Point of mastery
The point at which a learner has a high level of understanding of a given concept or domain
Archives: Glossary
Pupil Premium
Additional funding for publicly funded schools in England to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils of all abilities
Reliability
In assessment, the degree to which the outcome of a particular assessment would be consistent – for example, if it were marked by a different marker or taken again
Scaffolding
Progressively introducing students to new concepts to support their learning
Teaching Assistant
An adult that assists a teacher in the classroom
SENCO
A special educational needs coordinator – a teacher who is responsible for special educational needs at school
Spacing effect
The benefit to learning of including gaps between study and revision sessions
TA
Teaching Assistant – an adult that assists the teacher in the classroom
Overlearning
Engaging in repeated practice of concepts beyond the point where a learner has already understood the key idea
Ofsted
The Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills – a non-ministerial department responsible for inspecting and regulating services that care for children and young people, and services providing education and skills
Learning styles
Theories relating to the idea that individuals learn best in different ways and teaching should be tailored to their learning styles – these have been widely debunked by research
Left/right brain dominance
The theory that each side of the brain controls different types of thinking – an example of a neuromyth
Mark schemes
Criteria used for assessing pieces of work in relation to particular grades
Multi-academy trust
Abbreviated to MAT, a group of schools working in collaboration, governed by a single set of members and directors
MAT
Multi-academy trust – a group of schools working in collaboration, governed by a single set of members and directors
Meta-analysis
A quantitative study design used to systematically assess the results of multiple studies in order to draw conclusions about that body of research
Neuromyths
Common misconceptions about the brain
CLT
Cognitive Load Theory – the idea that working memory is limited and that overloading it can have a negative impact on learning, and that instruction should be designed to take this into account
Discovery learning
Allowing learners to discover key ideas or concepts for themselves
Direct instruction
A method of instruction in which concepts or skills are taught using explicit teaching techniques, such as demonstrations or lectures, and are practised until fully understood by each student
