amended in 1997 defines a specific learning disability as "a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which disorder may manifest itself in imperfect ability to listen, think, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations. Such term may include such conditions as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia." Children not included under this provision include those who have learning problems which are "primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, of mental retardation, of emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage."

?Learning disorder :
Another term for learning disability, a condition that interferes with a student's ability to learn. For example, some people have dyslexia, which simply means reading disability. People with this condition have difficulty distinguishing among letters of the alphabet and translating words on paper into meaningful language
?Learning environment:
?The place and setting where learning occurs; it is not limited to a physical classroom and includes the characteristics of the setting.

? Learning outcomes :
Statements indicating the end result for a learner following a learning activity; usually stated in what a person can observe the learner do at the end of a learning activity.

?Learning styles :
Differences in the way students learn more readily. Scholars have devised numerous ways of classifying style differences, including cognitive style (the way a person tends to think about a learning situation), tendency to use particular senses (seeing, hearing, touching), and other characteristics, such as whether the person prefers to work independently or with others.

? Language arts :
Another term for English curriculum. The focus is on reading, speaking, listening, and writing skills.

?language experience approach:
An approach to literacy development based on the idea that students can learn to write by dictating to the teacher what they already know and can express verbally, and that they can then read that which has been written. Hence, the students' first reading materials come from their own repertoire of language

?Language laboratory :
A room with individual booths where students have their own cassette player. The students wear headphones so they are able to work by themselves. This means that listening exercises can be conducted at the students? own pace. Students are also able to record and listen to their own voices.

?Lead-in
A lead-in is a way to introduce the topic of a lesson. The teacher may use a story, anecdote or pictures to lead the students into the subject of the day.

?Lifelong learning :
The idea that, because people in the modern world must continue learning all their lives, schools should teach children how to learn rather than (or in addition to) teaching them fundamental knowledge and skills. Also refers to changing the mission of public schools from teaching only children through age 18 to providing educational opportunities to people of all ages.

?Limited-English-proficient (LEP) students :
Students who are reasonably fluent in another language but who have not yet achieved comparable mastery in reading, writing, listening, or speaking English. LEP students are often assigned to bilingual education or English-as-a-second-language (ESL) classes.

M
? Magnet school:
A school that focuses on a particular discipline, such as science, mathematics, arts, or computer science. It is designed to recruit students from other parts of the school district.

? Mainstreaming :
The practice of placing students with disabilities in regular classrooms; also known as inclusion.

?marker sentence :
A sentence used by the teacher during the presentation or study stage of a lesson to illustrate the form of a piece of language. It?s a model or example sentence.

?mastery learning :
A way of organizing instruction that tries to ensure that students have mastered each increment of a subject before going on to the next. The idea assumes that a subject can be subdivided into sequential steps organized hierarchically. The classic mastery learning model formulated by psychologist Benjamin Bloom calls for teachers to teach a unit of work and give a formative test. Students who do not master the material study it in a different way while the mastery students do enrichment work. Then all students take a summative test, which nearly all students are expected to pass.

? Measurement error :
The calculated amount by which a test score may vary from the student's theoretical "true" score (no test can be exact in measuring a student's ability).

?Mediation :
This term has at least two quite different meanings. One refers to the recourse taken by school boards when teacher contract negotiations halt. Mediation over contract specifications is binding arbitration in some states, meaning that the board and union must accept the terms negotiated. In other situations involving conflict resolution, a mediator is a neutral party who works between the two conflicting parties and attempts to arrive at a satisfactory compromise.

