A Lexicon of Learning

A Lexicon of Learning What Educators Mean When They Say... ability grouping

Assigning students to classes based on their past achievement or presumed ability to learn (also known as homogeneous grouping). Grouping students according to their actual progress in a particular school subject is different from grouping them according to assumptions about their ability to learn the subject—although the results may be quite similar. And grouping them by subject is different from tracking, which strictly speaking refers to placing them in the same groups for all their classes based on their general ability to learn. Students may also be grouped within classes, but intraclass grouping permits more flexibility so is less controversial.

Whether students should or should not be grouped by ability is a persistent issue in education. Advocates say it is unrealistic to expect teachers to provide for the great range of differences in student backgrounds and abilities, and that a certain amount of grouping is better for students. Critics contend, citing research, that when students are grouped by ability, those in lower tracks are usually taught poorly and don't get exposed to "high- status" knowledge.

abstinence only

The view that sex and family-life education courses should teach that sexual intercourse is always inappropriate for young unmarried people. Advocates say it is self-defeating for educators to say, "You shouldn't, but if you do…." Instead, they say, adults must communicate an unambiguous message that sex outside marriage is wrong. Opponents of the abstinence only position, which is sometimes required by law, say it ignores the reality of widespread sexual activity and deprives young people of information they should have, especially with the current threat of AIDS. accountability

The responsibility of an agency to its sponsors and clientele for accomplishing its mission with prudent use of resources. In education, accountability is currently thought to require measurable proof that teachers, schools, districts, and states are teaching students efficiently and well, usually in the form of student success rates on various tests.

In recent years, most accountability programs have involved adoption of state curriculum standards and required state tests based on the standards. Many political leaders and educators support this approach, believing that it brings clarity of focus and is improving achievement. Others argue that, because standardized tests cannot possibly measure all the important goals of schooling, accountability systems should be more flexible and use other types of information, such as dropout rates and samples of student work.

accreditation

Official recognition that an individual or institution meets required standards. Accreditation of teachers is usually referred to as licensing or certification.

Schools are accredited in two ways: by voluntary regional accrediting associations (such as the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement), and by state governments, which are legally responsible for public education. Most high schools seek and receive accreditation by their regional association so that their graduates will be accepted by institutions of higher education. However, that form of accreditation does not necessarily ensure recognition by the state. In recent years, some states have begun to refuse state accreditation to schools with unacceptably low scores on state standards tests.

achievement gap

Persistent differences in achievement among different types of students as indicated by scores on standardized tests, teacher grades, and other data. The gaps most frequently referred to are those between whites and minority groups, especially African-Americans and Hispanics.

achievement tests

Tests used to measure how much a student has learned in various school subjects. Most students take several standardized achievement tests, such as the California Achievement Tests and the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills. These norm-referenced, multiple-choice tests are intended to measure students' achievement in the basic subjects found in most school districts' curriculum and textbooks. Results are used to compare the scores of individual students and schools with others—those in the area, across the state, and throughout the United States. action research

Systematic investigation by teachers of some aspect of their work in order to improve their effectiveness. Involves identifying a question or problem and then collecting and analyzing relevant data. (Differs from conventional research because in this case the participants are studying an aspect of their own work and they intend to use the results themselves.) For example, a teacher might decide to give students different assignments according to their assessed learning styles. If the teacher maintained records comparing student work before and after the change, he would be doing action research. If several educators worked together on such a project, it would be considered collaborative action research. active learning Any situation in which students learn by moving around and doing things, rather than sitting at their desks reading, filling out worksheets, or listening to a teacher. Active learning is based on the premise that if students are not active, they are neither fully engaged nor learning as much as they could. Some educators restrict the term to mean activities outside of school, such as voluntary community service, but others would say that acting out a Shakespeare play in the classroom is active learning.

See average daily attendance.

