AEPA APK Secondary (NT052) flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Zone of proximal development

Vygotsky's term for the range between what a learner can do independently and what the learner can do with guidance from a more capable peer or adult.

Conservation (Piaget)

The understanding that quantity, mass, or volume stays the same despite changes in appearance; typically achieved in the concrete operational stage, ages seven to eleven.

Object permanence

The awareness that objects continue to exist when out of sight, developing during the sensorimotor stage and marking a key cognitive milestone in infancy.

Industry vs. inferiority

Erikson's psychosocial crisis of middle childhood, in which success in school and peer tasks builds competence while repeated failure breeds feelings of inadequacy.

Negative reinforcement

Removal of an aversive stimulus following a behavior, which increases the likelihood of that behavior recurring; it is not the same as punishment.

Scaffolding

Temporary support provided by a teacher or peer that helps a learner complete a task within the zone of proximal development, gradually withdrawn as competence grows.

Metacognition

Awareness and regulation of one's own thinking, including planning, monitoring comprehension, and evaluating strategy use during learning tasks.

Reliability vs. validity

Reliability is consistency of measurement across occasions or raters; validity is whether the instrument measures the intended construct. Validity requires reliability.

Formative assessment

Ongoing checks during instruction, such as exit tickets or questioning, used to adjust teaching and provide feedback rather than to assign a final grade.

Criterion-referenced test

An assessment that compares a student's performance to a defined standard or set of learning objectives rather than to the performance of other students.

Percentile rank

The percentage of students in the norm group who scored at or below a given score; it is not the percentage of items answered correctly.

Standard error of measurement

An estimate of the variability in a student's observed score due to imperfect reliability, used to construct confidence intervals around test results.

Table of specifications

A test blueprint that maps items to content objectives and cognitive levels, helping ensure the assessment samples the intended domain and supports content validity.

Accommodation vs. modification

An accommodation changes how a student accesses content or a test without altering expectations; a modification changes the content, level, or performance criteria.

Item difficulty and discrimination

Difficulty is the proportion of examinees answering correctly; discrimination indicates how well an item separates high scorers from low scorers, often via point-biserial correlation.

Summative assessment

An evaluation administered at the end of a unit or course to document achievement against standards, such as a final exam or culminating project.

Direct instruction model

A teacher-directed sequence of review, objective statement, small-step presentation, guided practice, independent practice, and periodic review with feedback.

Differentiation

Adapting content, process, or product in response to student readiness, interest, and learning profile, often through flexible grouping and tiered tasks.

Positive interdependence

A cooperative learning condition in which group members depend on one another to succeed, paired with individual accountability so each member must contribute.

Wait time

The pause of roughly three to five seconds after posing a question and after a student response, which increases response length and participation breadth.

Universal Design for Learning

A framework providing multiple means of representation, engagement, and action and expression so that curriculum is accessible to diverse learners from the outset.

Variable ratio schedule

A reinforcement schedule delivering reward after an unpredictable number of responses; it produces high, steady response rates and is highly resistant to extinction.

Proximity control

A low-key classroom management technique in which the teacher moves physically near an off-task student to redirect behavior without verbal reprimand.

Mastery learning

Bloom's approach in which students must reach a criterion level before advancing, with corrective feedback and varied time allowed to reach mastery.

FERPA

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which gives parents rights to inspect education records and restricts disclosure of personally identifiable student information without consent.

IDEA

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, guaranteeing eligible students a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment with an individualized education program.

Least restrictive environment

The IDEA requirement that students with disabilities be educated with nondisabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate, with removal only when supports cannot meet needs.

Section 504

A federal civil rights law prohibiting discrimination based on disability in programs receiving federal funds, providing accommodations for students who do not qualify for IDEA.

Mandated reporting

The legal duty of educators to report suspected child abuse or neglect to designated authorities; good-faith reports are protected and the teacher does not investigate.

Title IX

A federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in federally funded education programs, requiring a designated coordinator and grievance procedures for complaints.

Tinker v. Des Moines

The 1969 Supreme Court decision holding that student expression is protected unless it causes substantial disruption or invades the rights of others.

Constructed-response rubric

A scoring guide listing criteria such as claim, evidence, reasoning, and organization, with performance levels that make scoring consistent and criteria transparent to students.