Jordan Teacher Competency Exam cheat sheet

Piaget's stages: sensorimotor (0–2), preoperational (2–7), concrete operational (7–11), formal operational (11+); mastery of conservation marks the concrete operational stage.

Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development is the gap between what a learner does alone and what they can do with guidance; scaffolding is temporary support withdrawn as competence grows.

Bloom's revised taxonomy in ascending order: remember, understand, apply, analyse, evaluate, create; objectives should target the highest level appropriate to the task.

Behaviourism (Pavlov, Skinner, Thorndike) explains learning through stimulus–response, reinforcement and punishment; reinforcement increases behaviour, punishment decreases it.

Constructivism holds that learners build knowledge from prior conceptions; misconceptions must be surfaced and confronted, not simply overwritten by lecture.

Kolb's experiential cycle: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualisation, active experimentation; effective lessons include all four phases.

Kounin's withitness and overlapping describe a teacher who notices misbehaviour early and manages two events simultaneously; smooth transitions prevent off-task behaviour.

Classroom management decision rule: use non-verbal and proximity interventions first, verbal private reminders second, and formal sanctions only for repeated or serious breaches.

Differentiation modifies content, process, product or environment in response to readiness, interest and learning profile; it does not mean giving weaker students less material.

A learning objective states behaviour, condition and criterion; it must be observable and measurable, e.g. 'classify three rock types with 80% accuracy'.

Backward design (Wiggins and McTighe) proceeds in three stages: identify desired results, determine acceptable evidence, then plan learning experiences.

A unit plan sequences objectives across lessons, allocates time, lists resources and embeds formative checkpoints before the summative assessment.

Jordan's curriculum framework is set nationally by the Ministry of Education; the national textbooks and general outcomes define the compulsory core, while teachers plan delivery.

Horizontal alignment matches objectives, activities and assessment at the same level; vertical alignment ensures prerequisite skills are built across grades.

Lesson-plan components: objectives, prior knowledge, materials, introduction (hook), guided practice, independent practice, closure, and assessment evidence.

Task analysis breaks a complex skill into ordered sub-skills; each sub-skill becomes a teaching step and a checkpoint for mastery.

Interdisciplinary planning links two or more subject outcomes around one theme; the objectives of each subject must remain explicitly assessable.

Time-on-task rule: allocate the largest share of lesson minutes to student practice of the target objective, not to teacher talk.

Formative assessment is ongoing and used to adjust teaching; summative assessment occurs at the end of a unit or term and certifies achievement.

Validity is the degree to which an assessment measures the intended objective; reliability is consistency of results across occasions, raters or items.

A test blueprint (table of specifications) maps items to objectives and cognitive levels, ensuring proportionate coverage and content validity.

Item difficulty index p = proportion answering correctly; values near 0.3–0.7 are usually most informative for discrimination.

Item discrimination compares high and low scorers: D = (correct in upper group − correct in lower group) ÷ group size; D of 0.3 or more is acceptable.

Criterion-referenced assessment compares a student to a defined standard; norm-referenced assessment compares a student to peers.

Descriptive feedback names the gap between current performance and the goal and states the next step; a mark alone does not improve learning.

Rubrics list criteria and performance levels; analytic rubrics score criteria separately, holistic rubrics give one overall judgement.

Alternate assessment and accommodations (extra time, reader, separate room) change access conditions, not the learning standard being measured.

Subject specialization is assessed against the candidate's declared teaching field; the exam samples core content knowledge plus pedagogical content knowledge for that field.

Pedagogical content knowledge (Shulman) is knowledge of how a specific topic is best represented, which examples work, and which misconceptions are typical.

For Arabic language teaching, core content includes nahw (syntax), sarf (morphology), balagha (rhetoric), literature genres and text comprehension skills.

For mathematics teaching, candidates must justify procedures, not only compute: why the algorithm works, what a counterexample shows, and how representations connect.

