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Glossary
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The following terms include selected boldfaced words and concepts defined in the text as well as some words and concepts used but not defined in the text.
academic games  Learners compete with each other, one-to-one or team-to-team, to determine which individual or group is superior at a given academic task (including spelldowns, anagrams, and so forth).
academic instruction time  Actual amount of time the teacher is conducting instruction.
academic learning time (ALT)  Amount of academic instruction time during which students are actively and successfully engaged in learning.
accountability  The idea that teachers should be held responsible for what and how much students learn.
achievement gap  Persistent differences in achievement between minority and majority students (particularly white, Black and Hispanic) as indicated by scores on standardized tests, teacher grades, and other data.
achievement tests  Tests that measure what a student knows in a subject area (for example, mathematics) compared to what other, like students know.
action research  Process of conducting school-based research to improve teaching and learning.
action zone  The triangular area, defined by imaginary lines across the front and down the middle of the classroom, where most student-teacher interaction occurs.
active listening  When a teacher permits or encourages a learner to provide information or express some feeling and then paraphrases what the learner has said.
active teaching  Instructional method containing five instructional phases: the opening, development, independent work, homework, and review.
activity reinforcers  Special privileges given to students when they behave appropriately in order to increase the likelihood that they will repeat the behavior.
activity routines  Classroom routines established to minimize problems related to such things as the location of materials and acceptable behaviors.
advance organizers  Procedures teachers use to prepare learners to better receive and understand new information. For example, a teacher can connect new information with information students already possess.
affective domain  The area of learning that deals with students' feelings, interests, attitudes, appreciation; focuses on the attitudinal, emotional, and valuing goals for learners. Five subdivisions of this domain are receiving or attending, responding, valuing, organization, and characterization.
affiliation need  Teacher's need to get along with students, parents, other teachers.
allocated time  Amount of mandated time intended or scheduled for academic activities.
alternative responses  Part of a series of multiple-choice questions that offer possible solutions to the stem.
analysis  The process of breaking down material into component parts so it can be understood.
anecdotal comments  Brief, teacher-written descriptions about students, usually found in school records.
anticipatory set  An introductory activity that will capture students' attention, help them see the purpose and value of what they are to learn, and relate what they are to learn to what students already know.
applied behavioral analysis (ABA)  Based on principles of operant conditioning. Teachers reward or reinforce learners when they do the right thing.
aptitude tests  Tests that measure a student's general potential to learn.
artifact  Any object produced by the student or teacher related to the schooling experience.
assessment  Process of collecting, synthesizing, and interpreting information to aid in decision making.
at-risk students  Students most likely to experience school failure.
attention deficit disorder (ADD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)  Children with ADD have problems staying on task and focusing. They may be impulsive, fidgety and restless—full of unfocused energy—and easily distracted. Some children with ADD are also hyperactive (ADHD). Hyperactivity, a disorder of the central nervous system, makes it difficult for affected children to control their motor activities.
authentic learning  Learning that occurs when students engage in real experiences, for example learning library skills in the library rather than reading about them.
baseline  Information about how often a specified student presently performs a desired behavior.
basic practice  Teaching method employing much supervised student practice and teacher provision of corrective feedback.
behavior disorders  Conduct disorder, anxiety-withdrawal disorder, and immaturity.
behavior modification  Systematic attempt to change behavior by using rewards or adversive stimuli that are linked to those behaviors.
behavioral learning theory  School of thought that attempts to explain why we behave as we do.
behaviorists  Advocates of behavioral learning theory.
benchmarks  Accomplishments along the way toward reaching a particular goal. For example, knowing the sounds of letters in order to read.
block plans  Daily plans that clearly show the scope and sequence of a learning unit as well as general objectives, learning activities, evaluation, and resources.
brainstorming  Learners are asked to withhold judgment or criticism while they produce a very large number of ideas for something such as how to resolve a problem.
case approach  Learning by studying and analyzing real situations. We can learn about and analyze many school events and phenomena by looking at cases such as those contained throughout the text.
case study  Written document that pieces together all kinds of student information to obtain a more complete and articulated picture of the student.
centers of interest  Classroom displays used to interest learners in themes or topics.
child abuse  When children are treated badly. Classifications include emotional/verbal, sexual, or physical abuse and neglect.