ADD and ADHD

See definition for attention deficit disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. advanced placement (AP) program

College-level courses offered by high schools to students who are above average in academic standing. Most colleges will award college credit to students who pass one of the nationally standardized AP tests. Passing AP tests can save students time and tuition on entry-level college courses. advisory system

A way of organizing schools so that all students have an adult advisor who knows them well and sees them frequently. Although most schools have trained counselors, the counselors work with hundreds of students and cannot see any one student very often. To make advisory groups as small as possible, schools ask staff members who are not classroom teachers—sometimes including the principal, the librarian, or others—to serve as advisors. Most schools schedule periods of time, sometimes daily, for advisory groups to meet for group and individual activities. affective education

Schooling that helps students deal in a positive way with their emotions and values is sometimes called affective to distinguish it from cognitive learning, which is concerned with facts and ideas. Programs designed to help students handle their emotions, which might at one time have been termed affective education, are now more frequently called social and emotional learning. AFT

See the American Federation of Teachers. alignment

The effort to ensure that what teachers teach is in accord with what the curriculum says will be taught and what is assessed on official tests. If students are not taught the intended content—because of inadequate learning materials, inadequate teacher preparation, or other reasons—or if official tests assess knowledge and skills different from those taught, test scores will obviously be lower than they otherwise would be. For this reason, schools and school districts often devote considerable attention to alignment. In general, this is a desirable practice. However, alignment can be destructive if the process is driven by tests that themselves are inadequate, and if educators feel obligated to teach only what the tests measure. alternative assessment

Use of assessment strategies, such as performance assessment, constructed response items, and portfolios, to replace or supplement assessment by machine-scored multiple- choice tests. alternative scheduling

Sometimes called block scheduling, alternative scheduling is a way of organizing the school day, usually in secondary schools, into blocks of time longer than the typical 50-minute class period. Students take as many courses as before (sometimes more), but the courses do not run the entire school year. One alternative schedule used in some secondary schools, known as 4 × 4 (four by four), has four 90-minute classes a day with course changes every 45 days (four times a school year). Students and teachers have fewer classes to prepare for and experience fewer interruptions in the school day. Longer blocks of time allow for more complex learning activities, such as complicated science experiments. alternative schools

Schools that differ in one or more ways from conventional public schools. Alternative schools may reflect a particular teaching philosophy, such as individualization, or a specific focus, such as science and technology. Alternative schools may also operate under different governing principles than conventional schools and be run by organizations other than local school boards.

The term alternative schools is often used to describe schools that are designed primarily for students who have been unsuccessful in regular schools, either because of disabilities or because of behavioral or emotional difficulties. However, some proponents argue against establishing "last chance" or "remedial" schools in which the students are seen as a problem to be fixed. They say a better approach is to alter the program and environment to create a positive match with each student. Although some school districts continue to operate alternative schools established a few years ago, those districts starting new unconventional schools these days often characterize them as charter schools. alternative teacher certification

A way for individuals to become classroom teachers without completing an undergraduate or graduate program in teacher education. Alternative certification takes into account an individual's background and experience and usually requires some professional training in the first years of teaching. Alternative certification is most common in urban school systems that have difficulty hiring enough regularly qualified teachers. For example, Teach for America recruits recent college graduates to teach for two years in needy urban schools. Advocates point out that such programs provide a way for bright, idealistic young people to make a needed and worthy contribution. Critics say teaching requires extensive preparation and that such shortcuts undermine efforts to make teaching a true profession.

American College Test (ACT)

The ACT is one of the two commonly used tests designed to assess high school students' general educational development and their ability to complete college-level work. Some states or institutions require or prefer the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) for college entrance, some the American College Test. The ACT covers four skill areas: English, mathematics, reading, and science reasoning. More than 1 million college-bound high school students take the ACT each year.

American Federation of Teachers (AFT)

One of the two large teacher unions (the other is the National Education Association). The AFT represents about 1 million teachers, school support staff, higher education faculty and staff, health-care employees, and state and municipal employees. The AFT is affiliated with the AFL-CIO. aptitude tests

Tests that attempt to predict a person's ability to do something. The most familiar are intelligence tests, which are intended to measure a person's intellectual abilities. The theory underlying intelligence tests is that each person's mental ability is relatively stable and can be determined apart from her knowledge of subject matter or other abilities, such as creativity. Some aptitude tests measure a person's natural ability to learn particular subjects and skills or suitability for certain careers.

Founded in 1943, ASCD—an international, nonprofit association—is one of the largest professional development organizations for educator leaders. It provides world-class education information services, offers cutting-edge professional development for effective teaching and learning, and supports activities to provide educational equity for all students. ASCD's 165,000 members reside in more than 140 countries and include principals, teachers, superintendents, professors of education, and other educators. assessment

Measuring the learning and performance of students or teachers. Different types of assessment instruments include achievement tests, minimum competency tests, developmental screening tests, aptitude tests, observation instruments, performance tasks, and authentic assessments.

