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GLOSSARY FOR REFLECTIVE PRACTICE

academic games. Gamesthatuseinconsequentialcompetitionandmildpressuretofocusstudents’attentiononcontent.

activity. Ataskusedtohelpstudentsachieveastatedlearninggoal.Activitiesareusuallycompletedinclasswithguidanceandhelpfromtheteacher.Eachactivityusedinclassshouldbelinkedtoaspecificlearninggoal.

ad hoc group. Animpromptugroupformedforaspecificpurposethatdisbandsoncethepurposeisaccomplished.

affection. Students’senseaboutwhetherateacherlikesthemandcaresaboutthem.

argument. Asetofcompiledpremisesthatleadtoaconclusion.

artifact. Atangibleproductoflearning.Studentartifactsmaytaketheformofnotes,reports,organizers,recordedperformances,multimediapresentations,orscriptsfromdramaticpresentations.

assessment. Anevaluationthatisusedtogatherinformationaboutastudent’sknowledgeorskillrelativetoaspecificlearninggoal.

assignment. Ataskusedtohelpstudentsachieveastatedlearninggoal.Assignmentsaretypicallycompletedoutsideregularclasstime,althoughstudentsmightbeginanassignmentduringclassandcompleteitashomework.Eachassignmentusedinclassshouldbelinkedtoaspecificlearninggoal.

attention. Astudent’sresponsetoclassroomstimuli.Attentioncanbeaffectedbyastudent’sfeelingsandinterests.Forexample,astudentwhofeelsacceptedbyhisorherpeersorwhoishighlyinterestedinthecontentislikelytohavehighattention.Incontrast,astudentwhodoesnotfeelrespectedorvaluedorwhoisnotinterestedinthecontentmayexhibitlowattention.

clarification questions. Questionsthathelpstudentsclearupmisconceptions,revealerrors,orsharpenfocus.

classroom layout. Thephysicalarrangementoffurniture,technology,centers,decorations,equipment,andmaterialsinaclassroom.

climate. Thegeneraltoneandfeelofaclassroom.Theclimateoftheclassroomcanbeaffectedbymanyvariables,includingtheteacher’sdemeanor,thephysicallayoutoftheroom,theengagementofstudents,andthepacingofinstruction.

cognitively complex tasks. Tasksthataskstudentstomakedecisions,solveproblems,experiment,orinvestigate.

2 BECOMING A REFLECTIVE TEACHER

competence. One’sabilitytoproperlyperformaskill,strategy,orprocess.

confidence.One’slevelofcertaintyaboutone’sabilities,effectiveness,orknowledge.

critical information. Thesegmentsofcontentassociatedwitheachlearninggoalthatarecriticaltoastudent’sabilitytoachievethelearninggoal.Thereareusuallyonlytwotothreesegmentsofcriticalinformationperlearninggoal.

critical-input experience. Alessondesignedtopresentcriticalinformationtostudents.

cue. Averbalornonverbalteachingdevicethatcreatesalinktopreviously-taughtcontent.Forexample,ifateacherhaspreviouslytaughtaprocedure,heorshemightuseahandsignalasacuetohelpstudentsremembertoapplytheprocedureinaspecificsituation.

declarative knowledge. Informationsuchasvocabularyterms,facts,timesequences,generalizations,orprinciples.Thedefinitionofmitosis,thetextoftheGettysburgaddress,theorderofeventsduringWorldWarII,commoncharacteristicsofallcells,orrulesbywhichagameisplayedareallexamplesofdeclarativeknowledge.

demonstration. Theteachershowscontenttostudentsratherthantellingthemaboutit.

digestible bites (small chunks).Discreteinstructionalsegmentswithinacritical-inputexperience.Basedonstudents’priorknowledgeaboutatopic,thesizeofthesechunkscanbeadjusted,butstudentsshouldhaveanopportunityforprocessingaftereachchunk.

distributed practice. Practicesessionsthathaverelativelylongerintervalsbetweenthem(thatis,weeklypractice).Distributedpracticeisnecessaryduringthelaterphasesofskilldevelopmentinordertodevelopandmaintainfluencywithaskillorprocess.

dyad. Agroupoftwo.

elaborative inferences. Explicitstatements,elicitedusingelaborativeinterrogation,whichastudentmakesaboutthereasoningbehindhisorheranswertoaquestion.

engagement. Astudent’slevelofattentiontoandinterestinthecontent.