?Metacognition :
The ability to be conscious of and, to some degree, control one's own thinking. Educators have come to use the prefix "meta" to refer to the application of a process to the process itself. (For example, meta-analysis is analysis of a large number of research studies on a particular topic.) In this case, cognition is thinking, so metacognition means thinking about one's own thinking.
You are using metacognition when you can track your progress in solving a multistep problem or when you realize that you have been looking at a page in a book without following the meaning and backtrack until you find the place where your mind began to wander.
?mixed-ability grouping :
Intentionally mixing students of varying talents and needs in the same classroom. The success of this method, also called heterogeneous grouping, depends on the teacher's skill in differentiating instruction so that all students feel challenged and successful. Advocates say mixed-ability grouping prevents lower-track classes from becoming dumping grounds and ensures that all students have access to high-status content. Opponents say it is difficult for teachers to manage, hampers the brightest students from moving at an accelerated pace, and contributes to a watered-down curriculum

?Monitor :
When students are working together in pairs or groups the teacher needs to be aware of what they are doing. This is not mainly from the point of view of discipline, although that is a consideration. Monitoring means walking around the class, listening to the students and looking at what they are doing. If the teacher does this then they can get a good idea as to
how the classes are progressing, they can make notes of any particular language problems and of course they can help students on an individual or group basis if necessary.

? Manipulatives :
Three-dimensional teaching aids and visuals that teachers use to help students with math concepts. Typical tools include counting beads or bars; base ten blocks, shapes, fraction parts, and rulers.

? Minimum day:
? A shortened school day that allows teachers to meet and work together.

?Model answers :
Samples of exemplary answers to questions or essays. Modular studies Program of study build on a set of modules.
?Modularization :
Teaching process that splits material or courses into modules to allow students flexibility in selecting modules to create a program of study.
?Module :
A separate unit or selection of material that forms a coherent whole, but may be combined with other units.
?Monitoring achievement:
?Tracking students' progress towards achieving a learning goal.
?
?Motivational context :
?The attempt to provide a setting where students are motivated to learn; can be achieved in various ways such as encouraging students to take responsibility for their own learning, being involved in selecting the topics for learning, or planning a lesson.
?Multi-age grouping :
The practice of having children of different ages in the same classroom, rather than assigning them to age-graded classrooms (e.g., 6-year-old children to 1st grade and 7-year-old children to 2nd grade). Multi-age grouping is practiced more often in elementary schools than in secondary schools. A typical grouping is children ages 5?7 as primary students and children ages 8?10 as intermediate students. The reason for combining two or more grade levels is that students can be grouped with others who are at the same developmental level regardless of age. In other words, they can learn at a faster or slower pace without being made to feel abnormal.
?Multiple Choice Questions :
Test format where students are provided several possible answers and must identify the best possible answer
?Multimedia presentations :
Presentations that use more than one medium to communicate information. For example, a CD-ROM that combines text, pictures, sound, voice, animation, and video is multimedia. Multimedia presentations may be used by teachers to cover new subject matter or by students to present projects.
?Multiple intelligences :
A theory of intelligence developed in the 1980s by Howard Gardner, professor of education at Harvard University. Gardner defines intelligence broadly as "the capacity to solve problems or fashion products that are valued in one or more cultural setting." He originally identified seven intelligences: linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. He later suggested the existence of several others, including naturalist, spiritual, and existential. Everyone has all the intelligences, but in different proportions.
Teachers who use a multiple-intelligences approach strive to present subject matter in ways that allow students to use several intelligences. For example, they might teach about the Civil War using songs from that period or teach the solar system by having students physically act out the rotation of planets around the sun.

? Multiple-subject credential :
? A credential required to teach in elementary and middle-school classrooms. It qualifies a teacher to teach multiple subjects in a self-contained class.

N
? Norm-referenced assessment :

An assessment in which an individual or group's performance is compared with a larger group. Usually the larger group is representative of a cross-section of all US students.