The effectiveness of a particular approach to assessment depends on its suitability for the intended purpose. For instance, multiple-choice, true-or-false, and fill-in-the-blank tests can be used to assess basic skills or to find out what students remember. To assess other abilities, performance tasks may be more appropriate.

Performance assessments require students to perform a task, such as serving a volleyball, solving a particular type of mathematics problem, or writing a short business letter to inquire about a product. Sometimes the task may be designed to assess the student's ability to apply knowledge learned in school. For example, a student might be asked to determine what types of plants could be grown in various soil samples by measuring their pH levels.

Authentic assessments are performance assessments that are not artificial or contrived. Educators who want assessments to be more authentic worry that most school tests are necessarily contrived. Writing a letter to an imaginary company only to demonstrate to the teacher that you know how is different from writing a letter to a real person or company in order to achieve a real purpose. One way to make an assessment more authentic is to have students choose the particular task they will use to demonstrate what they have learned. For example, a student might choose to demonstrate her understanding of a unit in chemistry by developing a model that illustrates the problems associated with oil spills. at-risk students

Students who have a higher than average probability of dropping out or failing school. Broad categories usually include inner-city, low-income, and homeless children; those not fluent in English; and special-needs students with emotional or behavioral difficulties. Substance abuse, juvenile crime, unemployment, poverty, and lack of adult support are thought to increase a youth's risk factor.

The term came into use following the 1983 report of the Commission on Excellence, which declared America's public schools to be "at risk." Educators responded that the real problem was society's neglect of certain students.

Some advocates question use of the term "at risk," arguing that it may affect the way teachers, administrators, and peers view the student. But they agree that such students need special attention and support, including caring adults who challenge them with high expectations. attention deficit disorder (ADD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Children diagnosed with attention deficit disorder tend to have problems staying on task and focusing on conversations or activities. ADD children may be impulsive, easily distracted (e.g., by someone talking in another room or by a passing car), full of unfocused energy, fidgety, and restless.

Many people with ADD are also hyperactive and may move rapidly from one task to another without completing any of them. Hyperactivity, a disorder of the central nervous system, makes it difficult for affected children to control their motor activities. More than half of students with learning disabilities exhibit behaviors associated with attention problems but do not necessarily have ADD.

According to the National Attention Deficit Disorder Association, ADHD is a "diagnosis applied to children and adults who consistently display certain characteristic behaviors over a period of time. The most common core features include: distractibility (poor sustained attention to tasks); impulsivity (impaired impulse control and delay of gratification); and hyperactivity (excessive activity and physical restlessness). In order to meet diagnostic criteria these behaviors must be excessive, long-term, and pervasive. The behaviors must appear before age 7, and continue for at least 6 months. A crucial consideration is that the behaviors must create a real handicap in at least two areas of a person's life, such as school, home, work, or social settings. These criteria set ADHD apart from the 'normal' distractibility and impulsive behavior of childhood, or the effects of the hectic and overstressed lifestyle prevalent in our society."

Source: Quote from Fact Sheet on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD/ADD), 1998, Highland Park, IL: National Attention Deficit Disorder Association. Copyright 1998 by Peter Jaksa. Retrieved February 18, 2002, from http://add.org/content/abc/factsheet.htm authentic assessment

Assessment that measures realistically the knowledge and skills needed for success in adult life. The term is often used as the equivalent of performance assessment, which, rather than asking students to choose a response to a multiple-choice test item, involves having students perform a task, such as serving a volleyball, solving a particular type of mathematics problem, or writing a short business letter. There is a distinction, however.

Specifically, authentic assessments are performance assessments that are not artificial or contrived. Most school tests are necessarily contrived. Writing a letter to an imaginary company only to demonstrate to the teacher that you know how is different from writing a letter to a real person or company in order to achieve a real purpose. One way to make an assessment more authentic is to have students choose the particular task they will use to demonstrate what they have learned. For example, a student might choose to demonstrate her understanding of a unit in chemistry by developing a model that illustrates the problems associated with oil spills. authentic learning

Schooling related to real-life situations—the kinds of problems faced by adult citizens, consumers, or professionals. Advocates complain that what is taught in school has little relationship to anything people do in the world outside of school; efforts to make learning more authentic are intended to overcome that problem. Authentic learning situations require teamwork, problem-solving skills, and the ability to organize and prioritize the tasks needed to complete the project. Students should know what is expected before beginning their work. Consultation with others, including the instructor, is encouraged. The goal is to produce a high-quality solution to a real problem, not to see how much the student can remember. average daily attendance (ADA)

