Praxis PLT: Grades 7-12 flashcards

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

Zone of Proximal Development

Vygotsky's term for the range between what a learner can do independently and what the learner can do with expert guidance; instruction is most effective in this range.

Scaffolding

Temporary supports, such as modeling, prompts, or chunking, that help a learner complete a task beyond independent ability; supports are gradually removed as competence grows.

Formal operational stage

Piaget's fourth cognitive stage, beginning around age 11, when learners can reason abstractly, form hypotheses, and think systematically about hypothetical possibilities.

Identity versus role confusion

Erikson's psychosocial crisis of adolescence, in which the central task is forming a coherent sense of self while exploring roles, values, and peer relationships.

Intrinsic motivation

Drive to engage in an activity for its own sake because it is interesting or satisfying; associated with autonomy, competence, and relatedness rather than external rewards.

BICS and CALP

Cummins's distinction between basic interpersonal communicative skills, conversational fluency acquired in about one to two years, and cognitive academic language proficiency, which takes five to seven years.

Least restrictive environment

IDEA principle requiring students with disabilities to be educated with nondisabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate, with removal only when supports cannot be provided in general education.

Bloom's revised taxonomy

Classification of cognitive objectives ordered from lower to higher: remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create; used to align objectives, activities, and assessment.

Backward design

Planning model that starts with desired results, then identifies acceptable evidence of learning, then designs learning experiences and instruction aligned to those results.

Differentiated instruction

Proactive adjustment of content, process, or product based on students' readiness, interests, and learning profiles while holding common learning goals constant.

Universal Design for Learning

Framework providing multiple means of representation, engagement, and action or expression so that curriculum is accessible to diverse learners from the outset.

Wait time

Pause of roughly three to five seconds after asking a question, which increases response length, participation, and higher-order thinking compared with immediate calling on students.

Cooperative learning

Structured small-group instruction requiring positive interdependence, individual accountability, promotive interaction, and explicit social skills; differs from unstructured group work.

Direct instruction

Teacher-led explicit approach with review, modeling, guided practice, independent practice, and feedback; efficient for teaching well-structured skills and knowledge.

Formative assessment

Ongoing checks of learning during instruction, such as questioning, quizzes, or exit tickets, used to adjust teaching and provide feedback before summative evaluation.

Summative assessment

Evaluation of student achievement at the end of a unit, course, or program, used to certify learning or assign grades rather than to adjust ongoing instruction.

Validity

The extent to which an assessment measures the construct it is intended to measure and supports the inferences and decisions made from scores.

Reliability

Consistency of assessment results across occasions, raters, or equivalent items; reliability is necessary but not sufficient for validity.

Criterion-referenced test

Assessment that compares a student's performance to a defined standard or learning objective rather than to the performance of other students.

Analytic rubric

Scoring guide that evaluates separate criteria with individual descriptors and scores, providing specific feedback; a holistic rubric instead assigns one overall score.

Professional learning community

Collaborative team of educators who use shared inquiry and student data to improve instruction; focused on learning rather than administrative meetings.

FERPA

Federal law protecting education records; parents and eligible students have rights to inspect records, and schools must limit disclosure of personally identifiable information.

Mandated reporter

Professional legally required to report suspected child abuse or neglect to designated authorities; teachers must follow state reporting procedures.

Reflective practice

Cycle of teaching, collecting evidence of student learning, analyzing outcomes, and adjusting instruction to improve future practice.

Action research

Teacher-led inquiry in which an educator identifies a classroom problem, collects data, implements an intervention, and reflects on results.

Teacher induction

Structured support for beginning teachers, often including mentoring, observation, and professional development, intended to improve practice and reduce attrition.

ABC analysis

Functional behavioral framework examining antecedents, the behavior itself, and consequences to identify patterns and design interventions, including teaching replacement behaviors.

Response to Intervention

Multi-tiered prevention system using universal screening and increasingly intensive, data-based interventions; tier one is core instruction, tiers two and three add support.

IEP review

Decision rule for struggling students with disabilities: check whether IEP or 504 accommodations are being implemented before changing instruction or attributing difficulty to lack of effort.

Comprehensible input

Language supported so learners can understand meaning, such as visuals, modeling, and sheltered instruction, while maintaining grade-level content for English learners.

Primary problem rule

Scenario-analysis step identifying the central issue and affected stakeholders first; secondary details should not drive the chosen response.

Replacement behavior

Alternative skill taught to serve the same function as an inappropriate behavior, such as requesting a break instead of disrupting class.