Children's Defense Fund  Organization that advocates on behalf of America's children.
clarity  See instructional clarity.
classical conditioning  Learning that occurs when we already have an established connection (contiguity) between a stimulus and a response, and then a new stimulus is paired with the original stimulus long enough to evoke the same response when the original stimulus is absent.
classroom management  Using the provisions and procedures needed to create and maintain an environment in which teaching and learning can occur.
climate  Sociopsychological dimensions of the classroom including the emotional tone and the comfort level students feel with the teacher, with learning tasks, and with one another as a social group.
cognitive development  Intellectual development that evolves through four stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational.
cognitive domain  Area of educational objectives that contains objectives related to intellectual tasks such as recalling, comprehending, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information.
cognitive learning theory  School of thought that attempts to explain what goes on in the brain when we are learning; focuses on information processing (how we take in, store, and retrieve information) and meaningful learning (how to organize, structure, and teach information so that it might be best used).
cognitive style  The consistent ways an individual responds to a wide range of perceptual learning tasks.
cognitivists  Advocates of cognitive learning theory.
colloquium  A guest or guests are invited to class to be interviewed about their interests or activities. (For example, TV show "Actors' Studio.")
completion item  Type of test item that requires students to supply missing words in a statement or a short phrase that answers a question posed in a stem.
computer-assisted instruction (CAI)  The use of computers to present programmed instruction or to assist learners with specific learning tasks.
conceptual tempo  Style of learning based on usage of time; one's conceptual tempo falls between "impulsive" and "reflective."
concrete operational stage  Piaget's third stage of intellectual development (approximately 7 to 11 years of age). Children become capable of logical thought and learn to solve specific problems and think logically about concrete experiences.
conflict resolution  A method used in Teacher Effectiveness Training to encourage teachers to establish open and honest communication in the classroom in order to resolve problems.
constructivism  An approach that asserts that for learners to gain deep understanding, they must actively come to know (construct) knowledge for themselves.
contiguity  Simple stimulus-response pairing or connection. When one stimulus is regularly associated with another, a response (S-R connection) is established. If two events occur together repeatedly they will eventually become associated, so that even if only one of the events occurs, the response will occur with it.
contracts  Written agreements students and teachers enter into that describe the academic work the student is to accomplish at a particular level in a particular period of time.
control need  Teacher's need to have others behave well or appropriately.
convergent thinking  Style that predisposes people to think in conventional, typical ways by encouraging them to look for a single, local answer to a given problem. Contrasts with divergent thinking.
cooperative learning  Learners work together in small groups and are usually rewarded for their collective accomplishments.
created response items  Test questions that require students to develop or create a response in their own words.
criterion-referenced scores  Student raw scores that are compared to a specific preestablished standard or criterion.
cumulative record  A personal record kept for each school enrollee that contains personal information, home and family data, record of school attendance, school grades, standardized test scores, and teacher anecdotal comments.
curriculum alignment  Making certain that what is taught is aligned with what students must know in order to pass important examinations.
curriculum guides  Describe what is to be learned at each grade level and provide related instructional suggestions.
debates  Formal discussions in which a few students present and contest varying points of view with regard to an issue.
demonstrations  Form of presentation whereby the teacher or learners show how something works or operates or how to do a particular task.
development  Orderly changes that occur in a person over time from conception to death. Includes physical, emotional, or cognitive changes across time.
developmental stages  Erikson's comprehensive theory of emotional and social development suggests that there are eight critical stages, each leading to a positive or negative outcome—trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame and doubt, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. role confusion, intimacy vs. isolation, generativity vs. stagnation, and integrity vs. despair.
