Academic Learning Time
Engaged time with a high success rate (students can answer 70-80% of questions correctly)
Allocated Time
Time a teacher schedules for a subject
Behavioral Objective
Specific skill or academic task to be mastered. Objective is taught, then tested. Students who succeed move on; students who do not remain on same topic.
Block Scheduling
Increases class period length.
Bloom's Taxonomy
Proceeds from lowest (knowledge) to highest level of questions (evaluation and creation)
Cooperative Learning
Cooperative Learning - students work on activities in small, heterogeneous groups
Differentiated Instruction
Offers multiple options for instruction and assessment. Organizes instructional activities around student activities instead of content.
Direct Teaching
Emphasizes STRUCTURED LESSON - presentation of new info followed by student practice and teacher feedback. Teacher as strong leader.
Engaged Time
The part of allocated time in which students are actively involved with subject matter (Basically, time when they're not engaged in other activities, like chatting with friends or waiting around)
High-order Questions
Demands time and thought for response. Open-ended or analytic.
Induction Program
"provide some systematic and sustained assistance to beginning teachers for at least one school year" - to increase teacher retention. Helps teachers refine skills and get through difficult first experiences.
Learning Community
Teacher is a guide or facilitator. Empowers students to talk with one another and rehearse terminology and concepts involved in each discipline.
Looping
Teachers "promoted" along with students, allowing teachers an extra year or more to get to know students in depth, diagnose and meet learning needs, and to develop more meaningful communication with their parents and families.
Lower-Order Questions
Can be answered through memory and recall (70-95% of teachers questions are in this category)
Mastery Learning
Given the right tools, all children can learn. Individualized reward structure. Students move at own pace. Increases motivation to learn, test scores, and attendance.
Mentors
Experienced teachers selected to guide new teachers through the school culture and norms, shedding light on the official and hidden school culture. Offer emotional support and tips regarding curriculum, teaching strategies, and scheduling problems.
Pedagogical Cycle
1. Structure (teach provides info, direction, and introduces topic) 2. Question (teacher asks question) 3. Respond (student answers question/tries to) 4. React (Teacher provides feedback to 'answer') Better cycle, better achievement!
Problem-Based Learning
Experience-based education, project-based instruction, and anchored (in the real world) instruction. Relies on learner cooperation, higher-order thinking, and cross-disciplinary work.
Reflective Teaching
Continually analyze own practices and performance.
Mary Budd Rowe
Researched wait time. Discovered increasing pause after student gives an answer is equally important as increasing pause before selecting a student to answer the question.
Robert Slavin
A pioneer in cooperative learning techniques. All students must understand topic before a group can move on. Students raise up those who are having a harder time.
Wait Time
Slowing down class discussion during key points to generate better answers from students. Important after asking questions and after a question is answered. Most teachers' wait times are around one second when they should be three to five seconds.