To be considered a competent educator, there are almost 2000 strategies, concepts, and terms that you must know. However, since teachers wear so many hats, who has the time to learn them all? Don’t worry; we have you covered. In this series, we will discuss all the teaching and learning strategies, concepts, and terms that you need to know to be considered an effective educator. There are over 70 articles in this series, so pace yourself. We recommend reading one piece per weekday, which will allow you to complete the series in three to four months. We hope you enjoy it.
Click here to read all the articles in this series.
AP (Advanced Placement program) An initiative offered by the College Board, which gives students the chance to take university-level classes while in high school.
Apgar Rating A test for newborns immediately after birth that measures the heart rate, breathing effort, muscle tone, reflex irritability, and skin tone.
Applied Behavior Analysis The application of behavioral learning principles to behavior comprehension and modification.
Apraxia Is the absence of voluntary muscle control. Regardless of how healthy the muscles may appear, the user has no control over them. The inability to intentionally move normally developed muscles has a substantial impact on academic success because students learn by doing and communicating. Learners with apraxia may benefit from sip-and-puff systems that allow the user to control a computer or other mobile device.
Aptitude An innate capacity or talent in a particular area of study or work.
Aptitude Test An assessment designed to predict future learning or skill mastery if the appropriate instruction is provided.
Archival Portfolio A collection of a student’s work stored in a way that it can be passed on from one teacher to the next over the academic years.
Argumentative Writing A style of writing that uses forms of reasoning, persuasion, as well as factual and other evidence to support one or more claims about a topic or text.
Arrays Graphic form representations of the relationships between topics, ideas, and details. Examples include semantic webs, mapping, and the herringbone technique.
Articulation Disorder A disorder characterized by extraordinary challenges when it comes to forming the sounds of everyday communication. This may be due to a structural problem with the mouth or a motor-based issue. Collectively, these difficulties are considered to be articulation disorders. They can make classroom education extremely hard for both teachers and students. However, there are some ways that teachers can help students with articulation disorders still succeed academically.
Articulation The proper placement of the teeth, tongue, lips, and jaw when pronouncing speech.
Artifacts Items created by a student and included in a portfolio which display their capabilities, knowledge or dispositions.
Artificial Intelligence The development and ability of computer programs to complete tasks normally performed by people, such as speech recognition, language translation, visual perception, and even decision making. In the future, we can expect to see even more artificial intelligence in the classroom. Artificial intelligence could be used to personalize the education experience for students. Programs that use artificial intelligence can act as tutors for students by determining what each student is struggling with and delivering personalized interventions, just as a teacher would. Robots could someday provide one-on-one tutoring or coaching sessions to bring struggling students up to speed.
Arts Integration A teaching method which integrates the arts to expand learning opportunities for diverse student populations.
