Glossary

Model of lesson planning that integrates inquiry through five phases: engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate.

71-page report released in 1983 that sensationalized a "crisis" in American schooling that led to standards-based reform.

A caregiver’s action, or failure to act, resulting in death, significant physical or emotional harm, or the exploitation of a child under the age of 18.

Idea that educators and scholars should be able to express academic ideas without interference or punishment, usually defended with the First Amendment.

In Piaget's theory of cognitive development, changing schema to accommodate new information or experiences. In special education, a change to learning materials, the environment, or an assessment that does not fundamentally change the curriculum expectation or lower the standard of performance for the student.

Holding teachers, schools, and districts responsible, or accountable, for increasing student learning and performance.

Process of formal review of an Educator Preparation Program by an outside agency, such as CAEP.

An individual, stand-alone law.

First compulsory education law in the New World.

Group in the early 1900s who wanted education to be as efficient as possible to meet the demands of industrialization and the economy.

From the work of Anda & Felitti (1998), sets of childhood experiences that may include abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction that lead to increased social, emotional, behavioral, and academic challenges.

Characteristic of well-planned instruction in which multiple elements align with each other (i.e., standards, assessment, and instruction).

Pathway toward earning teaching certification that does not involve undergraduate coursework and might involve residency programs or provisional certification.

Second largest labor union for teachers in the U.S., founded in Chicago in 1916.

Provision of No Child Left Behind that allows the U.S. Department of Education to determine how public schools and districts are performing academically, as measured by scores on standardized tests.

Political group in the American Revolutionary Era that opposed a strong central government, preferring instead state and local forms of government. Included Thomas Jefferson.

Component of a lesson in which the teacher measures a student's understanding using varying techniques.

In Piaget's theory of cognitive development, use of existing schema to interpret new situations.

Planning concept designed by Wiggins & McTighe (1998) that involves identifying desired results and then working backward to design assessment and instruction.

First well-known teacher of the Common School Movement and one of the normal schools’ first teachers.

Modification to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 that provided funds for students who were speakers of languages other than English.

Framework designed by Benjamin Bloom and colleagues in 1956, and later revised in 2001. Divides educational goals/cognitive processes into six categories of increasing complexity: remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create.

A theory of child development which outlines five levels of influence from a student’s environment: individual, microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem.

Landmark Supreme Court case in 1954 that declared separate educational facilities were not equal, ending segregation in schools.

Aggressive behavior that involves an imbalance of power and repetition of behavior. Can be verbal, social, or physical.

Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation.

Characteristic of the preoperational stage of Piaget's cognitive developmental theory in which children focus on only one aspect of a situation.

Model of schooling in Colonial America established when an affluent individual made provisions in his or her will, including land, to construct and manage a school for the poor. Also called endowed free schools.

Publicly-funded schools that do not have the same requirements as a traditional public school because they follow their own mission or charter.

Elements of a classroom community that include physical set-up, overall atmosphere, behavior management, and other considerations.

Model of instruction in which teachers (usually two) are paired up in a classroom and share the responsibility of planning, teaching, and assessing students.

A widely accepted standard of practice that outlines the accountability of its members to those they serve as well as to the profession itself.

Act of constructing understanding of the world through cognitive development. Piaget's concepts of schema, equilibrium, disequilibrium, assimilation, and accommodation are parts of cognitive constructivism.

Elementary schools where all students--not just wealthy boys--could attend for free. Developed in the 1800s by Horace Mann.

A law requiring children to attend school based on specific age ranges.

Third stage of Piaget's theory of cognitive development in which children between the ages of 6 or 7 through 11 or 12 begin to think more logically and abstractly as they work toward operational thought.

Understanding developed during the preoperational stage of Piaget's cognitive developmental theory that specific properties of objects remain the same even if other properties change.

Formal assessments scored by comparing students’ performance to specific performance criteria.

Approach of constructing meaning through recognizing issues of power, access, and equity; often involves questioning and challenging the status quo.

Student-centered approach to teaching created by Ladson-Billings (1994/2009) with three key pillars: academic success, cultural competence, and sociopolitical consciousness.

