| academic learning time | The time a student is actively engaged with the subject matter and experiencing a high success rate.
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| allocated time | The amount of time a school or an individual teacher schedules for a subject.
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| behavioral objective | A specific statement of what a learner must accomplish in order to demonstrate mastery.
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| block scheduling | Using longer "blocks" of time to schedule classes results in fewer but longer periods given to each subject. It is designed to promote greater in-depth study.
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| Bloom's taxonomy | A classification system in which each lower level is subsumed in the next higher level. The Bloom's taxonomy describes simple to more complex mental processes, and usually is used to classify educational objectives or classroom questions.
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| cooperative learning | In classrooms using cooperative learning, students work on activities in small groups, and they receive rewards based on the overall group performance.
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| differentiated instruction | Instructional activities are organized in response to individual differences rather than content standards. Teachers are asked to carefully consider each student's needs, learning style, life experience, and readiness to learn.
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| direct teaching | A model of instruction in which the teacher is a strong leader who structures the classroom and sequences subject matter to reflect a clear academic focus. This model emphasizes the importance of a structured lesson in which presentation of new information is followed by student practice and teacher feedback.
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| engaged time | The part of time that a teacher schedules for a subject in which the students are actively involved with academic subject matter. Listening to a lecture, participating in a class discussion, and working on math problems all constitute engaged time.
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| higher-order questions | Questions that require students to go beyond memory in formulating a response. These questions require students to analyze, synthesize, evaluate, and so on.
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| learning communities | The creation of more personal collaboration between teachers and students to promote similar academic goals and values.
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| looping | The practice of teaching the same class for several years, over two or even more grades. The purpose is to build stronger teacher-student connections.
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| lower-order questions | Questions that require the retrieval of memorized information and do not require more complex intellectual processes.
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| mastery learning | An educational practice in which an individual demonstrates mastery of one task before moving on to the next.
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| objective | The purpose of a lesson expressed in a statement.
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| pedagogical cycle | A system of teacher-student interaction that includes four steps: structure–teacher introduces the topic; question–teacher asks questions; respond–student answers or tries to answer questions; and react–teacher reacts to student's answers and provides feedback.
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| problem-based learning | An approach that builds a curriculum around intriguing real-life problems and asks students to work cooperatively to develop and demonstrate their solutions.
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| reflective teaching | Predicated on a broad and in-depth understanding of what is happening in the classroom, reflective teaching promotes thoughtful consideration and dialogue about classroom events.
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| scaffolding | Taking from the construction field, scaffolding provides support to help a student build understanding. The teacher might use cues or encouragement or well-formulated questions to assist a student in solving a problem or mastering a concept.
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| student-initiated questions | These are content-related questions originating from the student, yet comprising only a small percentage of the questions asked in class.
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| transitional bilingual education | A bilingual education program in which students are taught for a limited time in their own language as well as English. The goal is to move students into English-only speaking classrooms.
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| wait time | The amount of time a teacher waits for a student's response after a question is asked and the amount of time following a student's response before the teacher reacts.
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