?Norm-referenced tests :
Standardized tests designed to measure how a student's performance compares with that of other students. Most standardized achievement tests are norm-referenced, meaning that a student's performance is compared to the performances of students in a norming group. Scores on norm-referenced tests are often reported in terms of grade-level *****alencies or percentiles derived from the scores of the original students.
O
?Objective tests :
Test based on answers that require students demonstrate a knowledge or skill exactly with no opportunity for judgment by the evaluator.
?Objectives :
Goals or aims of learning activity or lesson.
?Objectivity :
Ability to remove personal feelings or presuppositions in assessing learning or other areas.
?Online learning :
Educational environment that exists in cyberspace using communications tools such as email, chartrooms readings on the Internet, and/or video conferencing.
?Open book examination :
Examination format that allows to access resource materials while completing the examination.
?Open learning :
Learning environment that has no formal requirements for admission. See also flexible learning
?Open learning materials :
Materials prepared for and open learning environment.
?Open-ended questions :
Questions that do not have predetermined answers and allow the responder to develop a unique, personal response.
?Optical mark reader (OMR) :
Computer device for reading examinations completed by students who fill in boxes with their responses.
?Oral skills :
Skill set related to speech.
?Outcomes :
Intended results of schooling: What students are supposed to know and be able to do. Educators and others may use the term outcomes to mean roughly the same as goals, objectives, or standards; however, the word "outcomes" is associated with the idea of outcome-based education, which was controversial in the 1990s and is therefore avoided by most school systems today.
?Out-of-Level Testing:
Administering a test that is designed primarily for people of an age or grade level above or below that of the test taker.

P
?Paideia :
An approach to school reform proposed by the late philosopher Mortimer Adler in The Paideia Proposal in 1982. Unlike many reform ideas that try to individualize the curriculum to fit each student's needs and strengths, Paideia calls for all students to study a single rigorous curriculum. The only elective is foreign language. The Paideia curriculum calls for three methods of learning: didactic teaching (lecture), the Socratic method (in which a teacher uses directed questioning to help students arrive at desirable answers), and coaching

? Parent Teacher Association (PTA):
A national organization of parents, teachers, and other interested persons that has chapters in schools. They rely entirely on voluntary participation and offer assistance to schools in many different areas.
?Pedagogy :
The art of teaching?especially the conscious use of particular instructional methods. If a teacher uses a discovery approach rather than direct instruction, for example, she is using a different pedagogy.
? Peer Assistance and Review Program (PAR):
A program that encourages designated consulting teachers to assist other teachers who need help in developing their subject matter knowledge, teaching strategies, or both. They also help teachers to meet the standards for proficient teaching.
? Peer resource program:
A program that trains students to provide their peers with counseling, education, and support on issues such as prejudice, drugs, violence, child abuse, dropping out, AIDS, and peer pressure. Students are also trained to provide tutoring and conflict mediation.
?Performance assessment :
A form of assessment that is designed to assess what students know through their ability to perform certain tasks. For example, a performance assessment might require a student to serve a volleyball, solve a particular type of mathematics problem, or write a short business letter to inquire about a product as a way of demonstrating that they have acquired new knowledge and skills. Advocates believe such assessments?sometimes called performance-based assessments?provide a more accurate indication of what students can do than traditional assessments, which might require a student to fill in the blank, indicate whether a statement is true or false, or select a right answer from multiple given choices.
Evaluating students through task performance can be more time-consuming and therefore more expensive. Most large-scale assessments (such as state testing programs) use this form of assessment sparingly, if at all. But many educators believe it is worth the extra cost because it provides a more accurate and realistic picture of student learning.
?Performance tasks :
Activities, exercises, or problems that require students to show what they can do. Some performance tasks are intended to assess a skill, such as solving a particular type of mathematics problem. Others are designed to have students demonstrate their understanding by applying knowledge. For example, students might be given a current political map of Africa showing the names and locations of countries and a similar map from 1945 and be asked to explain the differences and similarities. To be more authentic (more like what someone might be expected to do in the adult world), the task might be to prepare a newspaper article explaining the changes.
Performance tasks often have more than one acceptable solution. They may call for a student to create a response to a problem and then explain or defend it. Performance tasks are considered a type of assessment (used instead of, or in addition to, conventional tests), but they may also be used as learning activities.

