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Acceleration: the practice of ‘speeding up’ an individual pupil’s academic development. Usually means moving a pupil into a year group higher than that for their chronological age for all or part of the curriculum, but can also mean providing individual work within their own classroom designed to meet learning objectives for older years.
Accountability: being publicly responsible for outcomes, including taking responsibility if pupils fail to perform as expected.
Acculturation: might be considered a change in the cultural behaviour and thinking of a person or group of people through contact with another culture. In this book this is conceived of as a two-way process.
Action research: as indicated in the chapter and suggested reading, there are a number of versions of ‘action research’. The essential feature is that the researcher is actively involved in the process of progressive problem solving, rather than standing outside events in a ‘traditional’ researcher role.
Active citizenship: this term implies the direct participation of pupils in activities which develop their understanding of democratic processes, community involvement, and developing a sense of personal identity.
Affordances: opportunities that enable different forms of interaction, made available by particular technologies.
All-through school: a school catering for both primary-and secondary-aged pupils.
Assertive discipline: a term given to particular form of ‘behaviour management’ system first developed in the USA by Lee and Marlene Canter. Lee Canter was a psychiatric social worker. In this system the teacher takes control of the classroom using a discipline plan with clearly laid down rules, rewards and sanctions which must be followed by the pupils. It is based on behaviourist assumptions about learning and was highly authoritarian when first developed in the mid-1970s, although it has since been modified to a more co-operative approach.
Assimilation: is the process by which individuals or groups are absorbed into and adopt the culture of another society or group.
Behaviour for learning: patterns of behaviour likely to bring about successful learning.
Behaviourist: a theory of learning based on the idea that our behaviour is shaped by the feedback (or ‘reinforcement’) we receive. In school contexts this often takes the form of pupils being rewarded for successful learning (with ticks, stars, prizes etc.) or behaviour (merit points, prizes etc.) and the application of sanctions if behaviour is not satisfactory.
Child-centred pedagogy: an approach to teaching which focuses on the learning needs of the children in the class, rather than on following a pre-set curriculum with objectives determined by the teacher or administrators. It is closely linked, but not identical, to differentiation, which can also be employed in the context of a predetemrined curriculum.
Closed questions: questions for which there is a single right answer, or questions that are answerable by yes/no responses.
Cognitive acceleration: a teaching approach which claims to develop pupils’ general thinking abilities, involving the social construction of knowledge and the development of meta-cognition. See: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/sspp/education/research/projects/cognitive.html
Cognitive learning theory: a theory that seeks to explain how learners process information.
Constructivism: a view of learning that emphasises the active role of the learner in building understanding, and making sense of information from experience.
Consultation: often used synonymously with participation, but may imply a more passive level of involvement.
Core Standards: (see Professional Standards below). The Core Standards apply to all teachers and must be met by Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) by the end of their first year in teaching.
Corpus callosum: a mass of fibres located in the middle of the brain which connects the two hemispheres and allows communication between them.
Cross-curricular: approaches to teaching which seek to make links between different curriculum subjects. The National Curriculum currently has a set of stated cross-curriculum dimensions for Key Stage 3 www.qca.org.uk. This term is more commonly used in the first sense.
Cumulation: evaluating and building on pupils’ responses through careful listening so that pupils’ answers are built into subsequent questions to create a ‘chain’ of coherent enquiry.
Curriculum enrichment: providing work within the normal classroom to extend the thinking of very able pupils, rather than ‘moving the learner on’ as with acceleration. Enrichment activities may also take place outside the regular curriculum: after school, at weekends or during the holiday period.
Data collection: the systematic gathering of information/evidence to support your investigation.
DCSF: Department for Children, Schools and Families: government department created in 2007, responsible for all matters affecting children and young people up to the age of 19, including child protection and education. Changes to government policy over the years have meant that there have been several renamed departments concerned with education. DCSF replaced the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), which existed between 2001 and 2007. Prior to 2001, education was part of the remit of the Department of Education and Employment (DfEE), which was in turn created in 1995.