Group in the early 1900s focused on changes in how and what students were learning; saw schooling as a vehicle for social justice instead of assimilation. Also called pedagogical progressives.

Bullying that takes place using electronic technology.

Model of schooling in Colonial America in which parents sent children to a local woman who would teach basic literacy skills for a small fee.

Looking at the results of various assessments when considering next instructional steps.

Segregation resulting not from legal segregation, but from pre-existing segregation that continues (i.e., segregated neighborhoods leading to segregated school enrollment).

Model of instruction in which the teacher provides the rule first, and then students follow it (such as during direct instruction).

Political group in the American Revoutionary Era that supported universal, government-funded schooling.
Members of these political clubs included artisans, teachers, ship builders, innkeepers, and working class individuals.

Established in 1979 by President Carter to provide federal oversight of education, though individual states still preserved primary control of educational decisions.

Significant 20th century educator also known as the father of progressivism. Advocate for student-centered, problem-based learning.  Published several books outlining the role of democracy in education to create thoughtful, productive citizens.

Type of assessment administered before instruction to learn what students know prior to instruction.

Portion of a lesson plan that considers any necessary adaptations to meet the needs of specific learners, such as English Language Learners.

Model of instruction in which the teacher directly gives information to students.

In Piaget's cognitive developmental theory, a new experience that forces children to accommodate or assimilate existing schema.

Interpersonal skills expected of teachers as professionals.

First African American to earn a Ph.D. at Harvard University. Helped establish the NAACP. Known for "The Souls of Black Folk," among other writings.

1975 legislation that established a foundational set of protections for individuals with disabilities in U.S. public schools, including (a) a free education for all students between the ages of 3 and 18, (b) education in community schools when appropriate, (c) non-discriminatory evaluation to identify educational needs, (d) parent involvement in decision making, and (3) an individualized learning plan.

Programs offered through colleges or universities to earn teaching credentials.

Worldview developed during the preoperational stage of Piaget's cognitive developmental theory that means children see the world from their own perspective and not other points of view.

1965 legislation from President Johnson designed to provide federal funding to primary and secondary education and provide equal access to education as part of the "War on Poverty." Subsequently reissued as No Child Left Behind (2002) and the Every Student Succeeds Act (2015).

The failure to meet or recognize a child’s emotional needs.

The ability to recognize and feel the emotions of others.

Students whose primary or home language is a language other than English. May also be called English Learners (ELs).

Students whose primary or home language is a language other than English. May also be called English Language Learners (ELLs).

1984 legislation requiring federally-funded secondary schools to uphold students’ First Amendment rights to conduct meetings and hold an open forum with equal access to extracurricular student groups or clubs.

In Piaget's theory of cognitive development, the balance achieved when schema align with experiences.

Abbreviation for English as a Second Language programs.

Abbreviation for English for Speakers of Other Languages programs.

Educational philosophy that suggests that there are skills and knowledge that all people should possess.

Judging or evaluating another culture based on your own culture.

2015 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (1965) and No Child Left Behind Act (2002). Shifted accountability provisions to individual states.

The state, district, and schools’ formal accounting of what they teach. Also called formal curriculum.

An amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 that protects the privacy of student educational records.

Family-oriented approach toward building home-school partnerships that share responsibility for and work together to support children’s learning.

School-oriented approach toward involving families in schools, with the school holding the expectations for family participation and telling families what they need to do.

American Revolutionary Era group supporting mass schooling for nationalistic purposes, such as preserving order, morality, and a nationalistic character, but opposing tax-supported schooling. Included Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, John Adams, and Noah Webster.

Model of schooling in Colonial America involving schools being built in abandoned fields in rural areas to offer affordable education to students. Teachers received payment from families and boarded with families. Also called rate schools, subscription schools, fee schools, and eventually district schools.

Prevents the government from making laws that infringe upon the freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, or right to petition the government. Adopted in 1791.

Measure systematically what students have learned, often at the end of a course or school year, such as with a standardized test.

The state, district, and schools’ formal accounting of what they teach. Also called explicit curriculum.

Fourth stage in Piaget's theory of cognitive development in which children aged 11 or 12 through adulthood develop better reasoning and abstract thinking skills.