?Personalization :
Schooling that emphasizes the needs of students as individual human beings. To personalize learning, teachers must be able to adapt to students' particular interests and styles, so they must know students well. The term is sometimes used to contrast personalization with individualized instruction, which may be considered more technical and procedural. Some of the ways schools may try to achieve personalization include small classes, advisory systems, independent study, and student-parent-teacher conferences
?Personal tutor :
A teacher who provides personal instruction to an individual student.
?Phonemes :
Sounds of speech.
?Phonics :
The connection between symbols and sounds that form the basis of speech.
?Plagiarism :
Any use of the ideas or writings of another person without providing credit to the original author.
? Physical education (PE):
Activities focused on developing physical and motor fitness; fundamental motor skills and patterns; and skills in aquatics, dance, individual and group games, and sports (including intramural and lifetime sports). The term includes special PE, adaptive PE, movement education, and motor development.
? Positive feedback :
Comments intended to highlight positive elements of a person's activities.
?Poster displays :
Demonstration of one's work by placing materials and evidence on a large display for easy viewing by others.
?Practical work :
Activities completed in a course that are intended to show how theories and general knowledge are applied.
?Process of learning :
Stages a learner passes through as they acquire knowledge or skills.
?Product of learning :

End result of a process of learning; what one has learned.
?Progression :
The movement from one educational stage or developmental level to another.
?Power Test:
A test intended to measure level of performance unaffected by speed of response; hence one in which there is either no time limit or a very generous one. Items are usually arranged in order of increasing difficulty.
? Primary language:
? A student's first language or the language spoken at home.

? professional development :
Programs that allow teachers or administrators to acquire the knowledge and skills they need to perform their jobs successfully. Proficiency is Mastery or ability to do something at grade level.
?problem-based learning :
An approach to curriculum and teaching that involves students in solution of real-life problems rather than conventional study of terms and information. Developed in leading medical schools, problem-based learning begins with a real problem that connects to the student's world, such as how to upgrade a local waste treatment plant. Student teams organize their methods and procedures around specifics of the problem, not around subject matter as such. Students explore various avenues before arriving at a solution to present to the class. Teachers report that students using problem-based learning become more interested in their studies, more motivated to explore in-depth, and more likely to see the value of the lesson.
? Program Improvement (PI) :
A multi step plan to improve the performance of students in schools that did not make adequate yearly progress under No Child Left Behind for two years in a row. Only schools that receive federal Title I funds may be entered in Program Improvement. The steps in PI can include a revised school plan, professional development, tutoring for some students, transfer to another school with free transportation, and, at the end of five years, significant restructuring.
? Pull-out programs :
Students receive instruction in small groups outside of the classroom.
? Pupil-teacher ratio :
? The total student enrollment divided by the number of full-time *****alent teachers. The pupil-teacher ratio is the most common statistic for comparing data across states; it is usually smaller than average class size because some teachers work outside the classroom.

Q

?Qualitative assessment :
Assessment based on personal views, experience or opinion of the reviewer.
?Quality assurance :
Internal and external processes for ensuring the quality of an object or institution maintains a desired level.
?Quality control :
Procedures used to ensure the desired level of quality and standards are met.

R

?Realia :
A name for real-world objects that are brought in to the classroom as tools or aids. See page 10 for an example.

?role plays :
A kind of freer practice activity. A simulated situation designed to give students practice in real world English. Imagining the class is a restaurant where some students play customers and some are waiters is an example of a role play.