enthusiasm. Theteacher’scommunicationtostudentsofhisorherpersonalinterestandsenseofimportanceaboutatopic.

errors in reasoning. Inaccuraciesthatcanreducethetruthandvalidityofanargument.Commonerrorsincludefaultylogic,attack,weakreference,andmisinformation.

explicit questions. Questionsthathelpstudentsarticulatethegeneralizationsandprinciplesthatunderlietheirlogicandreasoning.

feedback. Informationprovidedtostudentsabouttheirperformanceorprogress.

fluency. Abilityofapersontoperformaskillorprocesswithoutgivingithisorherfullattention.Mostadults,forexample,haveachievedfluencywiththeprocessofdrivingacar.

formal means of assessment (obtrusive assessment). Anassessmentthatinterruptsthenormalflowofactivityintheclassroom.Examplesincludeapaper-and-penciltest,ademonstration,oraperformance.

formative approach to assessment.Processthatinvolvestheteachergatheringdataoverthecourseofaunit,semester,oryearaboutastudent’slevelofperformancerelativetospecificlearninggoals.Attheendoftheunit,semester,oryear,theteacherassignsfinalscoresthatbestrepresenteachstudent’sfinalknowledgestatusforeachlearninggoal.

friendly controversy. Activitiesthatengagestudentsindialogueregardingtopicsaboutwhichtheyhavedifferingopinions.Theteachershouldensurethatthedialoguedoesnotbecomeoverlyheatedandshouldtrytoengageasmanystudentsaspossibleinthediscussion.

Glossary for Reflective Practice 3

homework. Anyteacher-assignedtaskintendedforstudentstoperformoutsideschoolhours.Homeworkshouldbestructuredtoensurehighcompletionrates,haveawell-articulatedpurpose,relatedirectlytoidentifiedlearninggoals,andinvolveparentsorguardiansinappropriateways.

hypothesis. Atentativeargumentorexplanationthatisusuallyconfirmedordisconfirmedbyanexperimentorinvestigation.

inconsequential competition. Anyactivitywhichasksstudentstocompeteinthespiritoffun.Rewardsshouldbeminimalforthistypeofcompetitionandteammembershipshouldrotatesystematicallysothatallstudentsarelikelytobeonwinningandlosingteamsoverthecourseofasemesteroryear.

inference. Astatementinwhichsomeoftheinformationrequiredtounderstanditisnotexplicitlypresented.

inferential questions. Questionsthathelpstudentselaborateoninformationtheyhavegatheredthroughexperience.

informal fallacy. Anargumentinwhichthestatedpremisesdonotsupporttheconclusion.

informal means of assessment (unobtrusive assessment). Wayofassessingthatdoesnotinterrupttheflowofactivityintheclassroom.Examplesincludeteacherobservationsandanecdotalnotes.

intensity. Theteacher’suseofanexcitedtoneofvoiceandstyleofcommunicationwhentalkingaboutatopictostudents.

knowledge gain. Thedifferencebetweenastudent’sinitialandfinalscoresonaspecificlearninggoal.

learning goal (learning objective). Agoalthatstateswhatstudentsshouldknoworbeabletodoasaresultofinstruction.Learninggoalsarenormallystatedusingoneofthefollowingformats:

• Studentswillunderstand_________(usedfordeclarativeknowledge).• Studentswillbeableto_________(usedforproceduralknowledge).• Studentswillunderstand_________andbeableto_________(usedfordeclarativeandprocedural

knowledge).

levels of performance. Descriptivestatements,presentedonascale,thatindicatewhatknowledgeorskillsarerequiredfor2.0,3.0,or4.0performance.

linguistic representation. Expressionusingwordsandlanguage.Forexample,learningactivitiesthataskstudentstoread,write,orspeak.

link or linkage. Theconnectionthatastudentmakesbetweennewcontentandpreviouslylearnedcontent.

logic. Astepwiseprogressionusedtoreasontowardinferencesorconclusions.

low-expectancy students. Studentsforwhomtheteacherhaslowexpectations.

massed practice. Practicesessionsthatoccurfrequently(thatis,dailypractice).Massedpracticeisnecessaryduringtheearlyphasesofskilldevelopmentinordertoaccuratelylearnaskillorprocess.

misconception. Amistakenbelieforwrongidea.

nonlinguistic representation. Expressionthatdoesnotrequirelanguageorwords.Forinstance,learningactivitiesthataskstudentstodraw,build,model,ordramatize,ortousegraphicorganizers,physicalmodels,pictographsorpictures,flowcharts,kinestheticrepresentations,andmnemonics.

objectivity. Theteacher’sprojectionofaconsistentemotionaltoneintheclassroom.

pacing. Thespeedandflowofclassroomactivities.

practice.Thegradualshapingofaprocessorskilloverthecourseofmultiplerepetitions.Practiceinvolvesthreephases:(1)frequentstructuredpractice,(2)variedpractice,and(3)fluencypractice.

previewing. Apracticethatpreparesstudentstointeractwithnewcontentmoreeffectively.

