NVS TGT key terms

The blend of subject mastery and teaching skill that lets a teacher anticipate learner errors, choose useful examples, and explain a topic in ways pupils can grasp. Introduced by Lee Shulman to describe knowledge beyond bare content.

Ongoing, low-stakes checking of learning during instruction, used to adjust teaching on the spot. Examples include exit tickets, quick quizzes, and questioning; feedback informs next steps rather than assigning final grades.

Evaluation conducted at the end of a unit, term, or course to judge achievement against standards. Results are typically graded or reported, and may be used for promotion, certification, or programme review.

Design principle in which intended learning outcomes, teaching and learning activities, and assessment tasks all point at the same capabilities. Biggs's idea: students learn what assessment rewards, so tasks must mirror stated outcomes.

Hierarchical classification of cognitive objectives: remember, understand, apply, analyse, evaluate, create (revised version). Teachers use the verbs to write measurable objectives and to pitch questions at varied difficulty levels.

Temporary support a teacher provides so a learner can complete a task just beyond independent reach, then gradually withdrawn as competence grows. Rooted in Vygotsky's zone of proximal development and Wood, Bruner and Ross.

Vygotsky's term for the gap between what a learner can do alone and what they can do with guidance from a more capable peer or adult. Instruction targeted at this band produces the most growth.

Planning lessons so content, process, product, or environment vary with learners' readiness, interests, and profiles. The aim is equitable access to the same core outcomes, not separate curricula for different students.

Approach in which children with disabilities and other marginalised groups learn in mainstream classrooms with appropriate adaptations, rather than being segregated. Mandated in India through the RPwD Act, 2016 and NEP 2020.

Written document specifying a learner's present levels, measurable goals, services, accommodations, and review schedule. Used for children with disabilities to ensure tailored support and accountability within inclusive settings.

A precise statement of what a learner should know, do, or value by the end of a lesson or course, expressed with observable verbs. Outcomes guide activity design, assessment, and feedback; they differ from broad aims.

Structured pairing in which one learner supports another's learning under teacher supervision. Benefits both tutor and tutee, and works best when roles rotate and materials are prepared.

Small-group instruction where members share a goal, depend on one another, and are individually accountable. Techniques include jigsaw, think-pair-share, and group investigation; success requires positive interdependence and clear roles.

Cyclical inquiry by a practitioner-plan, act, observe, reflect-to solve a local classroom problem. It generates context-specific knowledge and professional growth rather than generalisable theory.

Habit of examining one's own teaching decisions and their effects, often through journals, video, or peer observation, to improve future action. Schön distinguished reflection-in-action from reflection-on-action.

The smallest unit of sound that distinguishes meaning in a language, such as /p/ versus /b/ in 'pat' and 'bat'. English has roughly 44 phonemes represented by only 26 letters.

Smallest meaningful unit of a word; free morphemes stand alone ('book'), bound morphemes attach to others ('-s', 'un-'). Morphological awareness supports spelling, vocabulary growth, and reading comprehension.

Two words differing in exactly one phoneme, such as 'ship' and 'sheep'. Used in pronunciation teaching to sharpen learners' discrimination of sounds that are not contrastive in their first language.

The rise and fall of pitch across an utterance, signalling meaning such as question versus statement, or emphasis and attitude. Falling tone often marks completion; rising tone often marks a yes/no question.

Greater force given to a syllable, marked by loudness, length, and pitch. English word stress can shift meaning ('REcord' noun versus 'reCORD' verb) and misplaced stress hampers intelligibility.

A bound morpheme added to a base: prefix before ('un-'), suffix after ('-ness'), infix inside. Knowing common affixes helps learners infer unfamiliar word meanings and build spelling accuracy.

A word close in meaning to another, such as 'begin' and 'start'. True synonyms rarely interchange in every context, so register and collocation must be taught alongside meaning.

A word opposite in meaning to another. Gradable antonyms ('hot'/'cold') allow degrees; complementary pairs ('alive'/'dead') do not; relational pairs ('buy'/'sell') reverse perspective.

A word pronounced like another but spelled differently and with different meaning, such as 'their', 'there', 'they're'. Frequent source of spelling error; teaching them in sentence context reduces confusion.

Conventional pairing of words that native users expect together, such as 'make a decision' rather than 'do a decision'. Collocational accuracy distinguishes fluent, natural usage from grammatically correct but awkward phrasing.

Fixed expression whose meaning cannot be deduced from its parts, such as 'kick the bucket'. Idioms are culturally bound and best taught with context, register notes, and frequent recycling.