?Records of achievement :
Written records, either qualitative or quantitative, of a learner's achievement during a period of learning.
?Redeemable failure :
Situation in which a student does not meet the necessary level but is still allowed to move to the next level.
?Reflection :
Activity of a person to consider a past experience or event and the impact it has had.
?Reflective practice :
Practice of engaging in reflection to identify important elements of past events.
?Regional networks :
Groups of individuals involved in common area of interest or research who will within a limited geographical area.
?Regulations:
Rules, principles, codes, statutes, or laws formulated to control actions or individuals within a designated group.
?Rehearsal
Process of practicing an action or activity in order to perfect it.
?Reliability
In testing, an estimate of how closely the results of a test would match if the test were given repeatedly to the same student under the same conditions (and there was no practice effect).
?Remedial education :
Education intended to remedy a situation; that is, to teach students what they should already have learned. For example, reading classes at the high school or college level are considered remedial because most students learn to read in elementary school. The success of remedial education depends on several factors, including the teacher's approach and expectations, the instructional materials used, and the students' motivation to learn
? Resource specialists :
Specially credentialed teachers who work with special education students by assisting them in regular classes or pulling them out of class for extra help.
? Resource teacher :
A teacher who instructs children with various learning differences. Most often these teachers use small group and individual instruction. Children are assigned to resource teachers after undergoing testing and receiving an IEP
? Role play :
Learning process in which participants act out the roles of other individuals in order to develop particular skills and to meet particular learning objectives
?Rote learning approach :
Students learn a text or dialogue by heart.

?Rubric :
Specific descriptions of performance of a given task at several different levels of quality. Teachers use rubrics to evaluate student performance on performance tasks. Students are often given the rubric, or may even help develop it, so they know in advance what they are expected to do. For example, the content of an oral presentation might be evaluated

S

? SAT (Standardized Achievement Test):

Also known as the SAT Reasoning Test (formerly called Scholastic Aptitude Test), this test is widely used as a college entrance examination. Scores can be compared to state and national averages of seniors graduating from any public or private school.
? School Site Council (SSC) :
A group of teachers, parents, administrators, and interested community members who work together to develop and monitor a school's improvement plan. It is a legally required decision-making body for any school receiving federal funds.
?Scholastic Achievement Tests (SAT II; formerly ACH):
Subject-matter tests required for college entrance by many institutions of higher education. The SAT program is administered by The College Board, a 100-year-old, not-for-profit membership association.

?Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT I):
Formerly called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the SAT was introduced in the 1950s and renamed in 1994. The SAT I is one of the two alternative standardized tests commonly used by institutions of higher education as a primary basis for evaluating a student's application for admission (the other is the ACT). According to The College Board, the name now reflects more accurately what the exam does: It measures what a student has learned, not what a student might hope to accomplish in life. The SAT I is taken each year by 1.3 million students from a variety of cultures, economic conditions, regions, and schools. Requiring three hours to take, the test has seven sections: three verbal, three mathematics, and a nonscored "equating" section used either to try out new questions or to set the scoring scale.
? Self assessment :
Assessment completed by the learner him/herself to evaluate his/her own performance, strengths and weaknesses
?Social and emotional learning (SEL):
Lessons and other experiences intended to help students learn to control their emotions and to work and play with others. Several research-based programs have been developed and tested. Advocates strongly advise a planned, sequential curriculum with time set aside for SEL just as it is for other important goals.
? Special education :
Special instruction provided for students with educational or physical disabilities, tailored to each student's needs and learning style.
?Special-needs students :
Students who, because of physical, developmental, behavioral, or emotional disabilities, require special instructional help to reach their potential. This may include specially trained teachers, innovative technology or instructional materials, access to a resource room, or even external placement. The term sometimes (but not usually) includes students classified as gifted and talented.
? Standardized test :
A test that is in the same format for all who take it. It often relies on multiple-choice questions and the testing conditions?including instructions, time limits, and scoring rubrics?are the same for all students, though sometimes accommodations on time limits and instructions are made for disabled students.
?standards
In current usage, the term usually refers to specific criteria for what students are expected to learn and be able to do. These standards usually take two forms in the curriculum:
- Content standards (similar to what were formerly called goals and objectives), which tell what students are expected to know and be able to do in various subject areas, such as mathematics and science.
- Performance standards, which specify what levels of learning are expected. Performance standards assess the degree to which content standards have been met. The term "world-class standards" refers to the content and performances that are expected of students in other industrialized countries. In recent years, standards have also been developed specifying what teachers should know and be able to do.
?Standards-based education :
Teaching directed toward student mastery of defined standards. Now that nearly all states have adopted curriculum standards, teachers are expected to teach in such a way that students achieve the standards. Experts say this means that teachers must have a clear idea what each standard means, including how it can and will be assessed, and that teachers should monitor individual student achievement of each important standard.


