Abundant – Present in great quantity; more than enough in size, scope, or capacity.

Academic expectations – Learning goals that characterize student achievement.

Accommodate – Changes made in the way materials are presented or in the way student respond to the materials, as well as changes in setting, timing and scheduling, with the expectation that the student will reach the standard set for all students.

Achievement gap – A substantive performance difference on each of the tested areas by grade level of the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS) between the various groups of students including male and female students, students with and without disabilities, students with and without English proficiency, minority and non-minority students, and students who are eligible for free and reduced lunch and those who are not eligible for free and reduced lunch (KRS 158.649).

Action research – Research by a practicing educator about practice in the classroom. This is educator-initiated and is school-based research.

Action steps – Activities that are reflected in the Comprehensive School Improvement Plan to address the goals and objectives of the action component.

Ad hoc groups – Committees formed to meet a specific purpose or need. They are together long enough to formulate a solution or suggest a strategy.

Affective - An emotional and intuitive approach that promotes the understanding of feelings about concepts and issues, commonalties, differences and the interconnectedness to learning and perceptions.

Age appropriate – Suitable in relation to developmental level.

Alignment - the focus and integration of the organization's strategies, practices, systems, structures and resources to support and maintain the shared vision.

Anecdotal record – A written record of a child’s progress based on milestones particular to that child’s social, emotional, physical, aesthetic, and cognitive development. This method is informal and encourages the use of a note pad, sticky notes, a checklist with space for notes, etc. Continuous comments are recorded throughout the day about what a child can do and his/her achievements as opposed to what he/she cannot do.

Articulate – Expressing yourself or characterized by clear expressive language; express or state clearly.

Articulation – A clear and effective written or oral statement.

Articulation (as related to curriculum) – The school/district aligned curriculum must be well communicated to all stakeholders, implemented district/school wide, integrated across disciplines, and connected to real-life situations.

- Vertical articulation or alignment indicates that the curriculum is carefully planned and sequenced from beginning learning and skills to more advanced learning and skills. Vertical articulation speaks to what is taught from pre-school through upper grades and is sometimes noted simply as “K-12 Curriculum.”-

- Horizontal articulation or alignment indicates that the curriculum is carefully planned within grade levels. For example, every primary grade throughout the school/district will teach the same curriculum, and every 6th grade social studies class, every 10th grade health class, every 12th grade physics class, and so on.

Articulation agreement – A systematic, seamless student transition process from secondary to postsecondary education that maximizes use of resources and minimizes content duplication. Assessment – Using various methods to obtain information about student learning that can be used to guide a variety of decisions and actions.- Formal assessment – A commercially designed and produced test for elementary, middle, and high school levels that is given on a single occasion.- Informal assessment – A non-standardized measurement that a teacher uses to learn what a student is able to do in a certain area. The teacher interprets the results and uses those results to plan instruction.

Assistive technology – Any item, piece of equipment, or product system, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of children with disabilities. It also includes any service that directly assists a child with a disability in the selection, acquisition, or use of an assistive technology device.

Authentic assessment –A broad evaluation procedure that includes a student’s performance or demonstration, and in the context of normal classroom involvement and reflects the actual learning experience (i.e., portfolios, journals, observations, taped readings, videotaping, conferencing, etc.). The products or performances assessed reflect “real world” applications.

Basal textbook – A book that offers a foundation for instruction for a course or grade level that provides appropriate progression of information on a subject being studied.

Baseline data – Information collected to establish a reference point for comparison to the same data collected at a later time.

Benchmark – An example of student work that illustrates the qualities of a specific score on a rubric or scoring guide.

Best practices – Current, national consensus recommendations that consistently offer the full benefit of the latest knowledge, technology, research, and procedures impacting teaching and learning.

Career portfolio – A representative sampling of past experiences.

Categorical funds - Sources of revenue that are tied to specific guidelines required by the funding source (i.e., Title programs such as Title I, Title II, Title III, Title IV; special education, food services, transportation).

