GACE Birth Through Kindergarten (701) flashcards

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

Object permanence

The understanding that objects continue to exist when they are out of sight, typically developing around 8-12 months in Piaget's sensorimotor stage.

Zone of proximal development

Vygotsky's term for the gap between what a child can do independently and what the child can do with adult or peer support and scaffolding.

Formative assessment

Ongoing collection of evidence during instruction to guide teaching decisions, in contrast to summative assessment that documents learning at the end.

Developmental screening

A brief, standardized procedure such as the ASQ that identifies children who may need further evaluation; it is not a diagnosis.

Criterion-referenced assessment

An assessment that compares a child's performance to a defined standard or set of skills rather than to the performance of peers.

Developmentally appropriate practice

Instructional decisions that are age-appropriate, individually appropriate, and responsive to each child's culture and social context.

Scaffolding

Temporary, adjustable support such as modeling or prompting that a teacher provides within a task and fades as the child gains competence.

Learning centers

Defined classroom areas stocked with materials for specific types of play and exploration, supporting integrated, child-initiated learning.

Project Approach

Katz's framework in which children investigate a topic of interest through three phases: selecting the topic, investigating, and sharing findings.

Uninterrupted free play

A scheduled block of child-directed activity without teacher interruption, supporting sustained engagement, language, and social skill development.

Phonological awareness

Awareness of the sound structure of language, including syllables, rhymes, and individual phonemes; phonemic awareness is its most advanced subset.

Dialogic reading

An interactive shared-reading approach using prompts, evaluation, expansion, and repetition to build vocabulary and comprehension in young children.

Print awareness

Knowledge that print carries meaning, including directionality, concept of word, and conventions such as reading left to right.

Receptive language

The ability to understand spoken language, which typically develops before expressive language, the ability to produce words and sentences.

Invented spelling

A developmental stage in which children spell words using the sounds they hear, reflecting growing phonological knowledge rather than error.

Dual language learner

A young child acquiring two or more languages, often progressing through a receptive or silent period before producing the second language.

Cardinality

The counting principle that the last number named when counting a set represents the total quantity of that set.

Subitizing

The instant recognition of a small quantity, typically one to three objects, without counting them one by one.

One-to-one correspondence

The counting principle that each object in a set is matched with exactly one number word during counting.

Seriation

The ability to order objects along a dimension such as size, length, or weight, a foundational math and science reasoning skill.

Inquiry science

Science learning that begins with children's own questions and proceeds through hands-on exploration, prediction, and recording of findings.

Gross motor skills

Movements using large muscle groups such as running, jumping, climbing, and balancing, which develop before refined fine motor control.

Fundamental movement patterns

Basic movement categories that develop in sequence: stability skills such as balance, locomotor skills such as running, and manipulative skills such as throwing.

Safe sleep practice

Placing infants on their backs on a firm surface in a crib free of soft bedding, in the same room as a caregiver.

Division of responsibility

Feeding rule in which adults decide what and when food is offered, while children decide whether and how much to eat.

Handwashing procedure

Using soap and running water for at least 20 seconds, the primary infection-control practice in early childhood settings.

Family-centered practice

An approach treating families as the child's first teachers and as partners and decision-makers in planning and services.

Epstein's involvement types

Six types of family and community involvement: parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision-making, and community collaboration.

Strengths-based conferencing

A family conference approach that opens with concrete positive observations and builds shared goals rather than listing deficits.

Mandatory reporting

The legal duty of early childhood professionals to report suspected child abuse or neglect to the designated state authority.

NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct

A professional code that prioritizes obligations to children first, then families, colleagues, and community and society.

Reflective practice

A continuous cycle of observing one's own teaching, self-assessing, and using feedback to improve instruction and interactions.