MTTC flashcards

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

Phonemic awareness

The ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words; a narrow subset of the broader skill of phonological awareness.

Phonics

Instruction in the relationship between letters (graphemes) and sounds (phonemes), used to decode unfamiliar printed words accurately and automatically.

Text structure types

Common organizational patterns in informational text: description, chronological sequence, compare-contrast, cause-effect, and problem-solution; recognizing them supports reading comprehension.

Place value principle

In base-ten numeration, each position has a value ten times the position to its right, so the 4 in 400 is ten times the 4 in 40.

Primary versus secondary sources

Primary sources are original artifacts or data from the period studied; secondary sources interpret, summarize, or analyze those primary sources.

Scientific inquiry variables

A controlled experiment changes one independent variable, measures a dependent variable, and holds all other conditions constant so results can be attributed to the manipulation.

Pedagogical content knowledge

Shulman's term for the blend of subject knowledge with knowledge of how to teach it, including useful representations, examples, and common misconceptions.

CRA sequence

Concrete-representational-abstract instruction moves from manipulatives to drawings to symbols, building conceptual understanding before procedural fluency.

Wait time

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

Worked example effect

Novices learn more from studying fully worked solutions than from solving equivalent problems, because examples reduce cognitive load during initial skill acquisition.

Gradual release of responsibility

Instruction shifts from teacher modeling to guided practice, then collaborative work, then independent practice, transferring cognitive work progressively to students.

Higher-order questions

Questions requiring analysis, evaluation, or creation rather than recall; they prompt reasoning and extended student discourse in the content area.

IDEA

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act guarantees eligible students a free appropriate public education, an individualized education program, and the least restrictive environment.

Section 504

A federal civil rights law prohibiting disability discrimination; it provides accommodations and equal access but does not require specialized instruction.

FERPA

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act lets parents and eligible students inspect education records, request amendments, and limit disclosure without consent.

Mandated reporting

Teachers must report reasonable suspicion of child abuse or neglect to the designated state agency; failure to report can carry legal consequences.

Least restrictive environment

The IDEA requirement that students with disabilities be educated alongside nondisabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate to their needs.

Backward design

Wiggins and McTighe's planning approach: identify desired results, determine acceptable evidence of learning, then design learning experiences and instruction.

Learning objective components

A well-formed objective states the audience, an observable behavior, the conditions of performance, and the degree or criterion of mastery.

Differentiation dimensions

Teachers can differentiate content, process, product, and learning environment in response to differences in student readiness, interest, and learning profile.

Bloom's taxonomy order

Remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, create; objectives should be sequenced from lower- to higher-order cognitive demand across a unit.

Prerequisite skills check

Before a new unit, verify the prior skills and knowledge the new learning depends on, and reteach gaps before introducing new content.

Validity

The degree to which an assessment measures the construct it is intended to measure and supports the inferences drawn from the resulting scores.

Reliability

The consistency and stability of assessment scores across items, occasions, and raters; it is necessary but not sufficient for validity.

Formative assessment

Ongoing checks during instruction used to adjust teaching and provide feedback; results typically are not graded for accountability purposes.

Criterion-referenced test

Scores are interpreted by comparison to a defined standard or set of learning objectives rather than to the performance of other test takers.

Item difficulty index

The proportion of examinees who answer an item correctly; values near 0.30 to 0.80 usually maximize the information an item provides.

Standard error of measurement

An estimate of score variability caused by imperfect reliability; it is used to build a confidence band around an observed score.

Reflection-in-action

Schön's term for thinking about and adjusting one's practice while teaching, in response to immediate evidence from students.

Gibbs reflective cycle

Six stages: description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion, and action plan; it structures learning from a teaching experience.

SMART goal

A goal that is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound, used to direct professional growth and to monitor progress.

Action research cycle

A repeating process of planning, acting, observing, and reflecting that teachers use to investigate and improve their own classroom practice.