Demographic: the study of population, involving birth rates, age profiles and ethnicity.
Dialogic teaching: a term coined by Robin Alexander to denote a particular approach to teaching through talk which operates to stimulate and extend pupils’ thinking through the disciplined use of key strategies (see www.robinalexander.org.uk/dialogicteaching).
Didactic: teaching through direct instruction or demonstration, with little pupil involvement.
Differentiation/differentiated planning: the adjustment of the teaching process according to the learning needs of pupils. Differentiated planning is generally taken to mean the matching of work to the differing capabilities within the class, matched to an overall intended learning outcome. Differentiation may operate by varying the type of tasks set for different groups of pupils, by varying the resources provided, varying expectations of the outcome or providing higher levels of adult support.
Drill learning: the learning of facts through memorisation, reinforced by repetition. Sometimes also called rote learning.
Drill-and-skill: the learning of facts or simple skills through memorisation, reinforced by repetition.
Education Reform Act: a major Act of Parliament passed in 1988, which established the National Curriculum and standardised national testing as statutory, amongst many other revisions to the governance of schooling, too numerous to discuss here.
E-enabled: a measure of the ability of a school to make effective and strategic use of technology to improve learning. Judgements about a school’s ‘e-maturity’ are made on the basis of the technical infrastructure and resources available, the confidence of staff to utilise technology effectively for both teaching and co-ordinating school activities and finally on how well technology engages the learners.
Ego-centrism: the assumption that other people view the world in the same way as yourself.
Emotional intelligence: a term made famous by Goleman (1996). Although definitions of the concept vary, it is generally taken to embrace both being self-aware about one’s own emotions and likely reactions to different situations, and being able to respond appropriately towards others by being empathetic and displaying social skills.
Emotional literacy: similar to emotional intelligence, but preferred by some writers because the use of the term ‘literacy’ is felt to place greater emphasis on personal empowerment.
Enculturation: the gradual acceptance by a person or group of the standards and practices of another person or culture.
Enquiry-based approach: an approach to teaching which involves pupils in working together to solve problems rather than working under the teacher’s direction. The teacher’s role becomes that of a facilitator, rather than an instructor. General Teaching Council for England (GTCE).
Ethnography: this is used to describe a way of researching and usually involves the researcher becoming part of the group or community they are studying. Ethnographic research usually involves studying the whole context rather than an isolated factor.
Ethos: derived from Greek, meaning ‘to be accustomed to’, this has come to mean the distinctive character and fundamental values of a particular social grouping.
Exclusion: the practice of removing children temporarily or permanently from school, because they are unable to work with others in a safe manner.
Experiential learning: involves making meaning, or developing understanding, from direct experience, sometimes called ‘learning by doing’.
Extended Services (extended schools): by 2010 all schools are expected to offer ‘extended services’ to pupils and the local community. These services can be offered by schools working together, rather than independently. The services depend on local demand, but typically involve extended opening hours for childcare, after-school clubs, sports and other facilities, such as ICT rooms available to the local community, parent support activities and access to specialist services such as speech therapy, youth workers, police, careers advice etc.
Extrinsic: in this case, external to the learner, as opposed to the internal satisfaction of doing good work or maintaining effective learning behaviour.
Faith community: this is used to refer to a group, society, congregation or gathering of people who subscribe to the same set of religious beliefs and practise together.
Family literacy: the use of structured literacy programmes shared by several members of the family. The intention is to raise the literacy levels of all family members through a focus on supporting the literacy development of one or more children.
Formative assessment: where the purpose is to help in decisions about how to advance learning and the judgement is about the next steps in learning and how to take them.
Gifted (and talented): there are no precise definitions of what it means to be academically gifted, but the term is broadly used to identify those pupils who demonstrate a significantly higher level of ability than most pupils of the same age. This ability could be displayed in one or more curriculum areas, or as physical or artistic talent. See http://www.brookes.ac.uk/schools/education/rescon/cpdgifted/docs/unit1/1-1-definitionsofabilityunit1.pdf for a detailed discussion of this contested area.