Classroom writing/Working folder – A collection of student writing in different stages of development from more various content areas.

Coaching – To facilitate and encourage the development of self and others through a respectful, confidential, ethical and masterful interaction towards success.

Co-curricular activities – All school-based or school-sponsored activities not part of the regular curriculum but offered for credit. The purpose of co-curricular activities is to enrich and extend the regular curriculum. For example, students learn to work collaboratively with others, to set high standards, and to strive for superior performance while playing team sports or participating in drama and music activities.

Cognitive - The mental process through which knowledge is acquired.

Collaboration – Direct interaction between at least two co-equal parties voluntarily engaged in shared decision-making as they work toward a common goal (Judy Wood, 1998).

Common academic core – The course of study recommended for all students.

Common items – Items on the assessment taken by all students and on which individual student scores are based.

Comprehensive district improvement plan – A comprehensive district improvement plan organized around priority needs that include financial resources, professional development, equity, and technology to improve the academic environment.

Comprehensive school improvement plan – A comprehensive school improvement plan organized around priority needs that include financial resources, professional development, equity, and technology to improve the academic environment.

Computer assisted instruction – Instruction within a classroom used to enhance the acquisition of knowledge through the use of interactive computer programs that allow students to work at their own pace.

Content Integration - Information that should be included within a curriculum, how it should be integrated into an existing curriculum, and where it should be taught within a curriculum (Banks, 1994).

Cooperative learning – A teaching strategy that groups students in structured learning groups requiring that they work together to solve problems by using skills and content. The teacher acts as a facilitator of learning.

Core Content for Assessment – The content that has been identified as essential for all students to know and will be included on the state assessment.

Course syllabi – A summary outline of curriculum.

Criteria – A standard on which a judgment or decision may be based.

Critical attributes – Those descriptors that define necessary components of the primary program. They are developmentally appropriate educational practices, multi-age/multi-ability classrooms, continuous progress, authentic assessment, qualitative reporting methods, professional teamwork, and positive parent involvement.

Critical thinking – Application of thinking skills more complicated than simple recall. Critical thinking involves thinking skillfully about causal explanation, prediction, generalization, reasoning by analogy, conditional reasoning, and the reliability of sources of information and then applying them in evaluative ways.

Cross cultural communications - Verbal and non-verbal listening and response skills that are based on and reflect individual cultural backgrounds and experiences (Robinson and Bowman, 1996).

Cultural responsiveness – Teaching that uses the cultural knowledge, prior experiences, and performance styles of diverse students to make learning more appropriate and effective for them; it teaches to and through the strengths of these students.

Curriculum - An organized course of study that engages students in learning the standards that have been identified at the national, state and local level.

Curriculum alignment – Refers to the process of interpreting learning standards (Kentucky Program of Studies, Kentucky Core Content for Assessment), then developing learning objectives that are directly targeted to those standards. Curriculum framework – The listing of outcomes (Learning Goals, Academic Expectations, Core Content for Assessment, and Program of Studies) by grade level that guides the development of the curriculum and the selection in placement of instructional materials. It also includes the performance standards associated with the content standards (Student Performance Descriptors). (National Research Council). Curriculum map – An outline of the implemented curriculum; what is taught and when it is actually taught.

Curriculum mapping – “is a process that helps teachers keep track of what has actually been taught throughout the entire year or course. By mapping what is actually taught and when it is taught, teachers produce data that they can use in conjunction with assessment data to make cumulative revisions in instruction.” (Heidi Hayes Jacobs).

Demonstrators – Expansions of the Academic Expectations that further define what students should be able to do as found in Transformations.

Developmental appropriateness - This concept of developmental appropriateness has two dimensions:

- Age appropriateness – Human development research indicates that there are universal, predictable milestones of growth and change that occur in children during the first nine years of life. These predictable changes occur in all domains of development – physical, emotional, social, cognitive, and aesthetic. Knowledge of typical development of children within the age span served by the program provides a framework from which teachers prepare the learning environment and plan appropriate experiences.