dialogue journal  A journal recording a running conversation that expresses thoughts, questions, and problems related to the roles, responsibilities, and practices of teaching.
differentiated instruction  See individualized instruction.
direct teaching or instruction (expository teaching)  Teachers control instruction by presenting information, giving directions to the class, and using criticism; associated with teacher-centered, teacher-controlled classrooms; an instructional procedure for teaching content in the most efficient, straightforward way.
disabled or challenged children  Students with special needs. May be mentally or physically challenged, emotionally disturbed, learning disabled, or have communication or behavior problems.
discipline  Specific actions teachers take in response to students who ignore a school procedure or rule.
discovery learning  Learning that occurs when students derive their own meaning from experiences and experiments.
discussion  Occurs when students, or students and a teacher, converse back and forth to share information, ideas, or opinions, or to resolve a problem.
disengaged children  Those who are inattentive, disinterested in school. Also called reluctant learners.
distance education  When instruction is provided for persons off-campus through the use of computers, telephone, printed materials, and so forth.
divergent thinking  Style that predisposes a person to think in independent, flexible, and imaginative ways; often equated with creativity. Contrasts with convergent thinking.
domains of learning  Cognitive, affective, and psychomotor kinds of learning that parallel the cognitive, humanistic, and behavioral schools of thought about learning.
dyslexia  Reading impairment; often the result of genetic defect or brain injury.
economically disadvantaged children  Children whose parents fall below a governmentally determined poverty line.
educationally disadvantaged children  Children who: do not perform well academically, are more often identified as retarded, drop out of school at a higher rate, and are more likely to enter school with experiential deficits.
efficacy  Having a sense of control over one's circumstances.
emotional intelligence (EQ)  The ability to get along with others.
established structure  The class rules and routines that effective teachers establish and enforce.
establishing set  See set induction.
evaluation  Process of making a qualitative judgment based on collected measurement data.
evaluative set  When teachers establish what students already know about a topic.
exceptionality  The special physical, social, emotional, or mental needs or gifts certain children have. Exceptional children may be either disabled or gifted.
executive planning routines  Classroom routines that help a teacher to manage personal time and to fulfill the many roles of teaching, such as completing paperwork and clerical chores, grading papers, and planning.
explicit instruction  Teachers review and check homework, present new content/skill, guide students' practice, provide feedback and correctives, move to independent practice, and conduct regular reviews.
expository lesson  A lesson in which the teacher presents facts, ideas, and explanations.
expository teaching (direct instruction)  Occurs when teachers present information and direction to students. Teacher-centered, goal-oriented, structured approach to teaching.
extended response items  Test questions that do not place any restrictions on student responses, thus allowing greater creativity and flexibility of response.
extinction  The elimination of minor misbehavior by ignoring it (as long as it is not dangerous or distracting to other students).
feedback  Information teachers provide to inform students of their progress and to help them learn to monitor themselves and improve their own learning.
field-dependent  Cognitive style of a person who sees the larger picture but not its specifics or details. Field-dependent learners "see the forest" rather than the individual trees.
field-independent  Cognitive style of a person who sees the specifics or details of something but not the larger picture. Field-independent learners "see the individual trees" rather than the forest.
field observation  Observations made or work carried on in a natural setting. Also referred to as fieldwork or field trips.
field-sensitive  See field-dependent.
follow-up  Phase of the questioning process where the teacher reacts to the student's response to a question.
formal curriculum  What the state and school district expect will be taught and learned.
formal interview  A structured, face-to-face meeting with the explicit purpose of obtaining specific information about the interviewee's experiences, views, likes, and so forth.
formal observation  Carefully planned observational efforts to obtain specific information about a target student or students.
formal operational stage  Piaget's fourth stage of intellectual development, beginning at about age 11. At this level, children are more able to deal in abstractions or perform activities mentally.
formative assessment  Ongoing student assessment conducted during the course of instruction.
gender roles  Male/female roles learned early in life.
generativity  The ability to have and nurture children and/or be involved with future generations. Productivity and creativity are essential features.