Type of assessment given during instruction that gives teachers insight into students' understanding as it is forming.

Addresses citizenship rights, equal protection, and due process, especially for freed enslaved people. Adopted in 1868.

Stipulation of IDEiA that students with special needs must receive specially designed instruction, including special education and accommodations, that allows them to make meaningful progress toward the curriculum and their individual learning goals. All of these services must be provided at public expense.

Distributed food, clothing, and medical aid to formerly enslaved people and poor Whites and created over 1,000 schools throughout the southern states after the Civil War.

Brazilian philosopher and educator who was one of the most influential thinkers in the ideas behind social reconstructionism. Believed that education should be student-centered and avoid the "banking model" of teachers depositing information into students. Wrote several books, including "Pedagogy of the Oppressed."

Instructional approach that involves pre-teaching background knowledge or vocabulary necessary for upcoming instruction. Particularly helpful for ELs.

Model of lesson planning using direct instruction in which the teacher gradually releases responsibility for learning and demonstrating understanding to the students. Also called "I do, We do, You do."

Approach to lesson planning that includes five distinct steps: anticipatory set; introduction of new material; guided practice; independent practice; and closure. Aligns with the gradual release of responsibility and tends to rely on direct instruction.

Type of schooling in which a child receives an education at home.

Model of school funding that uses various formulas, such as student-based or resource-based formulas, to determine funding.

Hidden messages that students learn from schooling that aren’t specifically in the standards and possibly aren’t even explicitly taught. Also called informal curriculum.

Meaning "in place of parents."
Responsibility of educators to make similar judgements as it relates to the safety of children that a parent might make.

Unique learning plan for students with disabilities developed annually by a team that includes general and special education teachers, administrators, the student’s parents, and the student (when age-appropriate).

Pronounced "idea"; 2004 reauthorization of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA) that defines 14 specific disability categories. Also called IDEA.

Model of instruction in which students figure out the rules from a completed example (such as in inquiry-based instruction).

Post-Civil War schools built for Black Americans in the South; focused on vocational or trade skills.

Assessments that are local, non-standardized, and contextualized in daily classroom learning activities; often performance-based.

Hidden messages that students learn from schooling that aren’t specifically in the standards and possibly aren’t even explicitly taught. Also called implicit curriculum.

Identifies thinking and problem solving through three basic mental processes: (1) attending to sensory input in the sensory register; (2) encoding the attended information into short-term or working memory; and (3) retrieving information from long-term memory.

Model of instruction in which students are encouraged to question and explore instead of receiving information directly from the teacher.

10 standards from the Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium that cover model core teaching practices for K-12 educators.

Full-time practicum experience, usually situated at the end of an educator preparation program. May also be called student teaching.

Term coined by Crenshaw (1989) meaning many different aspects of identity--including race, economic class, gender, and more--overlap and intersect with one another.

Anti-Federalist and third U.S. president who proposed a tiered schooling model in Virginia.

Abbreviation for kindergarten through 12th grade, the traditional span of public schools in the United States.

Model of schooling in Colonial America to teach boys subjects like classical literature, reading, writing, and math in preparation to attend Harvard University. First established in Boston in 1635.

Often associated with visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic (VARK) input of information. In actuality, learning styles have no research-based support and are a myth.

Expectation that students with disabilities must be educated in the same setting as their peers who do not have disabilities, unless it is not possible for the student to make progress in that setting even when additional supports are added.

Early terminology to refer to English Learners (ELs). Problematic in its deficit framing.

Unequal treatment of languages based upon power structures that privilege certain languages as having legitimacy.

Public authorities that exercise local control of education in cities, counties, districts, or other local subdivisions.

Instructional practice in which a classroom teacher moves with a group of students from grade to grade.

Massachusetts’s first Secretary of Education and leader of the common school movement.

Succession of 8 hierarchical needs, divided into deficiency needs (physiological, safety, belongingness & love, and esteem needs) and growth needs (need for knowledge & understanding, aesthetic needs, self actualization, and transcendence).

Model of grading in which courses are structured to allow students the time and flexibility to focus on mastering a standard rather than achieving a certain number or letter grade (i.e., often with repeated opportunities to demonstrate mastery).