- Individual appropriateness – Each child is a unique person with an individual pattern and timing of growth, as well as individual personality, learning style and family background. Both the curriculum and adults’ interactions with children should be responsive to individual differences. Learning in your children is the result of interaction between the child’s thought and experiences with materials, ideas, and people. When these experiences match the child’s developing abilities, while also challenging the child’s interest and understanding, learning will take place.

Differentiation – A philosophy that involves giving students multiple options for taking in information, making sense of ideas, and expressing what they learn. It provides different avenues to acquire content, to process or make sense of ideas, and to develop products.

Discretionary funds - Sources of revenue whose expenditure is not specified in the guidelines of the allocating source (i.e., Section 7 – or what is left over after Sections 3, 4, 5, and 6 are allocated; some school activity accounts).

Distributed leadership – Giving other staff members some of the leader’s current responsibilities; goes beyond simply reshuffling assignments and calls for a fundamental shift in organizational thinking that redefines leadership as the responsibility of everyone in the school. Also shared leadership or distributive leadership.

District improvement planning team – See Improvement Planning Team.

District leadership – Leadership within the district’s central office (e.g. superintendent, assistant superintendent, local board of education, etc).

District level articulations – See Articulation.

District portfolio – A purposeful or systematic collection of selected work pertaining to the district developed over time, gathered to demonstrate and evaluate progress and achievement.

District profile – See Profile.

Diverse/diversity – The inclusion of differences based on race, gender, disability, age, national origin, color, economic status, religion, geographic regions and other characteristics. Achieving diversity requires respect of differences, valuing differences, supporting, encouraging and promoting differences, and affirmation initiatives, such as recruitment, placement, and retention.

Efficacy – Ability to produce the necessary or desired results.

Embedded - naturally occurring, almost invisible

Empowerment – The process of providing stakeholders with the opportunities to make decisions.

Equitable – Having or exhibiting equity; going beyond equal educational opportunity and equal access. Impartial and reasonable treatment in a situation which leads to parity or equal status in value or equivalence.

Equity – A condition that occurs when a community believes in and provides access, opportunity, and fairness to all learners as demonstrated by the absence of any form of discrimination.

Equal opportunity - Legislative practices that support the redistribution of available resources to promote progress where progress has been previously denied.

Essential knowledge – The fundamental skills required for all students.

Essential questions – Important ideas necessary to consider.

Evaluating/Evaluation – To determine the significance, worth, or condition and usually by careful appraisal and study.

Exemplary – Worthy of imitation; commendable.

Extracurricular activities – Clubs, athletic teams, intramurals or other school-based organizations or activities that provide opportunities for students to participate in the school community, where no graduation credit is earned.

External criteria – The list of requirements for judging work (i.e. rubric, scoring guide).Family literacy initiative – A national and state movement involving at-risk children and their families with sufficient intensity and duration to make sustained changes in their lives through the educational process.

Family Resource and Youth Services Centers – Centers established to provide programs and make referrals to service agencies to assist students and families in need.

Flexible grouping – A strategy that allows students to work in differently mixed groups depending on the goal of the learning task at hand.

Full implementation – The complete effect of carrying out a program, plan, or initiative.

Heterogeneous grouping – The grouping of students in classrooms on the basis of mixed abilities and/or characteristics (i.e., chronological age, reading ability, test scores, etc.).

High performance – Schools demonstrating substantial gains.

Holistic scoring – A scoring process used to evaluate a student’s overall performance or product. One set of criteria is used to assess the quality or overall effectiveness of student work. The criteria are written to include all the expectations or standards that are targeted. Homogeneous grouping – The grouping of students in classrooms based on the basis of similar abilities and/or characteristics (i.e., chronological age, reading ability, test scores, etc.).

IEP – Individual Education Program for children with special needs.

Implemented curriculum – The curriculum that is actually carried out in schools or followed by the teachers and school administrators for the students.

Improvement planning team –

- School improvement planning team – A team of school level staff and stakeholders who are involved in school planning to meet the educational needs of students. Such activities are: data analysis, identify resources for planning and research-based instructional practices, professional development, assessments, etc.

