Mali ENSup Entrance Exam flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

ENSup

École Normale Supérieure in Mali, based in Bamako, which trains secondary school teachers; admission is by competitive examination (concours) testing subject knowledge, French, mathematics, general knowledge, pedagogy, logic, and oral aptitude.

Pédagogie convergente

A bilingual education model used in Mali in which the national language serves as the language of instruction in early grades, with a gradual transition to French as the medium of learning.

Diplôme d'Études Fondamentales

The DEF is the diploma awarded at the end of the nine-year enseignement fondamental cycle in Mali; it certifies completion of basic education and gives access to the lycée.

Baccalauréat séries

The Malian Baccalauréat is organised by series: A (literary), B (economics), C and D (scientific), and technical series; each series has its own subject coefficients used for admission decisions.

Compétence

In the competency-based approach, a competence is the capacity to mobilise a set of resources (knowledge, skills, attitudes) to solve a situation successfully; it is assessed through a situation-based task.

Accord du participe passé

With avoir, the past participle agrees with the preceding direct object; with être, it agrees with the subject; with pronominal verbs, it agrees with the reflexive object when that object is direct.

Problématique

The central question that a dissertation or commentaire composé answers; it is formulated in the introduction and must be resolved explicitly in the conclusion.

Connecteur logique

A word or phrase that makes the logical relation between ideas explicit, such as en effet (cause), néanmoins (opposition), par conséquent (consequence), and en définitive (conclusion).

Résumé

A condensed restatement of a text that preserves the order of ideas and the enunciative system of the source, removes examples and repetitions, and stays near one quarter of the original length.

Discriminant

For the quadratic ax² + bx + c = 0, the discriminant is Δ = b² − 4ac; there are two real roots if Δ > 0, one if Δ = 0, and none if Δ < 0.

Théorème de Pythagore

In a right triangle, the square of the hypotenuse equals the sum of the squares of the other two sides: a² + b² = c²; the converse proves that a triangle is right-angled.

Pourcentage d'évolution

The percentage change from an initial value V0 to a final value V1 is (V1 − V0)/V0 × 100; successive changes multiply their multipliers rather than adding their percentages.

Moyenne et médiane

The mean is the sum divided by the count; the median is the middle value after sorting, or the average of the two middle values when the count is even, and it resists extreme values.

Théorème de Thalès

Parallel lines cutting two transversals determine proportional segments; the converse states that proportional segments on two transversals imply that the lines are parallel.

22 septembre 1960

The date of Mali's independence from France; Modibo Keïta became the first president, and 22 September is the national holiday of Mali.

Fleuve Niger

The main river of Mali, crossing the country through Bamako, Ségou, Mopti, and Gao; its inner delta is a seasonally flooded wetland important for fishing, rice, and pasture.

CEDEAO

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a regional organisation of which Mali is a member; it promotes economic integration and free movement of people and goods.

UEMOA et franc CFA

The West African Economic and Monetary Union groups eight countries using the CFA franc, which is pegged to the euro; membership limits national monetary policy autonomy.

Tombouctou

A historic city in northern Mali on the Niger, a UNESCO World Heritage site known for its mosques and ancient manuscripts, and a major centre of trans-Saharan trade and Islamic scholarship.

Zone proximale de développement

Vygotsky's concept of the gap between what a learner can do alone and what the learner can do with guidance; instruction is effective when it targets this zone.

Évaluation formative

Assessment carried out during learning to inform teaching and give feedback; it is distinguished from summative assessment, which certifies achievement at the end of a unit.

Taxonomie de Bloom

A hierarchy of cognitive objectives: remembering, understanding, applying, analysing, evaluating, and creating; each objective in a lesson plan should name an observable verb at a defined level.

Situation-problème

A learning task that presents a challenge accessible to learners, solvable with available resources, and designed to make them construct a new concept through resolution.

Étayage (scaffolding)

Temporary support provided by the teacher or a peer to help a learner accomplish a task, gradually withdrawn as the learner gains autonomy.

Modus tollens

A valid argument form: if P then Q; not Q; therefore not P. It is distinguished from the fallacy of denying the antecedent, which is invalid.

Condition nécessaire et suffisante

A necessary condition must hold for the outcome; a sufficient condition guarantees it; the two are not interchangeable, and confusing them is a common reasoning error.

Corrélation et causalité

Correlation between two variables does not establish causation; alternative explanations include a third variable, reverse causation, and coincidence.

Contraposée

The statement (not Q → not P) is logically equivalent to (P → Q); the converse (Q → P) is not equivalent and cannot be inferred.

Ad hominem

A fallacy that attacks the person making an argument rather than the argument itself; it is irrelevant to the truth of the claim.

Projet de lecture

The guiding question announced at the start of an explication de texte; it defines the line of analysis and must be answered in the conclusion.

Situation, action, résultat

A structure for answering motivation interview questions: describe a concrete situation, the action taken, and the result obtained, linking it to the teaching subject.

Micro-leçon

A short demonstration lesson in the oral examination, structured with an objective, a prerequisite check, a problem situation, an activity, a synthesis, and an assessment question.