Birdville ISD Walk-Through Form 2012-13

Strategies and Structures: Glossary of Terms

Strategies
Required / The district is required to provide training for these strategies throughout the 2012-13 school year. In August 2012, teachers were trained on graphic organizers and foldables.
KWL Chart / K – what we KNOW, W- what we WANT to know/learn, L – what we LEARNED (Some use KEL where the E stands for EXPECT). This strategy helps to build on background knowledge, engage students in new learning, and review new learning after a lesson to make it more likely that students will make connections and remember the information in the future.
Graphic Organizers / Graphic organizers combine the linguistic mode by using words and pictures and the non-linguistic mode by using symbols and relationships to help students visualize relationships and connections. There are common patterns that correlate to the cognitive rigor of our state standards.
  • Descriptive patterns
  • Time-Sequence patterns
  • Cause and Effect patterns
  • Episode patterns
  • Generalization/Principle patterns
  • Concept patterns

Non-Linguistic Representation / Students use non-linguistic forms, such as concept maps, charts, images, kinesthetic activities, dramatization, etc. to create a model of their thinking. This is a scaffolding step toward the student’s ability to discuss a concept through linguistic means.
Foldables / 3-dimensional graphic organizer made by folding paper to divide information, reveal relationships, and/or demonstrate a process. This makes the information become visual and tactile.
Recommended / The district recommends use of these strategies based upon the research, but will not be providing district-wide training at this time.
Note-taking / Note taking is a strategy that teachers use to support student learning. Without explicit instruction in note taking, however, many students simply write down words or phrases word for word, without analysis. Successful note-takers summarize to arrive at a nugget of meaning, which they are much more likely to retain. Students also benefit from using their notes as a document of their learning. Teachers can prompt students to review and refine their notes, particularly when it is time to prepare for an exam, write a research paper, or other summative assessment of learning.
Interactive Student Notebook / The left side is used for students to process new ideas. The right side is for teacher to provide new information. The teacher and student interact with one another in this notebook.
Selective Underlining/ Highlighting / Read the selection first. Reread and begin underlining/highlighting. Do not underline whole sentences. Choose key ideas from the sentences. Note main ideas using symbols. Write notes in the margins.
Discussion Strategies / Strategies that elicit student discussion, such as questioning.
Concept Definition Map / Way of visually representing a word and the concepts related to that word. It can include a definition, a list of synonyms, antonyms, and related concepts.
Teacher/Campus Choice / Other high-yield strategies suggested by the district, but no training will be made available at this time.
Mind Streaming / To build background knowledge, learners work in pairs – a listener and a speaker. For one minute, speaker talks about the topic, saying whatever comes to mind until time is up. Reverse roles and repeat.
Content Frame / Visual representations of information. Frames work well with material that has main topics and similar subtopics where showing the inter-relationship of ideas is important.
Magnet Summary / On one side of a card, students write the central concept in the middle with key words related to the concept in the corners. On the back of the card, students write a summary sentence about the main concept.
Grouping Types
(i.e. Structures)
Required / The district is required to provide training for these structures throughout the 2012-13 school year.
Whole Group / Teaching the whole class at the same time.
Small Group / Students working together in groups of 3-5.
Pair/Partner / Students working in pairs.
Independent / Students working independently.
Lab Setting / Student-centered, hands-on activity which uses tools or equipment to explore scientific principles.
Learning Centers / Stations or centers are set up in the classroom. Students rotate among the various activities that are presented at each center.
Recommended / The district recommends use of these structures based upon the research, but will not be providing district-wide training at this time.
Think-Pair-Share / Students first think independently, then pair up with another student to share their ideas about a question or topic posed by the teacher.
Cooperative Group / Structure for grouping students and assigning students roles to fulfill within the group. In a cooperative group, all students are individually accountable and work interdependently.
Guided Discussion / Teacher facilitates a classroom discussion with the use of pre-prepared questions and talking points.
Peer Evaluation / A form of collaborative learning in which students informally discuss, often in small groups, the results of their efforts.
Conferencing / Teachers meet with students individually to discuss student progress.
Gallery Walk / After a jigsaw lesson that includes a visual representation (or a linguistic representation), each group selects a docent (or representative) to explain their work as the students rotate among the “exhibits.”
Ticket Out / Students must answer reflective questions which are their “tickets” out of class. A quick reflection of key points from the lesson that day that helps students sort through all they have learned.
Guided Discovery / This approach invites the learner to think, to go beyond the given information and then discover the correct information. The teacher sequences information and questions to cause a corresponding set of responses by the learner. The combination of information and questioning by the teacher elicits a correct response which is discovered by the learner. The cumulative effect of this converging process leads the student to discover the sought concept or principle.
Teacher/Campus Choice / Other structures suggested by the district, but no training will be made available at this time.
Walk-About Review / Students walk around the room, gather information from others at random, and jot down new information to add to their own notes.
Jigsaw / This is a cooperative learning strategy. Students work in learning teams made up of experts who are responsible for researching subtopics of a larger topic. Experts from each learning team meet to discuss their findings, and then return home to their original team to teach their research findings to the group.
Tutorials / Small group teaching sessions led by a tutor for discussion and the provision of individual assistance.