Gifted and Talented Act (Public Law 95-561)  Provides federal funding for gifted education.
gifted and talented learners  Children who possess outstanding abilities or potential in the areas of general intellectual capacity, specific academic aptitude, creative or productive thinking, leadership ability, visual or performing arts, and psychomotor ability.
grade equivalent scores  Scores that describe the pupil's level of performance in comparison to pupils in a particular grade.
group alerting  The process of keeping the students' attention and of holding them accountable for their behavior and learning.
handicapped or challenged children  Learners with impairments.
Head Start program  Preschool program intended to counteract negative environmental effects for economically disadvantaged 3- and 4-year-old children.
higher-level cognitive skills  The intellectual ability to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information.
humanistic learning theory  School of thought emphasizing the development of the learner as a psychologically healthy person.
hurried children  Children whose caregivers hurry or pressure them to excel and/or to grow up.
hyperactivity  Behavior disorder characterized by abnormal amounts of movement, inattentiveness, and restlessness.
identity  The organization of the individual's drives, abilities, beliefs, and history into a consistent self-image.
impulsive learning/thinking style  Cognitive style of responding quickly but often inaccurately. Contrasts with reflective learning style.
independent study  Any school-related assignment done more or less alone by students.
indirect teaching or instruction (learner-centered instruction)  Teachers provide students with experiences or information and then ask students for their observations and conclusions. Contrasts with direct instruction or expository teaching.
Individualized Educational Plan (IEP)  A learning program that teachers, parents, a qualified school official, and perhaps the student help develop for a student with special learning needs. It sets forth goals, services, and teaching strategies for that student.
individualized instruction  Instruction that attempts to tailor teaching and learning to a learner's unique strengths and needs.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (Public Law 105–17)  Law requiring that students with disabilities be placed in the least restrictive, or most normal school environment they can succeed in.
informal interview  A face-to-face meeting that is more like casual conversation, allowing talk to flow naturally and spontaneously in more or less any direction.
informal observation  Casual, unplanned observation of a student(s).
information processing  Efforts to understand how we take in and store new information and how we retrieve it when it is needed.
inquiry learning  See discovery learning.
inquiry-oriented teaching  Highly individual process of reflecting on one's teaching in order to make rational, deliberate decisions about teaching and learning.
instructional alternative  Any teaching approach that can be used to facilitate student learning and satisfaction.
instructional clarity  A quality of effective instruction that helps students come to a thorough and accurate understanding of the material.
instructional objective  Statement of concepts, attitudes, or skills that students are expected to achieve by the end of some period of instruction.
instructional planning  Process by which someone (usually a teacher) decides how best to select and organize a learning experience to maximize both teacher and student achievement and satisfaction.
instructional routines  Routines or procedures teachers regularly follow when they teach such as the formats for giving directions, monitoring student work, and questioning students.
intervention  A reinforcement given to students every time they perform a desired behavior in order to encourage them to behave appropriately more often. Used in applied behavioral analysis.
invitational learning  Occurs when teachers communicate to learners that they are "responsible, able, and valuable" people.
inviting classroom  An appealing, positive place that provides a sense of physical and emotional safety for both students and the teacher.
