Assam TET UP key terms

An assessment approach that judges both scholastic learning and co-scholastic growth such as attitudes and skills, using regular classroom observations and tests rather than one final examination. It aims to reduce exam fear and track each learner's progress throughout the year.

Assessment carried out during teaching to gather evidence about what learners understand so instruction can be adjusted immediately. It is diagnostic and low-stakes, and results are used for feedback rather than for grading or promotion decisions.

Assessment conducted at the end of a unit, term, or session to judge how much learning has been achieved against expected outcomes. It typically yields a grade or mark and is used for reporting, certification, or promotion rather than for adjusting ongoing teaching.

A specific, observable statement of what a learner should be able to do at the end of a lesson, unit, or stage, such as reading simple words with correct pronunciation. Outcomes guide planning, classroom activities, and the design of assessment tasks.

The integrated ability to apply knowledge, skills, and attitudes to solve problems or perform tasks in real situations. It goes beyond recalling facts and is demonstrated through action, such as explaining a process or handling data confidently.

The theory and practice of teaching, covering how content is selected, sequenced, presented, and assessed for particular learners. It includes decisions about methods, classroom interaction, and the teacher's role as facilitator rather than sole transmitter of information.

A view of learning holding that learners actively build understanding by connecting new experiences to what they already know, rather than receiving knowledge passively. Teaching therefore begins with learners' existing ideas and provides activities, questions, and discussion that help them revise those ideas.

The gap between what a learner can do alone and what the learner can do with guidance from a more capable person. Instruction aimed at this zone stretches the learner without causing frustration and is closely linked to the idea of scaffolding.

Temporary support given by a teacher or peer so a learner can complete a task just beyond independent ability. Support such as hints, models, or step-by-step prompts is gradually withdrawn as the learner gains competence and confidence.

Planning and delivering lessons so that learners at different readiness levels, interests, and learning profiles can work towards the same goals through varied content, process, or products. It is a planned response to diversity in an inclusive classroom, not individual tutoring for every child.

An approach in which all children, including those with disabilities, learning difficulties, or disadvantaged backgrounds, learn together in the same regular classroom with suitable adaptations. The system adjusts to the child rather than expecting the child to fit a rigid system.

A written plan prepared for a specific learner with special educational needs, stating present levels of performance, measurable goals, services, accommodations, and review dates. It is developed collaboratively with parents and specialists and guides day-to-day classroom adjustments.

Teaching two or more grade levels together in one classroom, common in small rural schools with limited teachers. It requires grouping, peer tutoring, self-learning materials, and activities that let different groups work independently while the teacher attends to another.

Any concrete object, chart, model, flashcard, or digital resource used to make a concept understandable and to keep learners actively involved. Good TLM is low-cost, locally available, age-appropriate, and tied directly to the lesson objective.

A learner-centred approach in which children learn concepts by doing, manipulating materials, playing, and exploring rather than only listening to the teacher. Activities are planned with clear learning objectives and are followed by reflection so that play leads to understanding.

A strategy in which one learner helps another to learn, usually under teacher supervision and with brief training. It benefits both partners and is useful for revision, practice, and multigrade classrooms where the teacher cannot attend to every child at once.

Planned additional instruction for learners who have not achieved expected outcomes, targeting the specific difficulty identified through diagnosis. It is short, focused, and followed by reassessment, and it differs from simply repeating the original lesson louder or faster.

A written outline of a single lesson stating objectives, prior knowledge, materials, teaching steps, learner activities, and assessment. A sound plan sequences learning logically, allows time for practice, and includes a way to check whether the objectives were met.

A scaled-down practice session in which a trainee teaches a small group for a few minutes, focusing on one or two specific skills such as questioning or explaining. The session is observed, feedback is given, and the trainee re-teaches to improve.

A brief, factual, dated note describing a specific incident of a child's behaviour or performance in a natural setting. Collected over time, such records reveal patterns useful for understanding a learner and are a common tool of continuous assessment.

A simple assessment tool listing specific behaviours, skills, or items to be observed, with space to mark whether each is present or absent. It is quick to use for practical work, habits, and group activities but does not indicate quality or degree.

A scoring guide that describes levels of performance for a task, with criteria and descriptors for each level. Sharing a rubric in advance tells learners what quality looks like and makes assessment of projects, writing, and presentations more consistent and transparent.

Systematic collection of a learner's work samples over time, chosen to show progress, effort, and achievement against stated criteria. Reviewing the portfolio with the child encourages self-assessment and gives parents concrete evidence of growth.

A mark is a numerical score indicating how many points were earned, while a grade is a broad band such as A or B that places performance in a category. Grading reduces unhealthy competition over small score differences and is preferred in continuous assessment.

The habit of examining information before accepting it, checking evidence, spotting assumptions, and comparing competing explanations. In the classroom it is built through open questions, debate, and problems that have more than one defensible answer.

An extended learning task in which learners plan, investigate, and produce an outcome, often over several days and sometimes in groups. It develops inquiry, cooperation, and time management, and is assessed with criteria shared beforehand.

What a learner already knows and believes about a topic before instruction begins, including misconceptions. Effective teaching finds out this starting point, corrects wrong ideas, and links new content to familiar experience so that learning sticks.

The ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds in spoken words, such as blending or segmenting the sounds in 'cat'. It is an oral skill and a strong early predictor of success in learning to read and spell.

Teaching the relationships between letters or letter groups and the sounds they represent, so learners can decode unfamiliar printed words. Systematic phonics instruction is most effective when combined with meaningful reading, writing, and listening to stories.

The process of converting printed letters and letter patterns into spoken sounds and words. Fluent decoding frees attention for comprehension, so beginners need regular practice with words they can sound out and words they recognise instantly.

Reading text accurately, at a reasonable pace, and with appropriate expression and phrasing. Fluent readers recognise words effortlessly and can therefore concentrate on meaning; repeated reading of familiar text is a common way to build it.

Constructing meaning from text by connecting words, sentences, and background knowledge, and by inferring what is not stated directly. It includes locating information, understanding sequence, drawing conclusions, and judging the writer's purpose.

Words a reader recognises instantly as whole units without sounding them out, including many common irregular words. A growing sight vocabulary speeds reading and supports fluency, and is built through repeated exposure in meaningful contexts.

An organised network of background knowledge stored in memory that helps a reader anticipate and interpret new text. When a reader lacks a relevant schema, comprehension suffers, so teachers activate or build background knowledge before reading.

A conclusion drawn from clues in the text combined with the reader's knowledge, rather than stated directly. Teaching inference means asking why, how, and what-would-happen questions that require learners to justify their answers with evidence.

An approach that teaches reading and writing through complete, meaningful texts and real communication rather than isolated drills on letters and sounds. It values authentic literature and children's own writing, and is often balanced with explicit phonics instruction.

A language teaching approach in which the goal is real communication, so lessons use pair work, role play, information gaps, and tasks with a purpose. Grammar and vocabulary are taught in service of meaning rather than as ends in themselves.

A method where learners use the target language to complete a meaningful task, such as planning a trip or solving a puzzle, and language focus follows the task. The task, not a grammar point, organises the lesson.

Acquisition is the natural, unconscious development of language through exposure and use, as in a first language at home. Learning is the conscious study of rules and vocabulary in formal settings; both contribute to proficiency in a second language.