A Lexicon of Learning

What Educators Mean When They Say...

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P

Paideia

An approach to school reform proposed by the late philosopher Mortimer Adler in The Paideia Proposal in 1982. Unlike many reform ideas that try to individualize the curriculum to fit each student's needs and strengths, Paideia calls for all students to study a single rigorous curriculum. The only elective is foreign language. The Paideia curriculum calls for three methods of learning: didactic teaching (lecture), the Socratic method (in which a teacher uses directed questioning to help students arrive at desirable answers), and coaching.

Parent Teacher Association

See PTA.

pedagogy

The art of teaching—especially the conscious use of particular instructional methods. If a teacher uses a discovery approach rather than direct instruction, for example, she is using a different pedagogy.

peer mediation

Programs in which students assist other students to work through problems without resorting to violence. In such programs, selected students—or sometimes all the students—are taught conflict resolution skills: how to negotiate problems in a nonviolent way. Designated mediators may then patrol school grounds, especially playgrounds, and intervene when they see a conflict or the threat of a conflict.

performance assessment

A form of assessment that is designed to assess what students know through their ability to perform certain tasks. For example, a performance assessment might require a student to serve a volleyball, solve a particular type of mathematics problem, or write a short business letter to inquire about a product as a way of demonstrating that they have acquired new knowledge and skills. Advocates believe such assessments—sometimes called performance-based assessments—provide a more accurate indication of what students can do than traditional assessments, which might require a student to fill in the blank, indicate whether a statement is true or false, or select a right answer from multiple given choices.

Evaluating students through task performance can be more time-consuming and therefore more expensive. Most large-scale assessments (such as state testing programs) use this form of assessment sparingly, if at all. But many educators believe it is worth the extra cost because it provides a more accurate and realistic picture of student learning.

performance tasks

Activities, exercises, or problems that require students to show what they can do. Some performance tasks are intended to assess a skill, such as solving a particular type of mathematics problem. Others are designed to have students demonstrate their understanding by applying knowledge. For example, students might be given a current political map of Africa showing the names and locations of countries and a similar map from 1945 and be asked to explain the differences and similarities. To be more authentic (more like what someone might be expected to do in the adult world), the task might be to prepare a newspaper article explaining the changes.

Performance tasks often have more than one acceptable solution. They may call for a student to create a response to a problem and then explain or defend it. Performance tasks are considered a type of assessment (used instead of, or in addition to, conventional tests), but they may also be used as learning activities.

personalization

Schooling that emphasizes the needs of students as individual human beings. To personalize learning, teachers must be able to adapt to students' particular interests and styles, so they must know students well. The term is sometimes used to contrast personalization with individualized instruction, which may be considered more technical and procedural. Some of the ways schools may try to achieve personalization include small classes, advisory systems, independent study, and student-parent-teacher conferences.

phonics

The relationship between the basic sounds of a language (phonemes) and the way those sounds are represented by symbols (letters of the alphabet). Many people see phonics as a method of teaching reading that begins with the study of individual letter sounds (44 basic sounds in English), progressing to words that contain those sounds, and only then to reading the words in stories. This approach, which might be described as systematic phonics, is opposite in theory and technique from the whole-language approach, which involves learning skills in the context of meaningful reading and writing. Most school reading programs are a compromise between these extremes. Teachers teach sound-letter correspondences but also have students spend part of their time on related reading and writing activities.

portfolio

A collection of student work chosen to exemplify and document a student's learning progress over time. Just as professional artists assemble portfolios of their work, students are often encouraged or required to maintain a portfolio illustrating various aspects of their learning. Some teachers specify what items students should include, while others let students decide. Portfolios are difficult to score reliably and may be a logistical problem for teachers, but advocates say they encourage student reflection and are a more descriptive and accurate indicator of student learning than grades or changes in test scores.

privatized schools

Public schools run by a for-profit company, usually under contract with the local board of education or some other government agency. Advocates believe that failing schools can benefit from more efficient management and from competition. Opponents dislike the idea that the corporations make money by educating children and argue that the profits should instead be used for teachers, equipment, and supplies.

problem-based learning

An approach to curriculum and teaching that involves students in solution of real-life problems rather than conventional study of terms and information. Developed in leading medical schools, problem-based learning begins with a real problem that connects to the student's world, such as how to upgrade a local waste treatment plant. Student teams organize their methods and procedures around specifics of the problem, not around subject matter as such. Students explore various avenues before arriving at a solution to present to the class. Teachers report that students using problem-based learning become more interested in their studies, more motivated to explore in-depth, and more likely to see the value of the lesson.

Problems are chosen for their appropriateness and power to illuminate core concepts in the curriculum. They must be carefully selected to ensure that students learn the intended content.

professional development

Also known as staff development, this term refers to experiences, such as attending conferences and workshops, that help teachers and administrators build knowledge and skills.

project method

Teaching by engaging students in a long-term activity in which they gather information and develop a product of some kind, such as a written report, oral presentation, or model. Some educators believe that students learn more, understand the content more thoroughly, and remember information and skills longer when they work on a project.

PTA

With a membership of nearly 6.5 million, National PTA (also known as Parent Teacher Association) is a nonprofit organization of parents, teachers, students, and others that encourages parental and public involvement in the schools, advocates for children, and assists parents in developing parenting skills.

public engagement

Involving members of the public in understanding public education but also providing for their active participation in decision making. In recent years, advocates have used the term "engagement" rather than "public relations" or "public information" because the older terms are identified (perhaps unfairly) with one-way rather than two-way communication. Advocates of public engagement envision a more balanced, trusting relationship between school officials and their constituents.

pull-out programs

Programs that provide assistance (often remediation) to individual children by "pulling them out" of regular classes. Because doing this results in children missing instruction that their classmates receive, such programs can put these children at a disadvantage, especially because they were already those most in need. For this reason—even though some such programs have been quite effective—pull-out programs are now discouraged in federal policy, with comprehensive school reform favored instead.

Pygmalion effect

The effect of teacher expectations on student performance. The term refers to a Greek myth that was the forerunner of the musical My Fair Lady, in which a teacher transforms an uneducated person into a proper lady. Extensive research has documented that student achievement can be affected by what students' teachers think they can do.

This document contains some material that was previously published in The Language of Learning: A Guide to Educational Terms, edited by J. Lynn McBrien and Ronald Brandt, 1997, ASCD.