Inviting School Success  A program developed to get teachers to communicate to learners that they are "responsible, able, and valuable" people.
laboratory experiences  Scaled-down teaching experiences carried out on campus, often with a small group of peers, rather than in an actual classroom setting.
latchkey children  Children between about 6 and 13 years of age who do not have adult supervision for some part of the day.
latchkey programs  Before- and after-school programs for children who otherwise would be without adult supervision.
learning abilities  Classified by Sternberg as memory, analysis, creativity, and application.
learning module  A self-contained package of individualized learning activities that guides students to know or to be able to do something.
learning style  A consistent pattern of behavior and performance an individual uses to approach learning experiences. Includes how a person learns best; the person's learning personality; and the learner's tendency to use different sensory modes to understand experiences and to learn (visual, auditory, kinesthetic).
learning theory-based direct instruction  The sequence of events followed by teachers who are guided by what is known about learning.
least restrictive environment  A school setting that is as normal as possible given a child's special problems and needs. Often involves placing a child with disabilities into a regular classroom for all or part of the day.
lesson plan  A guide to teaching a lesson that includes lesson objectives, how the lesson will be taught and how student learning and satisfaction will be assessed.
long-term memory  Seemingly limitless and permanent storage system where we keep information for a long time.
mainstreaming  Placing a challenged or handicapped child in as many activities as possible within regular classrooms.
management routines  Classroom routines used to organize the classroom and direct student behavior; nonacademic routines.
mandated time  Formal time scheduled for school or academic activities.
mastery learning  Allows students to study academic material at their own pace until they learn it.
matching items  Test questions that ask students to match items in one column with related items in another.
meaningful learning  Occurs when information is effectively organized, structured, and taught so as to maximize its usefulness.
measurement  Process of gathering objective, usually quantitative, information or data about student performance.
momentum  The flow of activities and the pace of teaching and learning maintained in a classroom.
moral development  A progressive increase in the capability for moral reasoning. Piaget suggests that moral development/reasoning evolves through two levels: morality of constraint and morality of cooperation.
moral education  Akin to character education, values education, and citizenship education. Intended to help learners develop more responsible behavior both in school and out.
morality of constraint  The first of two levels in Piaget's stages of moral reasoning. At this stage, children regard rules as sacred and unchangeable, and punishment as inflexible.
morality of cooperation  Piaget's second stage of moral reasoning. At this stage, individuals regard rules as flexible, believe there can be exceptions to them, and believe that punishment must take into account the circumstances surrounding the misbehavior.
multiethnic education  Educational practices that encourage learners to revere their roots and culture, as well as the cultures of others.
multiple-choice items  Test questions that each consist of a stem which presents a problem or asks a question, followed by several alternative responses. Students are expected to select the alternative that offers the best solution to the problem or best answers the question presented in the stem.
multiple intelligence  A theory that suggests that intelligence includes many different kinds of skills and abilities.
multiple intelligences  The belief that we are possessed of many "intelligences" (abilities and talents) including: linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, body—kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic, spiritual, and existential.
negative reinforcement  Encouraging desirable behaviors by removing or omitting an undesirable or aversive stimulus.
non-graded (ungraded) school  One in which students complete a grade level's work at their own pace. Some may do so in less than the standard year's time and are moved to the next level of work accordingly.
nonnegative affect  A manner teachers have that ensures that learners feel psychologically safe and secure.
norm-referenced scores  Raw scores of an individual student compared to those of other students who took the test; indicate how well a student's achievement compares with that of other students in the class, school, district, state, or nation.
normal curve  Bell-shaped graph depicting the frequency with which particular scores are expected.
norming group  The class-, school-, district-, statewide, or national group of students standard scores are compared to.
observational learning  Also called social learning. Occurs when learners learn by watching; in order for observational learning to be effective, learners must attend to someone's behavior, retain what they observed the "model" do, imitate or reproduce the behavior they saw, and experience reinforcement or satisfaction as a consequence.
online schools  Also called electronic, virtual, or cyber schools. They provide online learning both for homeschooled students and students in attendance at neighborhood schools.
operant conditioning  Learning facilitated through reinforcement. Behaviors are strengthened or weakened depending upon the reinforcement or punishment received.
orientation set  A new instructional activity that engages students' attention.
overcorrection  The compulsory practice of appropriate behavior as a result of undesirable behavior.
overlapping  Teacher's ability to attend to more than one classroom activity or episode at a time.
