Question 1

Inclusion

Accepted Answer

The practice of educating students with special needs in general education classrooms.

Question 2

Differentiated Instruction

Accepted Answer

Teaching that modifies the content, process, and product of lessons to accommodate different learning styles.

Question 3

Bloom's Taxonomy

Accepted Answer

A hierarchy of six types of cognitive skills: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

Question 4

Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development

Accepted Answer

Four stages describing children's intellectual growth: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational.

Question 5

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

Accepted Answer

Vygotsky's term for the range of tasks a child can perform with assistance but not alone.

Question 6

Metacognition

Accepted Answer

The awareness of and ability to understand one's own thought processes.

Question 7

Phonemic Awareness

Accepted Answer

The ability to hear and manipulate individual phonemes, or sounds, in spoken words.

Question 8

Balanced Literacy

Accepted Answer

A framework for reading instruction that includes reading aloud, guided reading, shared reading, and independent reading.

Question 9

Constructivism

Accepted Answer

A philosophy of learning founded on the premise that, by reflecting on our experiences, we construct our own understanding of the world.

Question 10

Formative Assessment

Accepted Answer

Informal assessment tools that a teacher can use to check for student understanding and guide instruction.

Question 11

Summative Assessment

Accepted Answer

Formal, graded assessments that evaluate student learning at the end of an instructional period.

Question 12

Inquiry-Based Learning

Accepted Answer

An approach to learning that emphasizes the student's role in the learning process.

Question 13

Backward Design

Accepted Answer

A method of designing educational curriculum by setting goals before choosing instructional methods and forms of assessment.

Question 14

Multiple Intelligences

Accepted Answer

Howard Gardner's theory that there are multiple types of intelligences that people can possess.

Question 15

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Accepted Answer

A framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn.

Question 16

Scaffolding

Accepted Answer

Support provided by an adult or more competent peer to a child that is intended to help the child achieve a higher level of development.

Question 17

IEP (Individualized Education Program)

Accepted Answer

A written statement of the educational program designed to meet a child's individual needs.

Question 18

IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)

Accepted Answer

U.S. law ensuring services to children with disabilities.

Question 19

Whole Language Approach

Accepted Answer

An approach to teaching reading that emphasizes literature and text comprehension.

Question 20

Phonics

Accepted Answer

A method of teaching reading and spelling that emphasizes sound-letter relationships.

Question 21

Thematic Instruction

Accepted Answer

Curriculum design focused around themes or topics, integrating different subject areas.

Question 22

Social Emotional Learning (SEL)

Accepted Answer

The process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.

Question 23

Essential Questions

Accepted Answer

Questions that guide the inquiry of a unit or lesson.

Question 24

Cooperative Learning

Accepted Answer

An instructional method in which students work together in small groups on a structured activity.

Question 25

21st Century Skills

Accepted Answer

A set of abilities that students need to develop in order to succeed in the information age, including critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication, information literacy, media literacy, technology literacy, flexibility, leadership, initiative, productivity, and social skills.

Question 26

Experiential Learning

Accepted Answer

Learning through reflection on doing, which involves direct encounter with the phenomena being studied rather than merely thinking about it.

Question 27

Pedagogy

Accepted Answer

The art or science of teaching, education, instructional methods.

Question 28

Andragogy

Accepted Answer

The method and practice of teaching adult learners.

Question 29

Authentic Assessment

Accepted Answer

A form of assessment in which students are asked to perform real-world tasks that demonstrate meaningful application of essential knowledge and skills.

Question 30

Behaviorism

Accepted Answer

A theoretical perspective that focuses on the role of learning and the environment in shaping behavior.

Question 31

Direct Instruction

Accepted Answer

An instructional approach that uses explicit, step-by-step teaching methods.

Question 32

Interdisciplinary Curriculum

Accepted Answer

Curriculum design that integrates concepts from different disciplines to provide a more holistic understanding of a topic.

Question 33

Project-Based Learning (PBL)

Accepted Answer

A teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to a complex question, problem, or challenge.

Question 34

RTI (Response to Intervention)

Accepted Answer

A multi-tiered approach to the early identification and support of students with learning and behavior needs.

Question 35

Norm-Referenced Test

Accepted Answer

A type of test that assesses a student's understanding in comparison to a large group of students.

Question 36

Criterion-Referenced Test

Accepted Answer

A type of test that assesses a student's performance against a specific set of standards or criteria.

Question 37

BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills)

Accepted Answer

Social language skills needed in interpersonal situations, typically developed quicker than academic language in language learners.

Question 38

CALP (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency)

Accepted Answer

The degree to which an individual has access to and command of the academic language necessary to succeed in school.

Question 39

Decoding

Accepted Answer

The ability to apply knowledge of letter-sound relationships, including knowledge of letter patterns, to correctly pronounce written words.

Question 40

Comprehensible Input

Accepted Answer

Language input that can be understood by listeners despite them not understanding all the words and structures in it.

Question 41

Self-Efficacy

Accepted Answer

A person's belief in their capability to succeed in a specific situation or accomplish a task.

Question 42

Semantic Network

Accepted Answer

A method of representing knowledge in patterns of interconnected nodes (words or concepts) and links (relationships).

Question 43

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Accepted Answer

A theory of human motivation described as a hierarchy of five levels of basic needs: physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.

Question 44

Proximal Development

Accepted Answer

The concept that the learning process occurs within a “zone” that stretches from what a learner can do independently to what they can do with guidance.

Question 45

Learning Styles

Accepted Answer

The preferential way in which the student absorbs, processes, comprehends and retains information.

Advanced Concepts for the Washington WEST-B Exam