Portion of a lesson plan in which all materials, such as books, resources, tools, websites, and other items that will be used for the lesson, are listed.

2009 legislation that expanded the federal hate crime law to include crimes motivated by the victim’s actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.

Teacher of record in a practicum placement. Mentors preservice teachers by modeling effective instruction and sharing classroom responsibilities.

Ability to monitor and think about your own thinking.

How to teach the structures of different disciplines like literacy, math, science, or social studies.

In special education, a substantial alteration to a learning standard that reduces the complexity for a student.

Gave states 30,000 acres of land for each senator and representative it had in Congress in 1860. The income generated from the sale or lease of this land would provide financial support for at least one agricultural and mechanical (A&M) college, known as a land-grant institution.

Required land-grant institutions seeking increased federal support to either provide equal access to the existing A&M colleges or establish separate institutions for the People of Color in their state.

Classroom model allowing students of different grades to be in one class (i.e., a combination 2nd/3rd grade class).

Theory created by Howard Gardner in 2004. The eight multiple intelligences include musical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, verbal-linguistic, logical-mathematical, naturalistic, intrapersonal, and visual-spatial.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; founded in 1905 to seek legal and political equality for African Americans.

Largest labor union in the U.S., established in 1857 to represent educators.

Standards-based reform passed in 2001 as a reauthorization of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Increased educational accountability through standardized testing.

Formal assessment scored by comparing students’ performance to other students.

Teacher training institutions championed by Horace Mann that arose during the Common School Movement.

Topics that are not taught in schools at all for a variety of reasons.

Realization that things continue to exist even if they are not in view. Developed during the sensorimotor stage of cognitive development, according to Piaget.

Statement of what students will know, understand, and do by the end of the lesson.

Required towns of fifty or more families to hire a schoolmaster to teach children basic literacy. Also known as the Law of 1647.

Teaching, learning, and research materials that are either (a) in the public domain or (b) licensed in a manner that provides everyone with free and perpetual permission to retain, revise, remix, reuse, or redistribute those resources.

School enrollment policy in which the school will allow students from other geographic areas within the district to enroll if space permits.

Model of schooling in Colonial America in which a highly educated minister opened his home to young scholars and often taught secular subjects.

Group in the early 1900s focused on changes in how and what students were learning; saw schooling as a vehicle for social justice instead of assimilation. Also called curricular progressives.

The art and science of teaching.

Educational philosophy suggesting that human nature is constant, and that the focus of education should be on teaching concepts that remain true over time.

The fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence; in the case of a philosophy of education, what one believes to be true about the essentials of education.

Failure to consistently meet basic needs such as food and shelter, as well as providing a safe, clean environment.

Cognitive developmental theorist who identified four stages of cognitive development in children: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational.

Part-time field placements that are often tied to specific courses to give preservice teachers experience in classrooms.

Series of teacher certification tests offered by ETS.

Second stage in Piaget's cognitive developmental theory in which children between the ages of 2 and 6 or 7 develop language, imagination, and memory, working toward symbolic thought.

A school that is privately funded and maintained by a private group or organization, not the government, usually by charging tuition.

Portion of a lesson plan that breaks down the lesson into specific steps the teacher will follow.

Local model of professional development in which teachers, often in the same grade level or content area, come together to plan, analyze assessment data, read a book/article, or engage in other professional development activities.

Educational philosophy emphasizing real-world problem solving and individual development, with the teacher serving as a "guide on the side."

Teaching license that is temporary, usually with certain stipulations or provisions attached. Sometimes called an emergency teaching license.

According to Erikson's psychosocial theory, people go through eight developmental crises: 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 ego integrity vs. despair.

Any school that is maintained through public funds to educate children that are part of a community or district for free.

Agreements among different states to honor teaching licenses earned in other states, sometimes with additional requirements added (like testing).

Practice (currently illegal) in which housing was allowed or denied in certain areas based on people’s race or socioeconomic status.

Passed in 1973 to prohibit discrimination based on disability. Includes Section 504.

Term referring to teachers in areas like music, visual arts, drama, etc.

Expectation that an assessment produce consistent (reliable) results.

Alternative pathway toward teacher certification in which future teachers work simultaneously on a master’s degree in education while being placed in a school full-time.