Based on counts taken on predetermined dates during the school year, average daily attendance is a factor used by state and federal departments of education to determine how much money schools are to receive. basal reader

Textbooks and anthologies (collections of stories or other writings) used to teach beginning reading. Many basal readers used to have mostly stories written especially for teaching (only certain words were used, as in the Dick and Jane stories), but many now contain a wider variety of children's literature. basic skills

The fundamental skills needed to succeed in school and eventually in life. Most people think of basic skills as the ability to read, write, and compute. Others, however, would broaden the term to include such skills as the ability to use a computer, the ability to work cooperatively with others, or even the temperament to cope with continuous change. behavior modification

Use of an approach based on behavioral science to change a person's way of doing things— specifically, systematic use of rewards, and sometimes punishments, to shape students' classroom deportment. Such systems usually involve explicit objectives, elaborate record keeping, and visible tracking of progress.

Used especially in special education classes for behaviorally disturbed students, behavior modification is controversial. Opponents say it is impersonal and mechanistic, makes students dependent rather than independent (at least at first), and borders on cruelty. Advocates see it as scientifically based and effective. benchmark

A standard for judging a performance. Just as a carpenter might use marks on his workbench to measure how long a part should be, teachers and students can use benchmarks to determine the quality of a student's work. Some schools develop benchmarks to tell what students should know by a particular stage of their schooling; for example, "by the end of sixth grade, students should be able to locate major cities and other geographical features on each of the continents." bilingual education

The use of two or more languages for instruction. In the United States, students in most bilingual classes or programs are those who have not acquired full use of the English language, so they are taught academic content in their native language (usually Spanish) while continuing to learn English.

Bilingual education is controversial, having been outlawed in California and severely criticized in other places. Opponents say it is expensive, impractical, and prevents students from learning English rapidly and efficiently. Advocates say it gives language learning students access to the same academic curriculum as other students and that it allows limited English proficient (LEP) parents to remain involved in their children's studies. They claim that maintaining students' native language does not interfere with their learning of English and that research shows that bilingual instruction is effective. block grant

The result of combining funding for several separate government programs (usually federal) into a larger program with one set of requirements. A positive feature of such a grant is greater flexibility. When federal funds are released to states in the form of block grants, the individual states have more discretion in allocating the funds. Advocates believe that states can define and serve their own areas of need better than the federal government can. A negative aspect of block grants is that the total amount provided is often less than it would otherwise have been. block scheduling

A way of organizing the school day, usually in secondary schools, into blocks of time longer than the typical 50-minute class period. Students take as many courses as before (sometimes more), but the courses do not run the entire school year. One block schedule used in some secondary schools, known as 4 × 4 (four by four), has four 90-minute classes a day with course changes every 45 days (four times a school year). Students and teachers have fewer classes to prepare for and experience fewer interruptions in the school day. Longer blocks of time allow for more complex learning activities, such as complicated science experiments.

Bloom's taxonomy

A classification of educational objectives developed in the 1950s by a group of researchers headed by Benjamin Bloom of the University of Chicago. Commonly refers to the objectives for the cognitive domain, which range from knowledge and comprehension (lowest) to synthesis and evaluation (highest). The taxonomy has been widely used by teachers to determine the focus of their instruction and is probably the original reference of the term higher-order thinking. brain-based teaching

Approaches to schooling that educators believe are in accord with recent research on the brain and human learning. Advocates say the human brain is constantly searching for meaning and seeking patterns and connections. Authentic learning situations increase the brain's ability to make connections and retain new information. A relaxed, nonthreatening environment that reduces students' fear of failure is considered by some to enhance learning. Research also documents brain plasticity, which is the brain's ability to grow and adapt in response to external stimuli.

Brown v. Board of Education

The case heard by the United States Supreme Court in 1954 in which racial segregation in public schools was held to be unconstitutional.

California Achievement Tests (CATs)

One of several alternative sets of tests commonly used to measure how much a student has learned in various school subjects. Like most other such tests, the California Achievement tests are nationally normed, multiple-choice tests. Results are used to compare the scores of individual students and schools with others—those in the area, across the state, and throughout the United States.

Carnegie unit

A measurement used in most high schools to determine how much coursework a student has completed. Students usually need at least 20 Carnegie units to graduate; one unit is equal to a conventional 50-minute class taken five times per week throughout the school year. A one-semester course is worth one-half of a Carnegie unit.