- District improvement planning team – A team of district level staff and stakeholders who are involved in district planning to meet the educational needs of students. Inclusion – It is both a philosophy and a practice where all students are considered and treated as members of the school community.

Inclusion (as it pertains to special education) – A term that expresses commitment to educate each child, to the maximum extent appropriate, in the school and classroom he/she would otherwise attend. It involves bringing the support services to the child (rather than moving the child to the services) and requires only that the child will benefit from being in the class (rather than having to keep up with the other students).

Indicator – Within each of the nine Standards and Indicators for School Improvement, specific sub-sections labeled “indicators” more closely describe various aspects and perspectives of the standard in observable terms.

Individual graduation plan – A curricular plan that emphasizes academic and career development for students. A tool which helps students set learning goals based on academic and career interests.

Individual growth plan – A professional growth plan developed by the evaluatee with the assistance of the evaluator to be aligned with specific goals and objectives of the school improvement and professional development plan (KRS 156.101).

Infusion - A systematic, positive approach for including issues of diversity and multicultural education within all aspects of the curriculum and school climate.

Instructional materials – Any print, non-print, or electronic medium of instruction designed to assist students in achieving academic expectations.

Instructional practices – Methodology used by teachers to engage students in the learning process.

Integrated/Interdisciplinary curriculum – A curriculum that purposely links disciplines to each other.

Integration of technology – Incorporating the use of computers or other technical equipment into the curriculum.

Interdisciplinary – Drawing from or characterized by participation of two or more fields of study.

Kentucky Early Learning Profile (KELP) – The model assessment instrument designed by the Kentucky Department of Education to correspond with the Primary Program. The KELP instrument is designed to document a student’s real learning, growth, and development during the primary years.

Kentucky Educational Television (KET) – A medium that educates and offers Kentuckians a wide range of local arts, cultural, documentary, public affairs productions, adult education programs, college credit telecourses, instructional programs, professional development seminars, and KET distance learning.

Kentucky’s Learning Goals – KRS 158.6451 Schools shall develop their student’s ability to:

1. Use basic communication and mathematics skills for purposes and situations they will encounter throughout their lives;
2. Apply core concepts and principles from mathematics, the sciences, the arts, the humanities, social studies, and practical living studies to situations they will encounter throughout their lives;
3. Become self-sufficient individuals of good character exhibiting the qualities of altruism, citizenship, courtesy, honesty, human worth, justice, knowledge, respect, responsibility, and self-discipline;
4. Become responsible members of a family, work group, or community, including demonstrating effectiveness in community service;
5. Think and solve problems in school situations and in a variety of situations they will encounter in life; and
6. Connect and integrate experiences and new knowledge from all subject matter fields with what they have previously learned and build on past learning experiences to acquire new information through various media sources.

Kentucky Performance Report (KPR) – A report that offers detailed information about school performance (academic and non-academic) on the Kentucky Core Content Tests, Writing Portfolios, Norm-Referenced Tests and other components of the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System (CATS).

Kentucky Virtual Leadership Network (KVLN) – The goal of the network is to provide Kentucky superintendents and principals access to quality professional development with a focus on whole systems improvement and creating a high-performance learning environment through technology integration.

KERA Goals –

1. Students are able to use basic communication and mathematics skills for purposes and situations they will encounter throughout their lives.
2. Students shall develop their abilities to apply core concepts and principles from mathematics, the sciences, the arts, the humanities, social studies, practical living studies, and vocational studies to what they will encounter throughout their lives.
3. Students shall develop their abilities to become self-sufficient individuals. 4.
4. Students shall develop their abilities to become responsible members of a family, work group, or community, including demonstrating effectiveness in community service.
5. Students shall develop their abilities to think and solve problems in school situations and in a variety of situations they will encounter in life.
6. Students shall develop their abilities to connect and integrate experiences and new knowledge from all subject matter field with what they have previously learned and build on past learning experiences to acquire new information through various media.