Global dimension: one of the cross-curricular themes in the Key Stage 3 National Curriculum. See Chapter 17.
Globalisation: this term is used in a variety of contexts: to indicate economic interdependency and the power exerted by some multinational corporations that no longer have strong links with any particular country, but see themselves as transcending national boundaries; to indicate the ways in which technologies are enabling near-instantaneous communication across the world; to indicate the spread of cultural artefacts (such as film, music, fashion) beyond their original countries of origin to become ‘global brands’ – this last use of the term is closely related to the first two.
GTCE: The General Teaching Council for England is the professional body for teaching in England. All trainee teachers are provisionally registered with the GTCE, and full registration is confirmed at the end of the induction year. The GTCE also provides a range of other services and resources for teachers, employers and parents. ‘Our overall purpose is to work in the public interest to help improve standards of teaching and learning.’
Hidden curriculum: a term used to denote the way in which schooling ‘socialises’ pupils into certain behaviours that are not made explicit. Can be used in a critical sense to denote forms of social control.
Higher order: thinking or questions that involve deductive or inferential thinking, or that seek explanation or justification rather than repetition of known facts.
‘High stakes’ testing or assessment: where summative assessment is used for making decisions that affect the status or future of students, teachers or schools.
Ideology: a set of values, ideas and beliefs about the way things should be organised within a particular society or culture.
Induction: in education, the process by which the learner develops their own conceptual understanding by being supported to generalise, or recognise causal connections, or draw analogies with previous experience.
Innovations Unit: a non-governmental organisation, associated with the DCSF, which supports and encourages innovation on education and disseminates examples of new practice.
Integrated network: a computer-based system bringing together a range of functions such as video conferencing and real-time collaborative writing or editing facilities as well as access to resources, communication and information internal to a school or other organisation.
Interactive White Board (IWB): computer-linked classroom teaching aid that enables pupils and teacher to interact directly with material the screen while providing a large scale display visible to the whole class, thus increasing the potential for interactive learning. Can also be used to display pre-prepared materials.
Interdependence: the process whereby, in this case, learning is mutually dependent on each other/participant.
Internationalisation: an attitude of openness to learning from, and with, those from elsewhere in the world. This term may have different connotations in other contexts such as universities, where there is also an economic dimension.
Kinaesthetic: applied to education, this term means being actively involved in learning through doing, rather than by listening or watching.
Knowledge economy: this is a term used to identify the use of ‘intangibles’ such as knowledge, skills and innovative ideas in the ‘information age’ as resources to bring about economic advantages for countries. This is in contrast to economies based on the industrial production of ‘tangible’ products. For further information see http://www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre/facts/index4.aspx
Learning mentor: a person working within a primary or secondary school to support pupils identified as being ‘at risk’ of academic failure. They form a bridge between pastoral and academic concerns. The learning mentor may be a qualified teacher or a member of support staff who has received specific training.
Learning platform: a software product which supports shared access to resources, communication and information internal to a school or other organisation (such as a local authority). Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) or Course Management Systems are well-established examples of learning platforms.
Lesioned: deliberately cut. In this context the term refers to very rare brain operations on patients with severe epilepsy, where cutting through the corpus callosum alleviates the major symptoms.
Media literacy: the ability to ‘read’ a range of communications media in order to recognise authorial intentions and to understand that these media are not neutral sources of information.
Meta-cognition: being aware of how we think and behave in learning situations. Ultimately this implies active control over the process of thinking, for example: planning the way to approach a learning task, monitoring comprehension, and evaluating progress towards the completion of a task.
Methodology: the overall approach taken to gathering and analysing data. This is an area about which a great deal has been written.
Mind mapping: a term initially coined by Tony Buzan to describe visual representation of interlinked ideas. There are a number of software packages which enable ‘mind maps’ to be created, amended and linked to other electronic resources.
Multiple activity setting: a learning space in which different activities can be carried out simultaneously, such as practical work, group discussion and independent work.