The units were established and promoted 100 years ago by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Today, many educators involved in school reform oppose the use of Carnegie units, arguing that "seat time" is not necessarily a measure of learning.

Channel One

A television news service operated by Primedia that is broadcast daily to 8 million students in 12,000 schools. Channel One is controversial because its 10 minutes of news are accompanied by two minutes of advertisements, an example of the increasing intrusion of commercialism in public schools.

Chapter I The label assigned at one time to a section of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. The section, which is intended to benefit children who live in high- poverty areas, was originally called Title I, was renamed Chapter I when the legislation was reauthorized, and now is again known as Title I. The current version emphasizes higher learning standards and requires state assessments for measuring student progress. character education

Teaching children about basic human values, including honesty, kindness, generosity, courage, freedom, equality, and respect. The goal is to raise children to become morally responsible, self-disciplined citizens. Problem solving, decision making, and conflict resolution are important parts of developing moral character. Through role playing and discussions, students are helped to see that their decisions affect other people and things. Service learning is frequently a part of a comprehensive character education program.

Character education is actively promoted by the Character Education Partnership, a coalition of education and civic organizations with viewpoints that range from liberal to conservative. charter school

A self-governing educational facility that operates under contract between the school's organizers and the sponsors (often local school boards but sometimes other agencies, such as state boards of education). The organizers are often teachers, parents, or private organizations. The charter may detail the school's instructional design, methods of assessment, management, and finances.

Charter schools usually receive government funding, may not charge tuition, must be nonsectarian and nondiscriminatory, and must be chosen by teachers, students, and parents. To renew their charters, these schools are expected to show that they meet the expectations of parents and their governing boards, continue to attract families, and retain and attract teachers. In exchange for this form of accountability, charter schools are free from most state and local regulations, often including teacher certification requirements. chief state school officer

The highest-ranking official responsible for public schools in each state. Because states call their highest-ranking school administrator by different titles—superintendent, commissioner, for example—the national organization of these officials is called the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSO). child-centered

Educational programs designed around the assumed characteristics and needs of the child, rather than of parents, teachers, or society. church-state separation The requirement based on interpretation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and reinforced in numerous rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court that government programs may not advance religion. Because the language of the First Amendment is somewhat ambiguous (it only restricts Congress from adopting legislation "respecting an establishment of religion"), opponents of the court rulings insist that the supposed "wall of separation" between church and state is not as solid as claimed. classroom climate

The "feel" or tone of a classroom, indicated by the total environment, including especially the way teacher and students relate to one another. Some classrooms have a cold, impersonal, or even antagonistic, climate, while others are warm and friendly. Some are business-like and productive, others disorganized and inefficient. classroom management

The way a teacher organizes and administers routines to make classroom life as productive and satisfying as possible. What some people might describe narrowly as "discipline." For example, teachers with good classroom management clarify how various things (such as distribution of supplies and equipment) are to be done and may even begin the school year by having students practice the expected procedures. coaching

Educators use this term, commonly used in athletics, to refer to any situation in which someone helps someone else learn a skill. The late Mortimer Adler, who devised the Paideia program, maintained that coaching is one of three basic modes of teaching (the other two are presenting and leading discussions). Coaching is also considered an important part of training programs in which teachers learn new teaching methods. A process in which teachers visit each other's classes to observe instruction and offer feedback is known as peer coaching.

Coalition of Essential Schools

A high school-university partnership established at Brown University and founded by Theodore Sizer. The coalition grew out of a study of secondary education sponsored by the National Association of Secondary School Principals and the National Association of Independent Schools.

The coalition does not recognize any one school as a model school, believing that schools must be unique to best serve their particular communities, faculties, and students. Instead, coalition schools accept a set of nine governing principles that include helping young people learn to use their minds well; mastering a limited number of essential skills and areas of knowledge, rather than striving for broad content coverage; holding all students accountable for the same goals (using various teaching styles to accommodate the different ways in which students learn); maintaining a teacher-to-student ratio that permits teachers to know students as individuals; and arranging for competitive teacher salaries, as well as substantial planning and training time. The coalition supports the idea that students should demonstrate their mastery of certain skills and knowledge, decided on by the faculty and administrators along with the community, in order to graduate. cognitive development