Learning community – A curriculum design that coordinates two or more courses into a single program of instruction. It is an integrated approach to education in that experiences more closely parallel the way students learn and are more relevant to real world applications.

Learning environment – Any setting or location inside or outside the school used to enhance the instruction of students.

Learning organization - organizations where people continually expand their capacity to create results they truly desire, their future, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, when collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning to learn how to learn together." Peter Senge.

Learning partners - Local educators, parents, students, citizens, and professional organizations that are active participants in the decision making and learning process of a community.

Learning results – Successful demonstration of learning that occurs at the culminating point of a set of learning experiences.

Local standards – Districts may adapt standards that exceed state standards. Manipulative – Concrete or hands-on instructional materials and games used in the classroom to introduce and reinforce skills.

Mentoring – Providing support for activities in a learning process by a person who usually has more experience or expertise.

Mission – A statement of purpose to define the goals and direction; a guide for decisions and a set of criteria by which to measure the school’s progress toward its defined purposes. Modality – The sensory styles through which people receive and process information.

Modeling – A teaching strategy in which the teacher demonstrates to student/s how to do a task, with the expectation that the student will copy the model. Modeling often involves talking about how to work through a task or “thinking aloud”.

Monitoring – To watch, keep track of, or check usually for a purpose.

Multicultural education – (1) Interdisciplinary, cross-curricular education that prepares students to live, learn, and work together to achieve common goals in a culturally diverse world. It does this by (a) enabling all students to be aware of and affirmed in their own cultural roots; (b) allowing all students to understand and accept cultural diversity; (c) fostering appreciation, respect, and understanding for persons of different cultural backgrounds; and (d) preparing students to live fruitful lives in an increasingly global society with decreasing borders.

Multi-modal – Multiple modes of interaction—aural, visual and tactile—offering users the means to provide input using their voice or their hands via a keypad, keyboard, mouse, or stylus. For output, users will be able to listen to spoken prompts and audio, and to view information on graphical displays.

Non-academic data – Formally referenced as non-cognitive indicators of a school’s progress (retention rate, dropout rate, attendance and school to work transition) included in the calculation of the school’s Academic Index. Nurturing school environment – An atmosphere/climate created within the school where everyone associated with the educational system is treated in a warm and inviting manner.

Non-inclusive curriculum - Learning and instruction that does not address, reflect, or include goals, objectives, activities, evaluation, intended outcomes, subject matter, scope and sequence according to background and culture.

On-demand writing prompts – Also known as “writing prompt,” “prompt,” “timed writing,” or “directed writing”. Interchangeable terms refer to timed, structured, writing assessments that require extended writing, including essays, letters, compositions, etc.

Open-response items – Questions that require students to combine content knowledge and application of process skills in order to communicate an answer.

Pacing guides –A planning tool that helps teachers plan the pacing of their instruction so that all tested topics are taught prior to the administration of accountability testing. A pacing guide is the outline of the intended curriculum. Partnership – Involvement of community groups/members, parents and/or family members and students themselves in a variety of community, home and school-based partnership activities.

Peer collaboration – Students working together in a group to solve a problem.

Peer tutoring – Support in the learning environment provided by same or different aged students.

Perception survey – A collection of data from stakeholders (staff, parents, students, community, etc) in how they perceive the school/district in regards to Academic Performance, Learning Environment, and Efficiency.

Performance assessment – see Authentic Assessment.

Performance level descriptions – Performance standards for student progress across the content areas of Arts and Humanities, Math, Science, Social Studies, Practical Living/Vocational Studies, Reading and Writing, that define what we mean when we say a student has performed at the “novice,” “apprentice,” “proficient,” or “distinguished” level. They clarify for teachers, students and parents how we evaluate student work, and they explain for students what we expect of them.

Portfolio – A purposeful or systematic collection of selected work and self- assessments developed over time, gathered to demonstrate and evaluate progress and achievement.

Process – A series of actions, changes, or functions bringing about a result.

