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.
Micro-Learning As the ‘micro-‘ part of the name indicates, micro-learning is focused on smaller learning units that are delivered within a short time frame. Usually, each micro-learning unit will have a single objective (or ‘learning outcome’), and it is advisable to make this objective clear to the learner(s) before delivering the unit to facilitate their ability to reflect on and celebrate their educational achievements.
Middle School Awkward a time as most people remember it, is, educationally, the time when kids start to flourish. The hope is that students leave elementary school with their academic feet firmly underneath them, and that middle school can be a time for them to hit the ground running – or skipping, or hopping, or dancing, depending on where their skills and interests lie.
Midterm Exam An assessment that is administered at roughly the halfway point of an academic term that tests all of the material that has been covered in a specific course up until that point.
Millennials The twenty-first-century students who are a part of the most educated and diverse groups in history.
Mind and Alternative-Mind Portraits A reading comprehension strategy used after reading an informational text that is designed to help readers explore two separate viewpoints. These can include Narrative and Alternative Narratives, Photographs and Alternative Photographs, and Videos and Alternative Videos.
Mindful A principle of the constructivist classroom where the two integral parts of the academic work are an openness to new information and different points of view.
Mindfulness Is a set of strategies that have been used for several millennia to help people be “present” and in the moment, instead of focusing on distractions and stressors. Mindfulness is accomplished by calming the mind and becoming more aware of your emotions, cognitions, and body. Staying “present” helps you to increase your focus, improve your socio-emotional intelligence, and enhance your physical health. Studies have shown that incorporating mindfulness techniques and strategies in the classroom provides several teaching and learning benefits. Students and teachers are calm, at peace, and become in full control of their mind, body, and soul, which allows them to have more success in the classroom.
Minor An area of academic study that serves as an area of secondary focus during their undergraduate years. Students are not required to have a minor.
Mirror Neurons The firing of neurons in the brain of someone observing another person in an emotional state which occur in the same area of the brain as the person feeling that emotion.
Mirror Theory of Self-Concept An explanation of self-concept that posits an individual develops their self-concept based on the assessments others make of them.
Miscue Analysis An examination of a reader’s deviations from the text, which informs the teacher of whether a reader is reading for meaning and of how the reader uses graphophonic, semantic, and syntactic signs.
Miscues Errors that kids experience while reading.
Misfeasance This happens when a teacher neglects to provide information or guidance that could have prevented bodily injury to a student. For example, a science teacher fails to teach students proper safety measures and guidelines for an experiment, and a student subsequently spills chemicals on his or her skin, resulting in a second-degree burn. To protect against misfeasance, teachers must provide explicit, clear instructions that students understand. The safety of students in the classroom ultimately falls to the teacher.
Mixed-Ability Grouping Educating students of various ability levels together in the same classroom.