The ability to bounce back from adverse experiences.

Model of school funding computed from the cost of resources or programs to fund specific programs.

Research-based interventions to meet student needs and to collect progress monitoring data to support educational decision making.

Understanding developed during the concrete operational stage of Piaget's cognitive developmental theory that allows children to change direction in linear thinking to return to a starting point.

Ways in which we organize information as we confront new ideas.

Program allowing public education funds to follow students to the schools that best fit their needs, even if those schools are not public schools.

Trained mental health professionals who can assist with mental health concerns, behavioral concerns, positive behavioral support, academic, and classroom support, consultation with teachers, parents, and administrators as well as provide individual and group counseling/therapy.

A government-supplied coupon that is used to offset tuition at an eligible private school.

Specific section of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act that forbids organizations (including schools) from excluding or denying services to individuals with disabilities. Individual student accommodations are documented in personalized 504 plans.

First stage in Piaget's cognitive development from ages birth to two in which young children learn about their world through their senses.

Approach toward learning that centers social interactions as opportunities for constructing new knowledge. Vygotsky's sociocultural theory and zone of proximal development are examples of social constructivism.

Process through which students learn to recognize and manage emotions, care about others, make good decisions, behave ethically and responsibly, develop positive relationships, and avoid negative behaviors.

Educational philosophy asserting that schools, teachers, and students should take the lead in addressing social problems and improving society.

Group of progressive educators, like John Dewey, who ascribed to the educational philosophy of social reconstructionism, meaning they believed education could improve society.

Benchmark used in legal proceedings to determine if decisions were reasonable within the circumstances in which they were made or enacted.

Formal documents telling teachers the key information that students should understand in specific content areas at varying grade levels.

Approach to grading that breaks down the subject matter into smaller “learning targets” that are scored on a continuum of 1-4 instead of being assigned letter grades or percentages.

State-level government organization in each U.S. state or territory that holds responsibility for education.

Sweeping, oversimplified generalizations about a group.

Full-time practicum experience, usually situated at the end of an educator preparation program. May also be called internship.

Model of school funding computed from a set amount that estimates how much it costs to educate one student and multiplied by the number of students at a school.

Type of graded assessment given after instruction to show what students have learned.

A written agreement between the school system and the teacher and serves as a legal document identifying the roles and responsibilities for the teaching position.

Earned after meeting state-established requirements (such as courses and testing) in order to become a teacher. Requires periodic renewal.

A series of steps that a teacher might have the students follow to encourage interaction or deeper thinking during instruction; usually take 5-15 minutes to enact during a lesson.

Protects teachers from arbitrary dismissal by school officials. Derived from the Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1883.

Required towns of fifty or more families to hire a schoolmaster to teach children basic literacy. Also known as the Old Deluder Satan Act.

Part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that provides financial assistance to educational agencies and schools with high proportions of students from low-income backgrounds.

Component of No Child Left Behind that created English Language Proficiency Standards and introduced requirements for states to test English learners annually for oral, written, and reading proficiency in English.

Part of Civil Rights Act of 1964 that bans bans discrimination based on sex in places such as schools.

Part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibits employers from discriminating against individuals because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Practice of channeling, or tracking, certain individuals into certain educational “tracks” based on their perceived capabilities for future success.

One way to earn a teaching license through completing coursework at an Educator Preparation Program (EPP).

Understanding developed during the concrete operational stage of Piaget's cognitive developmental theory that allows children to infer relationships between two objects based on objects' relation to a third object in serial order.

Framework for instructional design to meet the needs of all learners in which teachers develop lessons around three core concepts that support accessibility: engagement, representation, and expression.

Expectation that an assessment should measure what it is designed to measure.

Russian psychologist and sociocultural theorist who created the zone of proximal development.

Born an enslaved person in Virginia. Attended the Hampton Institute and later led the Tuskegee Institute. Famous for his 1895 "Atlanta Compromise" speech.

Federalist who supported mass schooling and wrote his "American Spelling Book" in 1783.

Consortium that designed standards for and assessments of assess English language skills for ELs.

According to Vygotsky, the difference between what a learner can do without help and what they can do with help.