?Stress :
Stress is the articulation of a syllable with greater emphasis, or more force, than others. Stressed syllables are slightly lengthened and are usually given a higher pitch.

? Student Study Team:
A team of educators that comes together at the request of a classroom teacher, parent, or counselor to design in-class intervention techniques to meet the needs of a particular student.
?Student-centered learning :
Educational approach emphasizes the student's responsibility for learning, interacting with teachers and other students, researching, and assessment by focusing on the student's role in these activities.
?Study groups :
Groups assembled to work together to facilitate learning.
?Study skills :
Sets of skills associated with an individual's ability to learn, including note taking, time management, and study planning.
?Summary:
A condensed presentation of the main elements of some material intended to highlight the main points.

? Student teacher :
A teacher in training who is in the last semester of a teacher education program. Student teachers work with a regular teacher who supervises their practice teaching.
?Summative test :
A test given to evaluate and document what students have learned. The term is used to distinguish such tests from formative tests, which are used primarily to diagnose what students have learned in order to plan further instruction.

?Supervision :
The process by which one person, usually someone with greater authority, helps another person improve his performance. A persistent issue in education is the relationship between supervision and teacher evaluation. In education, supervision is ideally a no threatening and helping relationship and teacher evaluation is a formal administrative responsibility. In practice, most supervision is done by the school principal, who visits the teacher's classroom to observe and then meets with the teacher to discuss effectiveness of the lesson. The process of observing and conferring is sometimes called clinical supervision to distinguish it from the kind of employee supervision necessary in any organization, such as making sure people get to work on time.
?Surface learning :
Learning that emphasizes the memorization of details (rote learning); contrast with deep learning.
?Synchronous communication :
Communication that occurs in real time between participants who may or may not be in the same location. Contrasted with asynchronous communication.

?syllabus :
The content of a course. Similar to the aims of a lesson, but usually the aims of a longer period. What the school expects the students to cover during the period of the tuition, whether it?s a week, a term or a year. Syllabuses vary considerably depending on whether they are aimed at an exam class or a General English class.

T

?Target language :
Similar to aims. The target language of a lesson is the language that you want the students to be able to use by the end of the teaching sequence, whether it?s grammar or vocabulary, spoken or written.

?Teaching for understanding :
Engaging students in learning activities intended to help them understand the complexities of a topic. Teaching for understanding is different from teaching simply for recall, which results in students being able to answer questions without knowing what their answers really mean. Specialists advise that a good way to know whether students understand is to ask them to perform a task that shows they can apply and make use of what they have learned in a realistic setting.

? Team teaching :

A teaching method in which two or more teachers teach the same subjects or theme. The teachers may alternate teaching the entire group or divide the group into sections or classes that rotate between the teachers.
?Teamwork :
Process where individuals engage in a cooperative effort to achieve a common objective.
?Thesis:
Written essay of variable length typically completed at the end of a baccalaureate or masters degree program.

?Test Modification:
Changes made in the content, format, and/or administration procedure of a test in order to accommodate test takers who are unable to take the original test under standard test conditions.
?Timed Tests:
A test administered to a test taker who is allotted a strictly prescribed amount of time to respond to the test.

?To the test :
Preparing students for a test by concentrating on the particular things the test contains rather than on the broader body of knowledge the test is intended to measure. An extreme example would be drilling students on the 20 words the teacher knows will appear on a spelling test rather than teaching the whole set of words students are supposed to have learned to spell.