Sound change at the boundary of two words or morphemes in Hindi and Sanskrit, such as 'राम + अवतार' becoming 'रामावतार'. Knowledge of sandhi rules aids correct spelling, pronunciation, and grammatical analysis.

Prefix in Hindi attached before a root to modify its meaning, as 'अनु' in 'अनुशासन'. Recognising common upsargs such as 'प्र', 'अनु', 'वि', 'निर्' helps learners infer meanings of unfamiliar words.

Suffix in Hindi added after a root or stem to form a new word or inflected form, such as '-ता' in 'सुंदरता'. Classified as कृत् (from verbs) and तद्धित (from nouns and adjectives).

Two Hindi word classes: तत्सम retain Sanskrit form with little change ('अग्नि'), while तद्भव are evolved vernacular forms ('आग'). Distinguishing them supports vocabulary teaching and etymology questions.

Aesthetic emotion evoked by literature in Indian poetics; the classical set includes शृंगार, हास्य, करुण, रौद्र, वीर, भयानक, बीभत्स, अद्भुत, and शांत. Analysis of rasa underpins Hindi literary criticism.

Literary ornament or figure of speech in Hindi poetics, divided into शब्दालंकार (sound-based, e.g. अनुप्रास) and अर्थालंकार (sense-based, e.g. उपमा, रूपक). Identifying them is a standard comprehension skill.

Metre in Hindi poetry, defined by syllable count and pattern, as in चौपाई (fourteen matras per line) and दोहा (thirteen plus eleven). Metre knowledge supports recitation and appreciation of classical verse.

Deductive argument form with premises and a conclusion, tested in reasoning papers by asking which conclusions follow. Validity depends on logical form, not on the truth of the premises in the real world.

Property of an argument whose conclusion must be true whenever its premises are true. In exams, apply rules such as 'some' statements yield only 'some' conclusions and two negatives cannot yield a positive conclusion.

Overlapping circles representing sets, used to test categorical reasoning and set-based word problems. Shading excluded regions and marking definite members clarifies which conclusions are necessarily true.

Reasoning problem presenting family relationships in coded or narrative form, requiring the candidate to deduce how two people are related. Drawing a family tree with gender and generation markers prevents errors.

Puzzle type where people are placed in rows or around a circle under constraints of facing direction, adjacency, or position. Fixed reference points and elimination tables speed up solution.

General ability to derive warranted conclusions from given information, including deduction, induction, and analogy. In teacher recruitment tests it is assessed through puzzles, series, coding, and syllogism items.

Any software written to harm, disrupt, or gain unauthorised access to a system, including viruses, worms, trojans, ransomware, and spyware. Prevention relies on updated antivirus, patching, and cautious downloads.

Deceptive message that impersonates a trusted sender to trick recipients into revealing passwords, OTPs, or bank details. Clues include mismatched sender addresses, urgency, and unexpected links or attachments.

Login protection requiring a second proof of identity beyond a password, such as an OTP or authenticator code. It blocks access even when a password is stolen through phishing or a data breach.

Hardware or software that filters network traffic against rules, blocking unauthorised connections while permitting approved ones. It forms a perimeter defence but does not remove malware already inside a machine.

Web platform that hosts course content, assignments, quizzes, discussion, and gradebooks, such as Moodle or Google Classroom. It supports blended and distance teaching and records learner activity for monitoring.

Teaching and learning materials released under licences that permit free reuse, adaptation, and redistribution, such as CC BY. They reduce cost and allow teachers to localise content legally.

Instruction combining face-to-face classroom time with structured online components. The online part usually delivers content or practice, freeing class time for discussion, application, and feedback.

Model in which first exposure to content happens at home through video or reading, and class time is used for active problem solving and discussion. It depends on reliable pre-class preparation.

India's framework policy replacing the 1986 policy, introducing the 5+3+3+4 school structure, foundational literacy and numeracy mission, multidisciplinary higher education, and a proposed higher education regulator.

Indian law guaranteeing free and compulsory elementary education for children aged 6 to 14, with norms on pupil-teacher ratio, infrastructure, and no-detention provisions. It also bars screening at admission.

National Council for Teacher Education, the statutory Indian body regulating teacher education programmes, norms, and recognition of institutions. It sets eligibility and curriculum standards for pre-service teacher preparation.

Assessment scheme emphasising regular, school-based evaluation of both scholastic and co-scholastic areas. It aims to reduce exam anxiety and use assessment to improve learning rather than only to rank.

Constitutional provision, inserted by the 86th Amendment in 2002, making free and compulsory education for children aged six to fourteen a fundamental right. It led to the RTE Act of 2009.