parent relationships and home conditions need  Teachers' need to maintain constructive relationships with parents and to be aware of the impact of home conditions on school success.
pedagogy  The art and science of teaching; instruction in teaching methods.
peer assisted learning  A form of tutoring whereby students help each other.
percentile rank (PR) score  Indicates what percentage of people taking the test scored at or below a given score.
perceptual modality preferences  Learner's tendency to prefer different sensory modes to understand experiences and to learn (visual, auditory, kinesthetic). (See learning style.)
performance differences  The way students vary with regard to school performance. Some students do well at most things, others do poorly at most things, but most students demonstrate an unevenness within a range of school activity.
physical environment  Those aspects of the classroom that are concrete, easily identifiable, and exist independent of the people who inhabit the classroom.
physically challenged or impaired  Having orthopedic handicaps, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, or other physical challenges.
portfolio  Artifacts collected during schooling, selected as representative of the student's experience, and reflected upon to show links to academic, skill, or behavioral objectives.
positive expectations  The desire effective teachers show for the academic progress and success of each student.
positive reinforcement  Giving students praise, rewards, or a positive reaction when they choose to behave appropriately.
precision teaching  Overlearning through continued practice.
preoperational, prelogical stage  Piaget's second stage of intellectual development, lasting from approximately 2 to 7 years of age. Young learners at this stage develop knowledge from personal experience, explore and manipulate concrete objects, and learn the three Rs and other basic knowledge and skills.
presentation  Informative talk a more knowledgeable person makes to less knowledgeable persons.
proactive management  Classroom management that focuses on preventing problems from arising in the classroom by eliciting student cooperation and involving students in educationally relevant activities.
probing  Asking additional questions of the responding student to help expand or raise the level of the student's response.
problem  Goal-response interference.
problem solving  Requires learners to consider how they would attain a goal.  Different types of problems include well-structured problems (subject matter–related) and ill-structured problems (life-related).
proficiency tests  Usually refer to state tests that students must pass in order to gain promotion. Synonymous with "high-stakes" tests.
programmed instruction (PI)  Instruction whereby the material to be learned is usually presented in small parts (called frames) so students can teach themselves. Learners respond to the information; if their responses are correct, they receive positive reinforcement and the next step or frame is presented.
project method  Allows learners to choose and work on projects and activities.
protocols  Original records of some important event that learners study to try to understand the event or its consequences.
proximity  Amount of space between teacher and students. Proximity can influence students' behavior and keep them alert.
psychological androgyny  Having the best traits of both genders.
psychological environment  The social and emotional climate of the classroom. How students feel about the teacher, learning tasks, and one another as a social group.
psychomotor domain  The area of learning that deals with students' physical abilities and skills. It includes behaviors such as handwriting, typing or keyboarding, swimming, sculpting, and so forth. There are seven divisions of this domain: perception, set, guided response, mechanism, complex or overt response, adaptation, and origination.
psychosocial development  Theory of development that describes the relationship between the individual's needs and the social environment. Suggests that adult personal and social characteristics are a result of the life stages in which individuals resolve various dichotomies (for example, trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame, industry vs. inferiority).
Public Law 93-247  A law defining abuse and neglect as "physical or mental injury, sexual abuse, negligent treatment, or maltreatment of a child under 18 by a person who is responsible for the child's welfare under circumstances which indicate that the child's health or welfare is harmed or threatened thereby."
Public Law 94-142 (Education of All Handicapped Children Act)  Law requiring that students with handicaps be placed in the least restrictive (most normal) environment.