Professional development – Processes and activities designed to enhance the professional knowledge, skills, and attitudes of educators so that they might, in turn, improve the learning of students. It is an intentional, ongoing and systemic process.

Proficient – Work that reflects high level understanding of standards, both content and performance.

Profile –

- School profile – Schools use a profile to name significant strengths, limitations, opportunities and threats facing the school and is derived from the data contained in the school portfolio.

- District profile – Districts use a profile to name significant strengths, limitations, opportunities and threats facing the district and is derived from the data contained in the district portfolio. Program of Studies – A curriculum framework that incorporates core content for assessment.

Protocol – A specific set of communication rules; a detailed plan of a procedure.

Racism - According to Myer Weinburg racism is a system of privilege and penalty based on one’s race. It consists of two facets: a belief in the inherent superiority of some people and the inherent inferiority of others, and acceptance of the way goods and services are distributed in accordance with these judgments (Weinburg, 1990).

Reflection – A process that provides a structured opportunity to consider what has taken place and the feelings that have been stimulated through an experience.

Regularly – Occurring in a fixed, unvarying, or predictable pattern, with equal amounts of time or space between each one.

Reliability – The accuracy and repeatability of a measurement.

Reliable – The consistency of assessment results from an instrument over time or over a number of trials.

Resources – Sources of supply or support; an available means. Source of information or expertise.

Reviewing – The critical evaluation of material.

Rigor – the goal of helping students develop the capacity to understand content that is complex, ambiguous, provocative, and personally or emotionally challenging.

Rigorous – Demanding strict attention to rules and procedures; allowing no deviation from a standard.

School based decision making council (SBDM) – A council is typically composed of two parents, three teachers, and an administrator. Councils adopt policies relating to instructional materials, personnel, curriculum, extracurricular programs, and other aspects of school management. Exceptions are: successful schools that request a wavier, districts that have only one school, district-wide operated schools such as vocational and alternative, and special education schools.

School culture – The sum of the values, safety practices, and organizational structures within a school that cause it to function and react in particular ways. Teaching practices, diversity, and the relationships among administrators, teachers, parents, and students contribute to the school environment.

School improvement efficacy – The efficient operation of a school yielding positive gains.

School improvement planning team – See Improvement Planning Team.

School leadership – While primary leadership at the school level is considered to be the principal, school based decision making councils may also be considered (where appropriate) when determining levels of school leadership. Organizational structures within the school may also include, but not be limited to department chairperson(s), team leaders, committee chairperson(s), coordinators of special programs, parent organizations, support centers, the instructional team and the administrative team.

School profile – See Profile.

Scoring guide/rubric – A set of scoring guidelines to be used in evaluating a student’s work.

Scrimmage – Practice tests that schools administer to improve student performance on the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System.

SEEK – “Support Education Excellence in Kentucky” is the name for the state formula used by the governor and legislature in funding Kentucky’s schools. This school aid formula is generally based on per pupil allocations on Average Daily Attendance (ADA). It is through the SEEK formula that schools and districts receive funding for personnel salaries, instructional materials, and other items necessary to provide schooling at the local level.

Self-assessment – An individual’s evaluation of his/her own work.

Service learning – A teaching methodology that allows students to learn and apply academic, social and personal skills to improve the community, continue individual growth, and become better citizens.

Singleton – A course of which only one section is offered in the master schedule (e.g. AP Calculus, Orchestra).Skills – The acquired abilities to perform a particular task.

Skills standards documents – Documents that describe skill standards to be assessed in the certification process. Current curriculum offered in schools should align to these standards.

Software Technology, Incorporated (STI) – A records management software for educators. This software offers a complete array of features to maintain and process school records: attendance, scheduling, discipline, grade reporting, textbook management, and more.

Staff development – See Professional development. A systematically planned, comprehensive set of on-going professional growth activities carried out over time to achieve specific objectives. The ultimate goal is increased student learning and continuous improvement for all staff as they work together to create a quality environment for all students.

Staff members – All full and part-time regular permanent employees of the district.