The process, which begins at birth, of learning through sensory perception, memory, and observation. Children are born into cultures and backgrounds that affect what they learn as well as how they learn. Children from enriched environments (in which parents and caregivers read to and with them, teach them letters and numbers, and take them to plays and museums) come to school prepared to learn; children from impoverished or abusive backgrounds often lack most or all of these preschool advantages. To stimulate the cognitive development of such children, teachers use strategies such as placing learning into a meaningful context, providing situations in which students can be active participants, and combining general information with specific learning situations. cognitive learning

The mental processes involved in learning, such as remembering and understanding facts and ideas. Educators have always been interested in how people learn but are now becoming better informed about cognition from the work of cognitive psychologists, who in recent years have compiled a great deal of new information about thinking and learning. cohort

A particular group of people with something in common. For instance, a cohort might be a group of students who had been taught an interdisciplinary curriculum by a team of junior high school teachers. Researchers might want to track their progress into high school to identify differences in success of students in the cohort compared with students who had attended conventional classes in the same school. collaboration

A relationship between individuals or organizations that enables the participants to accomplish goals more successfully than they could have separately. Educators are finding that they must collaborate with others to deal with increasingly complex issues. For example, schools and school systems often form partnerships with local businesses or social service agencies.

Many schools teach students how to work with others on group projects. Some educators call this collaborative learning, although it is more commonly known as cooperative learning. collaborative action research

Systematic investigation by two or more teachers of some aspect of their work in order to improve their effectiveness. Action research involves identifying a question or problem and then collecting and analyzing relevant data. (It is called action research because the participants are studying an aspect of their own work and they intend to use the results themselves.) For example, a group of teachers might decide to give their students different assignments according to their assessed learning styles. If the teachers maintained records comparing student work before and after the change, they would be collaborating on action research. commercialism

The trend, which observers say is growing, to permit commercial advertising in public schools. Traditionally, public schools prohibited commercial advertising; however, in recent years some schools have begun to contract with distributors of particular beverages and to import television programs, such as Channel One, which are specifically designed to present advertising to young people. While advocates argue that advertising in schools is a harmless way of increasing funding, others argue that because students are a captive and impressionable audience, advertising should have no place in the public schools. common ground

Fundamental values or goals that people agree upon, although they may disagree strongly on other matters. The term is sometimes used to refer to a process for improving communication between public educators and their critics. community center schools

Organizations that provide services—often including medical and dental services, nutrition classes, parent programs, and social services—as part of the school program for both students and families. Community center schools, sometimes called full-service schools, provide essential services that many families could not otherwise obtain because they lack transportation, information, money, or time. The goals of such programs are to help urban parents feel comfortable with teachers, become a part of the learning community, and support their children's studies. competency tests

Tests created by a school district or state that students must pass before graduating. Sometimes called minimum competency tests, such tests are intended to ensure that graduates have reached minimal proficiency in basic skills. In recent years, some states have replaced minimum competency tests adopted in the 1970s or '80s with more demanding tests aligned with adopted curriculum standards. comprehensive school reform

An approach to school improvement that involves adopting a design for organizing an entire school rather than using numerous unrelated instructional programs. New American Schools, an organization that promotes comprehensive school reform, sponsors several different designs, each featuring challenging academic standards, strong professional development programs, meaningful parental and community involvement, and a supportive school environment. computer-assisted instruction

Educational programs delivered through the use of computers and educational software. As computers have become more common in schools, the term and its abbreviation, CAI, are used less frequently.

CAI has a specific meaning as it applies to special-needs students. Many software programs and features have been designed to help students with dyslexia and poor fine-motor skills. Blind students can work on braille keyboards and command the computer to call up their work as synthesized speech or as a braille display. Students with physical challenges can operate computers by activating a switch with their head, foot, mouth, or the blink of an eye. conflict resolution

Programs that teach students how to negotiate problems in a nonviolent way. Core concepts include recognizing that conflict can be a pathway to personal growth, understanding that there are alternative solutions to problems, and learning skills to solve problems effectively. Conflict resolution is often provided through peer mediation, in which children or teens assist other students to work through problems without resorting to violence. constructed response

Test items on which students must provide an answer (short answer, explanation of the process for determining the answer, etc.) in contrast with items (known as selected response or multiple-choice) on which students choose from among answers provided. Some psychometricians say that selected response items are preferable because they are scored by machine and the results are therefore more reliable. Others, however, believe constructed response items are a better test of what students can actually do. constructivism

An approach to teaching based on research about how people learn. Many researchers say that each individual "constructs" knowledge rather than receiving it from others. People disagree about how to achieve constructive learning, but many educators believe that students come to understand abstract concepts best through exploration, reasoning, and discussion. continuous progress

A system of education in which individuals or small groups of students go through a sequence of lessons at their own pace, rather than at the pace of the entire classroom group. Continuous progress has also been called individualized education or individualized instruction and is one version of mastery learning.