Multiple intelligences: a concept developed by Howard Gardner (1983). The idea that humans possess a number of discrete ‘intelligences’ such as linguistic intelligence, musical intelligence, spatial intelligence. Gardner first proposed seven intelligences, but later increased this number (see Chapter 9 for full reference).
Multi-sensory resources: aids to learning that incorporate visual and auditory materials, and where appropriate opportunities for physical manipulation of items, such as mathematical equipment, or the use of aids for sequencing events to support writing.
National Strategies (Primary and Secondary): these are professional development programmes for primary and secondary teachers They provide resources to support teaching, and suggested frameworks for the curriculum. They are widely used in schools, but are non-statutory. See www.nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/. A recent government announcement indicates that they will be phased out by 2011.
Neuron: a nerve cell in the brain that stores and transfers information. Neurons have long and short fibres through which connect to other cells takes place, across the synapses.
Ofsted: The Office for Standards in Education is the government department responsible for inspecting schools and local authorities. It publishes reports on a wide range of topics, using evidence from inspections.
Open questions: questions with more than one possible answer, or questions designed to encourage reflection and further thought.
Participation: having some infuence over decisions and actions which affect pupils’ lives in school. Often used synonymously with consultation.
Personalised learning/personalisation: this is now a widely used term in a range of contexts. Broadly, it reflects current policy developments towards enabling education to match the needs and interests of learners more closely than in the past, through a number of initiatives, many of which are discussed in this book. See www.ttrb.ac.uk article id 12406, for a commentary on the concept of ‘personalised learning’ with further links to other resources.
Probing questions: questions that encourage respondents to think more deeply or provide additional information or justification.
Professional development: the ongoing training, development and education that is available to a person working in a profession such as teaching.
Professional Standards for Teaching: the current government requirements that all teachers need to meet in order to be recognised as qualified teachers in England. They are organised in a progressive framework starting with those for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and moving on to the Core Standards by the end of the first year of teaching.
Provisionality: the concept that electronic text can be seen as a provisional, rather than permanent text form, unlike handwritten text which needs to be rewritten if changes are made; an affordance of word processing, and some other forms of software.
Proximal learning: learning involving others close by – paired or small-group-based learning.
Psychosocial: the combination of psychological and social factors affecting mental health or social and emotional development.
Pupil voice: a term used to identify a range of strategies utilised to gather pupils’ views about all aspects of school life. See Chapter 15.
Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA): the official body responsible for all aspects of curriculum development, and statutory assessment in England. It is sponsored by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF).
Qualified Teacher Status (QTS): a recognition that someone has met the first set of Professional Standards for Teaching in England and is able to start their Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT) year.
Qualifying to Teach: the title of the current government standards for the award of Qualified Teacher Status in England.
Reciprocity: is the practice of responding to a positive action with another positive action or, indeed, a negative action in response to a negative action.
Reflexive: is about being aware in the moment/present of what is impacting upon and influencing our actions and responses.
Research method: the way in which data is collected. Some examples of research methods are given in Chapter 13. The list of useful texts provides more examples.
Resilience: the ability to accept being unsuccessful in a task, and to persist in attempting to master a skill or understanding. Can also include the idea of having strategies to support persistence, such as a willingness to try different approaches.
Scaffolding: the process whereby an adult or more experienced peer supports the learner to acquire new skills or understanding that are currently beyond their ability. Different techniques may be used, such as breaking the task down into smaller sections, questioning, cueing or modelling, but the important thing is that the pupil completes as much of the task as possible, and only receives support in those aspects that they cannot master at present. Once they have mastered the task or demonstrated the necessary understanding, the teacher or peer withdraws support, or ‘removes the scaffolding’.
School councils: bodies established to provide a forum for pupil representatives to raise issues of concern, and to enable the school management to consult with pupils on issues directly affecting their learning, well-being and experience in school. See Chapter 15.
SEAL: Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (see Chapter 9).
SEN Register: this is a statutory responsibility on schools. They must keep a register of all children with Special Educational Needs. The criteria for inclusion on this register are governed by legislation.