Stakeholder – All persons or group of people (e.g., students, staff members, families, community, partners, etc) associated with the school community that has an interest in the success of the school and its programs.

Standard(s) – Content standards: A description of what students need to know and be able to do. Performance standards: A description of how well students need to perform on various skills and knowledge to be considered proficient.

Standards-based curriculum documents – KERA charged the Kentucky Department of Education to develop guidelines to assist schools/districts in addressing that mandate to achieve reform. The following documents are the products that were created as a result of the mandate:

Program of Studies

Transformations

Core Content for Assessment

Implementation Manual

Student Performance Level Descriptors

Learning goals/academic expectations

State standards – This term refers to Kentucky’s Learning Goals and Academic Expectations, designed around national standards. Strategies – Plans and methods used by both teachers and students to approach a task.

Student performance level descriptors – Descriptors by content area and by grade level that define what students should know and be able to do. They are defined at the “novice”, “apprentice”, “proficient”, or “distinguished” level. Student transition planning – A process that prepares students for key transition points (elementary to middle, middle to high). An example would be the Individual Graduation Plan.

Student working folders – An ongoing folder where student work (in-class writing, homework, etc) is organized and maintained.

Substantive performance difference – The difference in academic performance on tests among identified groups. The difference between how a group performs compared to what is expected.

Systematic process – An organized manner of consistent ideas or principles.

Systems approach – Viewing the school as a whole or perceiving the combination of related structures/components of the school and community (i.e., Standards and Indicators for School Improvement, Standards 1-9).

Teacher preparation - Often called initial teacher preparation or pre-service education, these experiences include college work resulting in a degree, student teaching, internships and other activities that lead to teacher certification

Technology – Technology is the application of knowledge and resources to extend and enhance our human capabilities. Technology Education involves students in a broad and comprehensive manner in the human imagination, its engineered devices, tools, and processes, to build knowledge and skills.

Thematic approach to curriculum – An approach based on organizers that motivate students to investigate interesting ideas from multiple perspectives. The central theme becomes the catalyst for developing the concepts, generalizations, skills, attitudes, etc. Themes should encourage integration or correlation of various content areas. The rationale is grounded in a philosophy that students learn most efficiently when subjects are perceived as worthy of their time and attention and when they are activity engaged in inquiry. These themes may be broad-based or narrow in scope; may be used for one class, designated classes, or the whole school; and may last for a few weeks up to several months.

Thematic units – Units of study built around a particular theme or topic that can be interdisciplinary.

Title I – Federal law and dollars for special help for disadvantaged children, from the federal law Improving America’s Schools Act.

Transformations: Kentucky’s Curriculum Framework, Volume I & II – This framework provides direction in the development of the local curriculum and should serve as a major basis for staff development and the development of instructional units and performance assessments.

Transition – The passage from one stage to another.

Triangulation – A process of gathering multiple data sets to focus in on understanding an issue rather than relying upon a single form of evidence. Multiple forms of data provide a more distinct and valid picture of reality.

Units of study – Units of study are vehicles for providing multifaceted learning opportunities for students. Using standards (e.g., Kentucky’s Academic Expectations), as the basis for a unit focuses the planning team on meaningful and relevant concepts. The unit plan, in turn, enhances the delivery of instruction and assessment.

Validity – A measurement’s ability to actually measure what it purports to measure.

Vision – A future oriented aspiration for the teaching and learning environment of the school.

Workbased learning – Learning that integrates theoretical instruction with structured on-the-job training. It includes work experiences, planned program of job training and work experience, workplace mentoring, instruction in general workplace competencies, and broad instruction in a variety of elements of an industry.

Writing assessment portfolio – A selection of a student’s work that represents his/her best efforts including evidence that the student has evaluated the quality of his/her own work and growth as a writer. The student, in conferences with teachers, chooses the entries for this portfolio from the writing folder, which should contain several drafts of the required pieces. Ideally, the writings will grow naturally out of instruction rather than being created solely for the portfolio.