4 BECOMING A REFLECTIVE TEACHER

procedural knowledge. Theabilitytoperformskills,strategies,orprocesses.Theabilitytoshootafreethrowinbasketball,theabilitytoeditapieceofwriting,andtheabilitytocomposeasymphonyareallexamplesofproceduralknowledge.

procedures.Specific,descriptivestatementsthatarticulatewhatactionsastudentmusttaketofollowarule.Proceduresoftendescribewhatfollowingarulelookslike,soundslike,orfeelslike.

process. Ataskthatrequirestheuseofmultipleskillsorstrategies.Thesameprocessmaybeperformeddifferentlybydifferentstudentsandmayleadtodifferentproducts.Composinganessayisanexampleofaprocess.

processing.Students’interactionwithnewinformationtogainunderstanding.Thismightinvolvetranslatingtheinformationintoadifferentformthantheoneinwhichitwasfirstpresented,asastudentdoeswhentheycreateanonlinguisticrepresentationforinformationtakenoutofatext.Itcouldalsomeanusingtheinformationtosolveaproblem,makeadecision,investigateahypothesis,orconductanexperiment.

reasoning. Thecognitiveprocessusedtoconstructsupportforinferencesorconclusions.

reflecting. Theexaminationofapastexperiencewiththegoalofperformingmoreeffectivelyinthefuture.Whilereflectingonalearningexperience,astudentmightexaminehisorherlevelsofclarityorconfusionaboutthecontent,thequalityofhisorherproductsandperformancesusingthecontent,orhowhisorheractionsfacilitatedlearning.

response rates. Thespeed,pattern,andnatureofstudents’answerstoquestions.

reteaching. Apracticerequiredwhenstudentshavenotlearnedthecontentnecessarytoachievethelearninggoal.Whenreteaching,theteachershouldusedifferentactivitiesandassignmentsthanthoseusedwhenthecontentwasoriginallytaught.

revision. Theprocessbywhichalearnercorrectsoraugmentshisorherknowledgeaboutaspecifictopic.

routines. Setsofrulesandproceduresthatorganizeandexpeditefrequenttasksinaclassroom.Passingoutandcollectingpapers,movingintogroups,orrotatingthroughcentersarealltasksthatcanbecompletedmoreefficientlyifroutinesareinplace.

rules.Generalexpectationsorstandardsforstudentbehavior.Asinglerulecanencompassawiderangeofexpectedstudentbehaviors.

scale (rubric). Acontinuumthatarticulatesdistinctlevelsofknowledgeandskillrelativetoaspecificlearninggoal.Ascaleisusedtoscoreassessmentsandmeasurestudentprogresstowardalearninggoal.

score.Adatapointthatrepresentsastudent’slevelofperformanceonanassessment.

skill.Adiscreteelementofalargerprocess.Forexample,typingisamotorskillnecessarytothelargerprocessofconductingresearchontheInternet,andspellingisamentalskillnecessarytothelargerprocessofwritingabook.

status.Astudent’scurrentlevelofachievementforaspecificlearninggoal.

strategy. Aflowoftechniquesusedtoaccomplishaprocess.Forexample,whendividingfractions,astudentmightusethestrategyofinvertingthesecondfractionandmultiplying.

summarizing.Theprocessofcreatingapersonalized,pared-downversionofinformation.Summariesareabbreviatedorparsimoniousversionsofinformationstatedinastudent’sownwords.

transitions. Themethodsthatateacherusestomovestudentsfromonesegmentofalessontothenext.Transitionsshouldfollowalogicalpatternthatfacilitatesstudentprocessing.

triad.Agroupofthree.

Glossary for Reflective Practice 5

wait time.Apauseofatleastthreesecondsthatoccursaftertheteacherposesaquestion,whileastudentisresponding,afterastudenthasresponded,orduringthepresentationofnewinformation.

withitness. Ateacher’sawarenessofpotentialproblemsintheclassroomandhisorherquickattentiontothosesituations.