MTLE Early Childhood Education (Birth to Grade 3) flashcards

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

Object permanence

The understanding that objects continue to exist when out of sight. It develops in the sensorimotor stage, typically emerging around 8 to 12 months, and is tested by hiding an object and observing search behavior.

Conservation

The understanding that quantity, mass, or volume stays the same despite changes in appearance. It is absent in the preoperational stage and typically appears in the concrete operational stage, around age 7.

Zone of proximal development

Vygotsky's term for the range of tasks a child cannot yet do alone but can accomplish with guidance from a more capable adult or peer. Instruction is most effective inside this zone.

Scaffolding

Temporary, adjustable support provided by a teacher or peer that helps a child complete a task beyond independent ability. Support is gradually withdrawn as competence grows.

Erikson autonomy versus shame

The psychosocial conflict of toddlerhood, roughly ages 1 to 3, in which children assert independence through choices and self-help. Overcontrol or harsh criticism can produce shame and doubt.

Secure attachment

An attachment pattern in which a child uses the caregiver as a safe base for exploration and seeks comfort when distressed. It is observed in Ainsworth's strange situation procedure.

Phonological awareness

Awareness of the sound structure of spoken language, including words, syllables, rhymes, and individual phonemes. It develops before reading and predicts later decoding success.

Phonemic awareness

The most advanced level of phonological awareness: the ability to notice, isolate, blend, and segment individual phonemes in spoken words, such as hearing that cat has three sounds.

Alphabetic principle

The understanding that letters represent sounds and that these letter-sound relationships follow a predictable system used to read and spell words. It underpins early decoding.

Formative assessment

Ongoing assessment during instruction that reveals what children understand and informs immediate teaching adjustments. Examples include observation, questioning, and exit tasks.

Authentic assessment

Assessment that documents children's skills during natural, everyday activities using observation, work samples, and portfolios rather than contrived testing, yielding a valid picture of typical performance.

Developmentally appropriate practice

NAEYC's framework for teaching that integrates knowledge of typical child development, knowledge of each individual child, and knowledge of the child's social and cultural context.

Subitizing

The ability to instantly recognize the number of items in a small set, usually up to four, without counting. It is a foundational early numeracy skill that supports later arithmetic.

Differentiation

Adapting content, process, product, or environment in response to children's readiness, interests, and learning profiles so that each child works at an appropriate level of challenge.

Interest areas

Defined classroom zones such as blocks, dramatic play, art, library, and sand/water that organize materials and invite focused play. Clear boundaries reduce conflict and support independence.

Logical consequences

Consequences that are directly related to the misbehavior, respectful of the child, and reasonable in scope, such as cleaning up a spill caused by running indoors with a drink.

Visual schedule

A picture-and-word sequence of the day's events posted where children can see it. It builds predictability, reduces anxiety, and supports transitions and independence for young children.

Active supervision

A supervision approach in which adults continuously scan the environment, move among children, and interact intentionally to prevent harm and support engagement, rather than remaining stationary.

Transitions

The movement between activities or settings, such as cleanup to lunch. They are high-risk for behavior problems and are eased by warnings, songs, and predictable routines.

Funds of knowledge

The skills, routines, and cultural knowledge families possess and use in daily life. Teachers who learn and incorporate them build meaningful curriculum and stronger home-school relationships.

Epstein's six involvement types

A framework describing family involvement as parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision-making, and collaborating with the community, used to plan comprehensive school-family partnerships.

IDEA Part C

The federal program serving infants and toddlers under age 3 with disabilities or developmental delays, providing family-centered services in natural environments through an IFSP and service coordinator.

Family conference structure

A planned meeting that opens with strengths, presents specific observations without labels, invites family perspective, and ends with agreed shared next steps and follow-up dates.

Least restrictive environment

The IDEA requirement that children with disabilities be educated with typically developing peers to the maximum extent appropriate, with removal only when supplementary supports are insufficient.

IEP required components

Present levels, measurable annual goals, special education and related services, progress measurement, and transition planning. The document is developed by a team including parents and teachers.

Response to Intervention

A multi-tier framework: Tier 1 universal instruction, Tier 2 targeted small-group intervention, Tier 3 intensive individualized support, with progress monitoring data determining movement between tiers.

BICS and CALP

Cummins's distinction between basic interpersonal communication skills, which develop in one to three years, and cognitive academic language proficiency, which takes five to seven years.

Twice-exceptional

A learner who demonstrates high ability or giftedness alongside a disability such as dyslexia or ADHD, often showing asynchronous development and masking one exceptionality with the other.

Mandated reporting

The legal duty of educators to report suspected child abuse or neglect to the designated agency based on reasonable suspicion. Internal notification does not substitute for the report.

FERPA

The federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act governing education records, giving parents access to their child's records and limiting disclosure to those with legitimate educational interest.

NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct

A professional code stating core values and responsibilities ordered by priority: first to children, then families, colleagues, employers, and community, guiding decisions when duties conflict.

Section 504

A federal civil rights law prohibiting disability discrimination in programs receiving federal funds. It provides accommodations and services through a 504 plan rather than an IEP.