Public Law 95-561 (Gifted and Talented Act)  Provides federal funding for gifted education.
punishment  Something undesirable, painful, or discomforting that is applied to a student as a result of misbehavior and that is intended to weaken the probability that the inappropriate behavior will recur.
raw score  The number of test items or points that a learner obtains on a test. For example 8 of a possible 10.
reactive management  Classroom management that focuses on reacting to students' misbehavior.
reception learning  When teachers present students with carefully organized and structured new information.
reciprocal teaching  When the teaching function is slowly and systematically given over to students.
recitation  Students are given information to study independently and then recite what they have learned when the teacher questions them.
redirecting  When teachers ask another student to answer the same question.
reflection  Learning from experience through the process of critically examining and refining teaching practice and/or other aspects of education practice.
reflective learning style  Cognitive style of responding slowly, carefully, and accurately. Contrasts with impulsive learning style.
reflective teaching  A laboratory teaching experience in a supportive environment that allows one to teach a lesson that serves as a basis for subsequent analysis and introspection.
reinforcement  A principle of learning that recognizes that learners are more likely to do things when they feel good about doing them, usually by receiving some reward or recognition.
reinforcement menu  A list of rewards that are effective with a particular student or group of students.
reinforcement theory  The idea that a teacher can influence student behavior by rewarding desirable behaviors and ignoring or discouraging undesirable behaviors.
reliability  The quality of providing consistent measurement results over time; a measure of how well a test evaluates what it is meant to evaluate from one situation to the next.
reliability coefficients  Statistical indications of the reliability of tests; range from .00 to 1.00, with zero representing no reliability and 1.00 indicating perfect reliability.
remediation  Help for students who did not master the material the first time.
rephrasing  Teachers restate the same question in different terms to help a student understand it.
research-based direct teaching or instruction  The sequence of events followed by teachers who are more effective in bringing about student learning.
resilient children  Children who are able to overcome negative circumstances and achieve successes.
resource unit  A plan for teaching something in the curriculum available from a source such as the state education department.
restricted response items  Created response test questions that set explicit parameters students are to respond within.
role confusion  Having an inconsistent image of self with respect to one's drives, abilities, beliefs, and history.
role playing  An activity in which learners take on the role of another person to see what it would be like to be that person.
routines  Established procedures whose main function is to control and coordinate movement and events in the classroom.
rubric  A matrix or table of indicators characteristic of particular levels of student performance; used to evaluate student work, usually projects or performances.
scaffolding  Teachers providing extra support and help to make sure that students can complete a task successfully.
scheduling  Changing the frequency of reinforcement based on students' behavior.
score band  Range of scores that includes the student's actual score (usually at the middle of the band) and indicates how far above or below that score the student might have performed on a different day.
selected response items  Test questions that require students to select or choose a correct response from a list of possible answers.
self-directed learning  When students are permitted to set their own learning goals and means of attaining them.
self-esteem  Feelings of personal worth.
self-fulfilling prophecy  When a person gets what he or she expects or achieves at the level he or she expects to reach.
self-referenced grading system  When grades are determined by comparing a student's current performance with past performances. The grade is based upon improvement.
sensorimotor stage  The first of Piaget's four stages of intellectual development, lasting from approximately 0 to 2 years of age. During this stage, the intellect develops primarily through the use of senses and motor activity.
set induction  Planning an introductory activity that will capture students' attention, help them see the purpose and value of what is to be learned, and relate what they are to learn to that which they already know.
short-term memory  Severely limited storage system that holds only a small amount of information for merely seconds. Also referred to as working memory.
simulation games  Competitive games that mirror some aspect of life.
simulations  Experiences intended to give the appearance or have the effect of some situation in order to provide "firsthand experience" with how that situation works.
smoothness  Moving students through a lesson with few interruptions.
social learning  See observational learning.
social reinforcers  Positive messages, either verbal or nonverbal, given to a student who behaves appropriately so as to increase the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated.
socioeconomic status (SES)  A person or family's social and economic position, i.e., prestige and wealth.
sociogram  Diagrammatic representation of the social relationships that exist within a group at a particular point in time.
sociometry  Technique used to obtain information about the social acceptability of individuals within a group.
speech impairment  The inability to produce effective speech because of difficulties in articulation, stuttering, or voicing.