For science teaching, candidates must distinguish hypothesis, variable, control and conclusion, and design a fair test with one independent variable.

For English language teaching, the four skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing) plus grammar and vocabulary are planned with communicative purpose.

For social studies teaching, source analysis requires distinguishing primary from secondary sources and identifying bias and point of view.

Misconception check: a correct answer reached by faulty reasoning is not evidence of understanding; ask for justification.

Subject-specific vocabulary must be taught explicitly with definitions, examples and non-examples, since it gates access to the whole topic.

Erikson's psychosocial stages relevant to schooling: industry vs inferiority (approx. 6–12) and identity vs role confusion (adolescence).

Maslow's hierarchy orders needs from physiological and safety upward; unmet lower needs suppress attention and motivation for learning.

Kohlberg's moral development moves from preconventional (reward/punishment) to conventional (social approval/rules) to postconventional (principles).

Intrinsic motivation arises from autonomy, competence and relatedness; extrinsic rewards can undermine intrinsic interest when overused.

Self-efficacy (Bandura) is a learner's belief about capability; mastery experiences are the strongest source, followed by vicarious models and feedback.

Working memory is limited in capacity and duration; chunking, segmenting and retrieval practice reduce cognitive load.

Growth mindset holds that ability is developable; praise effort and strategy rather than fixed traits to sustain persistence.

Special educational needs: dyslexia affects decoding, dyscalculia affects number sense, ADHD affects sustained attention and impulse control; each requires targeted accommodation.

Attachment and emotional safety: a predictable classroom routine and a trusted adult reduce anxiety and free cognitive resources for learning.

The Ministry of Education (MoE) sets national curricula, textbooks and examinations; the Ministry of Higher Education governs universities and community colleges.

Compulsory basic education covers grades 1–10; secondary education (grades 11–12) branches into academic and vocational (BTEC/applied) tracks.

The General Secondary Education Certificate Examination (Tawjihi) is the national school-leaving examination used for university admission.

The National Centre for Curriculum Development (NCCD) develops and reviews curricula, textbooks and learning standards.

Teacher licensing in Jordan is administered through the national teacher-licence framework, with progression through defined professional ranks and continuing professional development.

Teacher ethics: maintain confidentiality of student records, avoid corporal punishment, avoid conflicts of interest, and report abuse through official channels.

Equity policy: students with disabilities are entitled to inclusive education and reasonable accommodations in mainstream schools.

Digital safety and data protection: student data is shared only with authorised staff and never posted publicly without consent.

Professional conduct: punctuality, documented lesson planning, respectful communication with families, and adherence to the official school calendar.

Arabic is written right to left; 28 letters, with contextual forms (initial, medial, final, isolated) and no capital letters.

Hamza writing rules: hamza on wāw (ؤ) when preceded by damma, on yāʾ (ئ) after kasra, on alif (أ/إ) otherwise; hamzat al-waṣl is dropped in connected speech.

The definite article al- (ال) is assimilated in pronunciation before sun letters (e.g., الشمس) and pronounced clearly before moon letters (e.g., القمر).

Nahw core: nominal sentence (mubtadaʾ + khabar), verbal sentence (verb + fāʿil + mafʿūl), and case endings rafʿ, naṣb, jarr, jazm.

Sarf core: verb measures (awzān) such as faʿala, faʿʿala, afʿala, tafāʿala; roots are usually triliteral.

Balagha: tashbīh (simile), istiʿāra (metaphor), kināya (metonymy); identify the figure by the relation between the two terms.

Writing a formal paragraph: topic sentence, supporting evidence, cohesive devices (wa, fa, thumma, lakin, li-dhalik), and a concluding sentence.

Reading comprehension strategy: identify main idea, supporting details, reference of pronouns, and the author's purpose before answering questions.

Spelling rule: the alif maqṣūra (ى) versus alif mamdūda (اء) distinction depends on the root; verify against the dictionary form.