In continuous-progress programs, able and motivated students are not held back, and students take on new lessons only if they show they have the prerequisite skills. A criticism, however, is that unmotivated students often progress more slowly than they would in regular classes.

Coordinated School Health Programs

A model developed by the Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion that consists of eight interactive components: health education, physical education, health services, nutrition services, health promotion for staff, counseling and psychological services, healthy school environment, and parent/community involvement.

Source: From "A Coordinated School Health Program" by the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Retrieved April 2, 2002, from http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dash/cshpdef.htm. cooperative learning

A teaching strategy combining teamwork with individual and group accountability. Working in small groups, with individuals of varying talents, abilities, and backgrounds, students are given one or more tasks. The teacher or the group often assigns each team member a personal responsibility that is essential to successful completion of the task.

Used well, cooperative learning allows students to acquire both knowledge and social skills. The students learn from one another and get to know and respect group members that they may not have made an effort to meet in other circumstances. Studies show that, used properly, cooperative learning boosts student achievement. Schools using this strategy report that attendance improves because the students feel valuable and necessary to their group. core curriculum

The body of knowledge that all students are expected to learn. High schools often require a core curriculum that may include, for example, four years of English, three years of science and mathematics, two or three years of history, one or two years of a foreign language, and one year of health studies. Courses that are not required are called electives.

The term core curriculum was used in the mid-20th century to refer to a block-of-time program (two or more class periods) in which students and their teacher chose the topics they would study, but few of today's schools have such programs now. core knowledge

Refers specifically to a reform movement founded by E. D. Hirsch, professor of English at the University of Virginia. The movement is based on the idea that there is a body of knowledge that students and citizens need to know, so school districts should offer a sequential, uniform curriculum. Such a curriculum is outlined in the Core Knowledge Resource Series, a collection of books that specify what students at each grade level should know.

Opponents argue that schools should emphasize the process of learning and the skills of gathering information, and place less emphasis on coverage of particular content. Another argument concerns how to determine the content that all students should learn: Who should decide? On what basis? The inclusion of certain topics, literary pieces, or historic events and the exclusion of others raises issues of cultural bias. creationism

The view that human beings were specifically created by God and did not evolve from other forms of animal life through the process of natural selection. Advocates of scientific creationism believe that the creationist view should be taught alongside evolution in science classes. Opponents argue that creationism is a religious, not a scientific, position. They insist that the only ideas that should be taught in science classes are those that are based on scientific evidence and that are subject to rigorous scientific scrutiny. criterion-referenced tests

Tests designed to measure how thoroughly a student has learned a particular body of knowledge without regard to how well other students have learned it. Most nationally standardized achievement tests are norm-referenced, meaning that a student's performance is compared to how well students in the norming group did when the test was normed. Criterion-referenced tests are directly related to the curriculum of a particular school district or state and are scored according to fixed criteria. critical thinking

Logical thinking based on sound evidence; the opposite of biased, sloppy thinking. Some people take the word critical to mean negative and faultfinding, but philosophers consider it to mean thinking that is skillful and responsible. A critical thinker can accurately and fairly explain a point of view that he does not agree with. cultural literacy

The idea of E. D. Hirsch, professor of English at the University of Virginia, that there is a certain body of knowledge (core knowledge) that people must know to be well-educated, well-rounded American citizens. curricula plural of curriculum. May be Anglicized as curriculums. curriculum Although this term has many possible meanings, it usually refers to a written plan outlining what students will be taught (a course of study). Curriculum documents often also include detailed directions or suggestions for teaching the content. Curriculum may refer to all the courses offered at a given school, or all the courses offered at a school in a particular area of study. For example, the English curriculum might include English literature, literature, world literature, essay styles, creative writing, business writing, Shakespeare, modern poetry, and the novel. The curriculum of an elementary school usually includes language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, and other subjects. cyber schools

Educational institutions, many of them charter schools, that offer most or all of their instruction by computer via the internet. More such schools are being established each year.