Self-concept: the set of beliefs about oneself, including attributes, roles, goals, interests, values and religious or political beliefs.
Self-efficacy: an individual’s judgement of their ability to carry out a task or sustain behaviours that will lead to a certain outcome. Can relate to emotional issues such as anger as well as an individual’s belief in their intellectual or physical capacities to undertake a task.
Self-esteem: how one feels about one’s self-concept.
‘Small schools’: in this context the term refers to the subdivision of large secondary schools into smaller, vertically grouped units, each of which operates semi-independently.
Socialisation: a term used by sociologists to define the process of learning to live within one’s particular culture. This process of inducting individuals into values and assumptions about social roles enables social and cultural continuity to be maintained, but can also result in the continuation of stereotypical views about gender, ethnicity etc.
Social capital: ‘Social capital refers to the institutions, relationships, and norms that shape the quality and quantity of a society’s social interactions . . . it is the glue that holds them together’ (World Bank, 1999).
Social constructivism: the theory that learning is constructed through active participation with others within the contexts of the socio-cultural group.
Social justice: the belief that every individual should have the chances and opportunities to make the most of their lives and use their talents to the full.
Socio-cultural group: people with shared attitudes and values (culture) living within a particular society. The terms culture and society are often used interchangeably, but this combined term is used to indicate that larger social groups, whether nations or local communities, are composed of smaller groups of people with distinct attitudes and values. Thus one child’s learning in terms of social constructivism may be very different from another’s, even when they live in the same area.
Special Educational Needs (SEN): the legal definition is that a child has learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for them to learn than most children of the same age.
Standardised: criteria for success are established through an initial process of testing materials with large numbers of pupils in different schools and areas to arrive at agreement on levels of achievement (i.e. agreed standards).
Strategy learning: learning based in developing and understanding of problem-solving strategies, rather than memorisation (see drill learning above).
Summative assessment: where the purpose is to summarise the learning that has taken place in order to grade, certificate or record progress.
Sustainable development: the need to avoid the further depletion of the world’s resources. This includes ecological issues such as the use of renewable energy or building materials, but also recognising the ecology of workplaces to improve the work-life balance.
Synapse: the tiny space between neurons. Chemical messages cross this gap between the fibres of different neurons and allow the neurons to form interconnected circuits.
Systematic enquiry: a planned approach to investigating a question of interest to your professional practice, involving the selection of an appropriate research method, the collection of evidence or information relating to your focus question and an evaluation of your evidence leading to some form of conclusion and possibly a recommendation for future practice.
Systematic review: an approach to examining a number of research articles or reports in order to evaluate the reliability of the evidence presented against a set of given criteria. Only research which meets the criteria is then discussed in the final review article. It has been argued that this approach sometimes excludes research that could offer valuable insights into difficult areas.
Think-tank: is an organisation, often linked to government or policy units, which engages in research or consultation to inform policy development.
Topic-based approach: a form of curriculum design where different subjects are linked by an overarching theme. Care is needed to avoid superficial connections being made between subjects.
Transmission: a view of teaching and learning where information is given (transmitted) by the teacher to the pupils, as opposed to involving pupils more directly in their learning; often associated with behaviourist learning theory.
Triangulation: used in a research context, this term refers to the use of more than one source of evidence to strengthen the findings of a research investigation.
VAK: the acronym used to refer to the theory that learners have preferred ways of receiving information through the senses: visual, auditory or kinaesthetic.
Virtual Learning Environment: a software product providing shared resources and information, with communication through e-mail and discussion boards, which is internal to a school organisation, but accessible remotely via password. Different VLEs have varying facilities, such as options for learners to create personal online portfolios, upload assignments etc.
Withdrawal: the practice of withdrawing pupils from classroom activities to provide additional support in relation to an identified need.
Zone of proximal development: this is generally described as the difference between what learners can do by themselves and what they can do with the help of a more knowledgeable adult or peer. See scaffolding, above. The ZPD is constantly changing as learners increase their understanding, so that ongoing assessment is an essential part of this process.
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