| Authentic Assessment |
Use of performance assessments which call upon the
student to demonstrate specific skills and competencies, that is, to apply
the skills and knowledge they should have mastered. |
| Brain Theory |
A learning theory based upon research on brain functioning revealing the following. The brain is a parallel processor, meaning it can perform several activities at once, like tasting and smelling. Learning engages the whole physiology. The search for meaning is innate. The search for meaning comes through patterning. Emotions are critical to patterning. The brain processes wholes and parts simultaneously. Learning involves both focused attention and peripheral perception. Learning involves both conscious and unconscious processes. We have two types of memory: spatial and rote. We understand best when facts are embedded in natural, spatial memory. Learning is enhanced by challenge and inhibited by threat. Each brain is unique. The three instructional techniques associated with brain-based learning are: Orchestrated Immersion--Creating learning environments that fully immerse students in an educational experience. Relaxed Alertness--Trying to eliminate fear in learners, while maintaining a highly challenging environment. Active Processing--Allowing the learner to consolidate and internalize information by actively processing it. |
| Cooperative Learning |
This allows students to work together in small,
mixed-ability groups and the teacher’s role shifts from learning dissemination
to learning facilitator. The responsibility for learning shifts from the
teacher to the student. Students are not only responsible for learning
the material that is presented, but also for ensuring everyone in the group
knows the material as well. |
| Concept Attainment |
An indirect instructional strategy that uses
a structured inquiry process. It is based on the work of Jerome Bruner.
In concept attainment, students figure out the attributes of a group or
category that has already been formed by the teacher. To do so, students
compare and contrast examples that contain the attributes of the concept
with examples that do not contain those attributes. They then separate
them into two groups. Concept attainment, then, is the search for and identification
of attributes that can be used to distinguish examples of a given group
or category from non-examples. It relies heavily upon advanced organizers
in which students explore understanding via facilitation as opposed to
direct instruction. |
| Constructivism |
A philosophy of learning founded on the premise that,
by reflecting on our experiences, we construct our own understanding of
the world we live in. Learning, therefore, is the process of adjusting
our mental models to accommodate new experiences. Learning involves deconstruction
and reconceptualization. |
| Critical Thinking |
The use of those cognitive skills or strategies that increase the probability of a desirable outcome. It is used to describe thinking that is purposeful, reasoned and goal directed - the kind of thinking involved in solving problems, formulating inferences, calculating likelihoods, and making decisions when the thinker is using skills that are thoughtful and effective for the particular context and type of thinking task. Critical thinking also involves evaluating the thinking process - the reasoning that went into the conclusion we've arrived at the kinds of factors considered in making a decision. Critical thinking is sometimes called directed thinking because it focuses on a desired outcome. |
| Differentiated Instruction |
An approach based on the idea that because students differ significantly in their strengths, interests, learning styles, and readiness to learn, it is necessary to adapt instruction to suit these differing characteristics. One or a number of the following elements can be differentiated in any classroom learning situation: the content of learning (what students are going to learn, and when), the process of learning (the types of tasks and activities), the products of learning (the ways in which students demonstrate learning) and the affect/environment of learning (the context and environment in which students learn and demonstrate learning). A differentiated approach, driven by an understanding of the student, is thought to contribute to high levels of both achievement and engagement in learning. |
| Flipped Classroom |
An instructional strategy and a type of blended learning that reverses the traditional educational arrangement by delivering instructional content, often online, outside of the classroom and moves activities, including those that may have traditionally been considered homework, into the classroom. In a flipped classroom model, students watch online lectures, collaborate in online discussions, or carry out research at home and engage in concepts in the classroom with the guidance of the instructor. |
| Flipped Learning |
An approach in which direct instruction moves from the group learning space within the classroom to the individual learning space, and the resulting group space is transformed into a dynamic, interactive learning environment emphasizing facilitation and assistive learning to guide students as they apply concepts and engage creatively in the subject matter. |
| Inquiry Learning |
An approach to teaching and learning that places students’ questions, ideas and observations at the center of the learning experience by establishing a culture where ideas are respectfully challenged, tested, redefined and viewed as improvable transitioning from a position of wondering to a position of enacted understanding and further questioning. As a result, both educators and students share responsibility for learning. The process relies on open-ended investigations, evidence-based reasoning and creative problem identification and problem-solving. |
| Multiple Intelligences |
Seven different ways to demonstrate intellectual
ability/talent (Visual/Spatial Intelligence, Verbal/Linguistic Intelligence, Logical/Mathematical
Intelligence, Bodily/Kinesthetic Intelligence, Musical/Rhythmic Intelligence,
Interpersonal Intelligence, Intrapersonal Intelligence). |
| Problem-Based Learning |
A curriculum development and delivery system
that recognizes the need to develop problem solving skills as well as the
necessity of helping students to acquire necessary knowledge and skills.
PBL utilizes real world problems, not hypothetical case studies with neat,
convergent outcomes. It is in the process of struggling with actual problems
that students learn both content and critical thinking skills. |
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