KTET Category 2 key terms

The study and practice of how teaching happens, covering methods, classroom decisions, and the reasoning behind them. It links what a teacher knows about children to what the teacher actually does in class.

An approach that builds teaching around the learner's interests, pace, and prior experience rather than around subject coverage alone. The teacher acts as facilitator, arranging activities and materials that let children construct understanding actively.

Teaching in which children learn through doing tasks, handling materials, playing, and solving problems instead of only listening or copying. It suits lower primary classes because young learners build concepts through concrete experience before moving to abstract symbols.

Using games, songs, role play, and free play as the medium of instruction for young children. Learning objectives are embedded in enjoyable activity so that attention is sustained naturally and social skills develop alongside content.

Temporary support a teacher provides so a learner can complete a task just beyond independent reach, then gradually withdraws as competence grows. Examples include prompts, models, worked examples, and structured steps that are faded over time.

The gap between what a child can do alone and what the child can do with help from a more capable person. Instruction aimed at this zone stretches learning without causing frustration, and it justifies guided practice and peer support.

Planning one lesson so learners at different readiness levels can all succeed, by varying content, process, product, or support. Teachers adjust task difficulty, grouping, materials, and time while keeping the same core learning goal for the class.

The principle and practice of educating all children, including those with disabilities or disadvantaged backgrounds, in ordinary classrooms with the support they need. It requires adapting curriculum, assessment, and physical access rather than separating learners.

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

Targeted instruction given to learners who have fallen behind in a specific skill, after diagnosing exactly where understanding broke down. It reteaches prerequisites with more practice and feedback rather than simply repeating the original lesson.

Ongoing checking of learning during teaching, used to adjust instruction rather than to grade. Techniques include questioning, exit slips, observation, and short quizzes; feedback is immediate and specific so learners know their next step.

Evaluation carried out at the end of a unit, term, or course to judge achievement against standards. Results are typically reported as marks or grades and serve promotion, certification, and programme review rather than daily teaching decisions.

Using evidence from classroom activity to decide what to teach next and to help pupils understand where they are going. It depends on clear success criteria, peer and self-assessment, and feedback that moves learning forward.

An instrument given before or during instruction to identify specific strengths, gaps, and misconceptions, often in a skill area such as reading or arithmetic. Results guide grouping and remedial planning rather than ranking pupils.

A test measuring how much a learner has learned from a defined course or syllabus. It is standardised in content and scoring so results can be compared across pupils, classes, or schools for reporting and accountability.

A scoring guide listing criteria and describing levels of quality for each, so judgement is consistent and transparent. Sharing the rubric in advance helps learners understand expectations and self-assess their own work.

An assessment system that spreads evaluation across the year and covers scholastic and co-scholastic areas such as attitudes, values, and skills. It reduces dependence on a single terminal examination and uses multiple tools including observation and projects.

Statements of what a learner should know or be able to do by the end of a lesson, unit, or stage, written in observable terms. They guide planning, task design, and assessment alignment so teaching and testing match.

Designing a course so that stated learning outcomes, teaching activities, and assessment tasks all point to the same capabilities. When they match, students prepare for the assessment by doing the learning the outcomes describe.

A hierarchical classification of cognitive objectives, from remembering and understanding through applying, analysing, and evaluating to creating. Teachers use it to pitch questions and tasks at a range of thinking levels rather than only recall.

Mental abilities beyond recall, such as analysis, evaluation, synthesis, and problem solving. They are developed through open tasks, questioning, and justification, and are usually assessed with extended response rather than multiple choice.

An approach where learners investigate a question or problem, gather and interpret evidence, and build explanations. The teacher poses productive questions and supports method rather than supplying the answer directly.

Extended work in which learners produce a meaningful artefact or solution to a real problem, integrating several subjects and skills. Assessment focuses on process, product, and presentation, often with a shared rubric.

A written outline of a single lesson covering objectives, prior knowledge, materials, sequence of activities, questions, and closure. It records intended timing and checks for understanding so the lesson has clear structure and purpose.

A supervised practice in which a trainee teaches a short lesson to a small group, often recorded, then reviews it with feedback. The scaled-down setting lets specific teaching skills be practised and improved deliberately.

Systematically reviewing one's own teaching to identify what worked, what did not, and what to change. It uses journals, peer observation, and learner feedback, and treats improvement as a continuing professional habit.

A cycle in which a teacher identifies a classroom problem, plans an intervention, implements it, collects evidence, and revises practice. It is small-scale, local, and aimed at practical improvement rather than generalisable theory.

A theory proposing that ability is not a single general factor but several relatively distinct capacities, such as linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinaesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. Teachers use it to offer varied entry points to content.

A structured arrangement in which one learner helps another practise or understand content, with materials and roles set by the teacher. Both parties benefit, and it frees the teacher to work with groups needing direct support.

Small-group work structured so members depend on each other to succeed, with individual accountability and shared goals. Roles, group size, and task design are planned deliberately rather than left to chance.

Teaching one class containing children from two or more grade levels at once, common in small or rural schools. It requires grouped tasks, self-study materials, and peer support so the teacher can rotate attention across levels.

Acquisition is the natural, unconscious development of a language through use and exposure; learning is conscious study of rules and forms in a formal setting. Language teaching aims to provide acquisition-like exposure alongside explicit instruction.

An approach that organises language lessons around meaningful communication and real purposes rather than isolated grammar drills. Learners use the target language in pair and group tasks while accuracy develops through feedback and noticing.

Spoken or written language that is slightly beyond the learner's current level but made understandable through context, visuals, gestures, and repetition. It supports natural language growth without requiring every word to be translated.

The ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds in spoken words, such as blending or segmenting the sounds in 'cat'. It is a strong early predictor of reading success and is taught orally before letters are introduced.

Teaching the relationships between letters or letter groups and the sounds they represent, so learners can decode unfamiliar printed words. It is most effective when systematic, sequential, and combined with meaningful reading and writing.

Reading accurately, at a reasonable pace, and with appropriate expression, so attention can go to meaning rather than to decoding. It develops through repeated reading of familiar texts and modelling by the teacher.

The view that learners build knowledge by connecting new information to existing ideas and experience, rather than receiving it passively. Teaching therefore probes prior conceptions and provides experiences that challenge or extend them.

Intrinsic motivation comes from interest, curiosity, and satisfaction in the activity itself; extrinsic motivation comes from rewards, grades, or pressure. Classroom conditions that build competence and autonomy tend to sustain intrinsic motivation.

The organisation of space, time, routines, and expectations so that teaching and learning can proceed with minimal disruption. It is preventive and instructional, relying on clear procedures and engaging tasks more than on punishment.