standard deviation  Indication of how widely the scores vary from the mean; small standard deviation indicates that scores do not differ greatly, most being very near the mean; large standard deviation indicates much variation in the scores.
standard scores  Norm-referenced scores that report a student's performance in relation to the mean and standard deviation of the norming group.
standardized tests  Tests that have controlled, consistent administration, scoring, and interpretation procedures. These tests allow a given student's score on a specific test to be compared with scores made by a very large number of similar students who have taken the same test.
standardized test score  Score that shows how one student's performance compares to others.
stanine scores  A nine-value scale that reports standardized test results; 5 is the midpoint or mean and each standard deviation is 2. Stanine scores are more easily interpreted than z scores and T scores because stanine scores are less precise.
state standards  Standards set at the state department of education level that indicate what students must know and be able to do.
stem  The part of the multiple-choice question that presents a problem or asks a question.
student cooperation and accountability  In direct instruction, holding students accountable for their academic work and for assisting each other and sharing materials.
student misbehavior  Actions teachers perceive as disruptive.
student success need  The need of teachers to help learners succeed both academically and socially.
summative assessment  Assessment conducted after instruction is completed; used to make final judgments about a student's learning and to summarize a student's achievement or progress.
sustained expectations  Teacher-held expectations that do not accurately reflect the student's ability.
synthesis  The ability to put component parts together in a new and different way.
T score  Score scaled to the normal curve which uses 50 as the midpoint (mean) and sets each standard deviation at 10 points; all scores are positive; eliminates negative numbers and decimal places.
tangible reinforcers  Concrete objects (rewards) given to a student who behaves appropriately to increase the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated.
task orientation  Characteristic of direct instruction that places the primary emphasis on academic learning.
taught curriculum  What is actually taught by teachers. Includes the formal curriculum and whatever is done to supplement or complement it.
teachable moment  Taking advantage of something that happens unexpectedly and learning about it. For example, a thunderstorm.
teacher centrality  Characteristic of direct instruction whereby teachers exert strong instructional direction and control.
teacher sense of efficacy  Teacher believes that he/she is competent and in control of the classroom.
team teaching  Teachers collaborate and jointly teach a group of students.
test blueprint  Matrix that depicts the relationship between instructional objectives or topics covered, cognitive levels, and items on a test; used as a guide to developing teacher-made tests.
test sophistication  The degree to which a student is comfortable and knowledgeable about how to complete tests efficiently.
time need  The need to have sufficient time to do what needs to be done.
time on task  Time when students are actively engaged in academic tasks.
time-out  Removing the student from a disruptive situation and from attention and rewards in order to reduce unwanted behavior.
transition set  Information that helps students understand how new material relates to what they learned previously.
transitions  Points in an instructional interaction when the context changes in some way, for example, when moving from one activity to another.
tutoring  Form of individualization whereby either a teacher or a fellow student provides a learner or small group of learners with special help.
unit plan  A plan for learning a major section or topic within a course. Usually learned over a period of weeks and limited to one topical area.
valence and challenge arousal  Ability to engender students with curiosity and enthusiasm and get them involved in independent work.
validity  The degree to which a test measures what it was intended to measure.
values clarification  Methods whereby learners (1) identify how they feel or what they believe about something; (2) value that feeling or belief; and (3) if valued, act on it.
variety and challenge  The ability to identify and assign independent study assignments that are different enough to be interesting and challenging enough to maintain attention.
virtual, online or e-schools  See online schools.
wait time  The pause between a teacher question and student response and the pause between student response and teacher reaction.
withitness  The ability of a teacher to communicate to students that he or she is aware of student behavior throughout the classroom at all times, even when the teacher is not nearby or looking directly at the students.
z score  Most basic type of standard score; mean is 0 and each standard deviation is 1. The larger the z score, the more the raw score differs from the mean; z scores are reported to two place values.





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