MTLE Pedagogy: Elementary (Grades K-6) flashcards

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

Concrete operational stage

Piaget's stage from about 7 to 11 years, when children can conserve quantity, classify, seriate, and reason logically about concrete objects but not about abstract hypotheses.

Zone of proximal development

Vygotsky's term for the gap between what a child can do alone and what the child can do with guidance from a more capable person; instruction should target this range.

Industry versus inferiority

Erikson's psychosocial stage roughly ages 6 to 12, in which children seek to master skills and gain competence; repeated failure or harsh criticism can produce feelings of inferiority.

Scaffolding

Temporary support provided within the zone of proximal development, such as models, prompts, or partial worked examples, gradually withdrawn as the learner gains independent competence.

Metacognition

Awareness and regulation of one's own thinking, including planning, monitoring comprehension, and evaluating which strategies work; it develops noticeably during the middle elementary years.

Phonemic awareness

The ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual phonemes in spoken words, as in blending or segmenting; it is a strong predictor of early reading success.

Funds of knowledge

The skills, experiences, and cultural practices that families pass on to children; instruction connecting to them supports engagement, comprehension, and home-school relationships.

Maslow's hierarchy

An ordering of needs from physiological and safety through belonging and esteem to self-actualization, in which unmet lower needs tend to interfere with attention and learning.

Multiple intelligences

Gardner's proposal that learners differ in profiles such as linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic; useful as an instructional lens, not a test score.

Positive reinforcement

Adding a desirable consequence after a behavior, which increases how often that behavior occurs; delivery works best when it is immediate, specific, and contingent on the target behavior.

Extinction burst

A temporary increase in the intensity or frequency of a behavior after reinforcement is withdrawn, often occurring before the behavior declines; consistent non-reinforcement prevents accidental strengthening.

Premack principle

Using a high-frequency preferred activity as the consequence for completing a less preferred activity, typically stated as "first finish this task, then choose a center."

Flexible grouping

Temporarily grouping students by current skill or need and regrouping as assessment data change, which avoids fixed ability labels that limit access to rich content.

Positive interdependence

The cooperative learning element in which each member's success depends on the group's success, built through shared goals, assigned roles, and shared materials.

PBIS Tier 2

Targeted small-group supports, such as check-in/check-out or social-skills groups, for students whose behavior has not responded to universal Tier 1 practices; Tier 1 continues meanwhile.

Withitness

A teacher's awareness of and quick response to multiple events in the classroom, signaling to students that misbehavior will be noticed early rather than ignored.

Bullying's three criteria

Intentional harm, repetition over time, and a real or perceived power imbalance must all be present; a single conflict or fight between equals is not bullying.

Formative assessment

Ongoing checks during instruction, such as exit tickets or questioning, used to adjust teaching and give feedback; results are usually ungraded and acted on immediately.

Summative assessment

Assessment of learning at the end of a unit, grading period, or year, used to report achievement against standards rather than to revise instruction in real time.

Content validity

The degree to which an assessment samples the knowledge and skills taught in the intended curriculum; a semester exam covering only the first chapter lacks it.

Test-retest reliability

Consistency of scores when the same test is given twice to the same students; low agreement suggests error from test construction, scoring, or testing conditions.

Criterion-referenced test

An assessment that reports performance against a defined standard or set of objectives rather than against other test takers; it aligns closely with standards-based grading.

Standard error of measurement

An estimate of how far an observed score is likely to fall from a student's true score, used to set confidence bands before placement or eligibility decisions.

Analytic rubric

A scoring guide that rates a performance on several separate criteria, each with its own scale, giving specific feedback but requiring more time than a holistic rubric.

Accommodation

A change in how a student accesses instruction or shows learning, such as extended time or read-aloud, that does not change the content standard being measured.

Wait time

Pausing three to five seconds after asking a question and again after a student answers, which increases response length, participation, and higher-order thinking.

FERPA

Federal law letting parents inspect and request amendment of education records and requiring consent before disclosure of personally identifiable information, with narrow exceptions such as school officials with legitimate educational interest.

Mandated reporter

An educator legally required to report reasonable suspicion of child abuse or neglect to child protective services, typically within 24 to 48 hours; suspicion, not proof, triggers the duty.

IEP

The Individualized Education Program required by IDEA for eligible students with disabilities; it states present levels, measurable annual goals, services, and placement, and is reviewed at least annually.

Section 504 plan

An accommodation plan under a federal antidiscrimination law for students whose physical or mental impairment substantially limits a major life activity; it ensures access rather than specialized instruction.

Lau v. Nichols

1974 Supreme Court ruling that giving the same English-only instruction to students with limited English proficiency denies meaningful opportunity; districts must provide language support services.

Co-teaching station model

Two teachers divide the class into groups that rotate through stations, each teacher instructing one group; it enables small-group teaching but requires coordinated planning.