MAHA TET Paper 1 key terms

The gradual, lifelong process by which a person changes physically, cognitively, socially and emotionally. Teachers use it to judge what a child can reasonably be expected to do at a given age.

The variations among learners in ability, pace, interest, language background and learning style. Recognising them leads to flexible tasks, extra support and fair assessment instead of one uniform expectation for the whole class.

Vygotsky's term for the distance between what a learner can do alone and what the same learner can do with guidance from a teacher or a more able peer. Teaching is most productive within this range.

The temporary help a teacher or peer gives so that a learner can complete a task still too difficult to do alone. The help is reduced step by step as the learner becomes independent.

A mental framework through which a child organises and interprets experience. New information is either fitted into an existing schema or causes that schema to be revised.

The view that learners build knowledge actively by linking new experience to what they already know, instead of receiving ready-made facts passively from the teacher.

An approach in which the child's interests, pace and previous experience shape planning, teaching and assessment, and the teacher works as a facilitator rather than as a lecturer.

Skinner's principle that behaviour becomes more or less frequent according to the consequences that follow it. Praise and rewards strengthen a response; ignoring or punishment weakens it.

The desire to learn that comes from interest, curiosity or satisfaction inside the learner rather than from marks, prizes or fear of punishment. It usually sustains effort for longer.

Gardner's theory that intelligence is not one general ability but a set of relatively independent ones, including linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinaesthetic, interpersonal and intrapersonal capacities.

Schooling in which children with disabilities, different home languages and different learning needs study together in ordinary classrooms and receive the support they need to take part fully.

An assessment system covering scholastic and co-scholastic areas throughout the year with a variety of tools, so that a few written tests do not decide a child's whole result.

Assessment carried out while teaching is going on, to reveal what learners have understood and to adjust the next lesson. Feedback and remediation matter more than marks.

Assessment at the end of a unit, term or course that judges how far a learner has met the expected outcomes and is usually reported as grades or a progress card.

A lasting difficulty in reading, writing or mathematics that cannot be explained by low intelligence, poor teaching or sensory impairment, and which needs early identification and specific teaching strategies.

A specific learning difficulty that affects accurate and fluent word reading and spelling. Children with dyslexia benefit from structured phonics, extra time and oral alternatives in assessment.

A learner's awareness and control of their own thinking: knowing whether one has understood, choosing a strategy and checking the result. Think-aloud routines and reflection build it.

The four language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Listening and speaking are oral and come first in natural acquisition; reading and writing are graphic and need planned teaching.

A method of teaching reading that connects letters and letter groups with the sounds they represent, so that children can decode unfamiliar words instead of memorising them one by one.

Reading or speaking smoothly and at a reasonable pace with accuracy and expression, so that attention can go to meaning. Repeated reading and oral practice build it.

Reading a text quickly to grasp its general idea or gist without attending to details, often to decide whether the passage is useful for a task.

Reading quickly in search of a particular piece of information, such as a date, name or figure, letting the eyes move over the text for key words.

The process of building meaning from a text by combining word recognition, background knowledge, grammar and inference. It is the aim of all reading instruction.

The use of more than one language by a child or a community. In school it is treated as a resource that supports learning rather than as an obstacle to be removed.

An approach in which the goal of lessons is real communication: learners use the target language in meaningful tasks, pair work and role play instead of only memorising grammar rules.

The value a digit gains from its position in a number: in 3,507 the digit 5 stands for five hundred. It underlies reading, comparing and calculating with numbers.

Renaming units across place values while adding or subtracting, for example exchanging one ten for ten ones. Many children's written calculation errors come from weak regrouping.

A line on which numbers are marked at equal intervals to show order and distance, used for counting, addition, subtraction and later for fractions and negative numbers.

Finding a sensible approximate answer or measure by rounding or using benchmarks, and judging whether a calculated result is reasonable. It is taught alongside exact calculation, not instead of it.

A teaching sequence that begins with handling real objects, moves to pictures and diagrams, and ends with symbols and written rules. It helps children attach meaning to procedures.

A physical object such as beads, blocks or fraction strips that children handle and arrange to explore a mathematical idea before working with written symbols.

The study of learners' wrong answers to identify the incorrect rule or misunderstanding behind them, so that remedial teaching deals with the cause rather than the symptom.

Careful noticing and describing of an object, place or event using the senses, followed by recording what was noticed. It is the first step of enquiry in EVS.

A planned activity in which one factor is changed and the effect is observed, so that an idea can be tested. In EVS it should use simple, safe, locally available materials.

The place where a plant or animal naturally lives and finds the food, water, shelter and space it needs. Different habitats support different living communities.

A body feature or behaviour that helps a living thing survive in its habitat, such as thick fur in cold regions or long roots in dry soil.

The path along which energy passes from one living thing to another as organisms eat and are eaten, beginning with plants and ending with predators or decomposers.

The careful protection and wise use of natural resources so that they continue to exist for future generations, through saving water, reducing waste and protecting habitats.

A diet that supplies the right amounts of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, fibre and water needed for growth, energy and protection from disease.