? Thematic units :
A unit of study that has lessons focused on a specific theme, sometimes covering all core subject areas. It is often used as an alternative approach to teaching history or social studies chronologically.
? Tracking :
A common instructional practice of organizing student in groups based on their academic skills. Tracking allows a teacher to provide the same level of instruction to the entire group.
? Traditional calendar :
School starts in September and ends in June for a total of 180 days of instruction.
?Transfer of learning :
Ability to apply knowledge and skills learned in one area to another context or problem.
?Transferable skills :

Skills possessed by an individuals that can be used in a variety of settings.

?Transparency :
Effort to make processes and policies visible to outside interested parties, e.g. external examiners, quality control committees, and the general public
?True Score:
In classical test theory, the average of the scores that would be earned by an individual on an unlimited number of perfectly parallel forms of the same test.

?Tutor :
Instructor who provides instruction to one or more students outside of traditional classroom instruction.

U
?Unit of study:
A segment of instruction focused on a particular topic. School courses are frequently divided into units lasting from one to six weeks. For example, an American history course might include a four-week unit on The Westward Movement.
?Untracking :
Reducing or eliminating grouping by ability, resulting in classes with students from all ability levels. The result of untracking is mixed-ability grouping, also called heterogeneous rather than homogeneous (or ability) grouping. Strictly speaking, tracking refers to students being lumped into groups for all their classes based on their general ability to learn. Grouping for specific purposes, such as current knowledge of mathematics, is theoretically not tracking, although opponents charge that the practice usually has the same results. Advocates of detracking, also called untracking, point to research indicating that when students are grouped by ability, those in lower tracks are usually taught poorly and don't get exposed to "high-status" knowledge. They see untracking as part of a broader restructuring of schools in which student differences are provided for within each class. Opponents say ability grouping is easier for teachers and better for students?those who are academically able and should not be held back, and those who are slower and should have attention to their special needs.

V
? Validity :
In testing, validity means how well a test measures what it is intended to measure. For example, a test in history may be so difficult for young students to read that it is more of a reading test than a test of historical knowledge. That makes it invalid for its intended purpose.
?Video conference :
Discussion between two or more people who can see and hear each other using video equipment and transmissions over telephone lines or the Internet.
?Values education:
Teaching children about basic human values including honesty, kindness, generosity, courage, freedom, equality, and respect. The goal is to raise children to become morally responsible, self-disciplined citizens. Because some values are controversial (such as attitudes toward homo***uality), parent groups have occasionally insisted that schools should not attempt to teach values at all. Taken literally, that would be impossible, because for children to live and work together, some values must be communicated and enforced. Character education programs frequently focus on a set of values arrived at by community consensus. These values may be taught through telling stories, holding discussions, and pointing out examples when they occur.
?Visualization :
Consciously creating a picture of something in the mind. Teachers sometimes encourage students to visualize situations to help them remember information or to prepare them for creative activities such as writing stories.

?Vocational education :
Schooling at the high school level that allows students to spend a part of the school day attending traditional classes and the rest of the day learning a trade, such as auto repair or cosmetology. Vocational classes may be held in the same school building as the other classes or in a separate vocational-technical school. Students may also train at real work sites.
W
? Whole language:
? A teaching method that focuses on reading for meaning in context.
?

Z
?Zero tolerance :
Provisions in legislation or official policies that require specified punishments for given offenses, no matter how slight the offense. Zero tolerance rules are adopted to send a message about unacceptable behavior, and adherents support them for that reason. However, school administrators who are permitted no flexibility in enforcing such rules are sometimes ridiculed in the press for their apparent poor judgment.

References :
? Lexicon of learning : www.ascd.org
? Glossary : www.ncela.gwu.edu
? Teacher glossary of terms in teaching : www.tech-nology.com/glossary