A Lexicon of Learning

What Educators Mean When They Say...

data-based decision making

Analyzing existing sources of information (class and school attendance, grades, test scores) and other data (portfolios, surveys, interviews) to make decisions about the school. The process involves organizing and interpreting the data and creating action plans.

decentralization

The deliberate reassignment of decision-making authority from states or districts to local schools based on the beliefs that people who are closest to a situation make better decisions and that people work hardest when implementing their own decisions. The primary vehicle for school decentralization in recent decades has been site-based management, under which decision-making authority has been delegated to local schools, often accompanied by a requirement that schools establish representative school councils.

democratic education

Advocates of democratic education believe that students, if they are to acquire the skills, knowledge, and values they need to perform their roles as citizens in a democracy, should receive a type of education that actively engages them as citizens in their own schools and communities. For example, they believe that students should participate in the governance of the school and engage in service-learning activities in their local communities.

democratic purposes of education

Historically, one of the primary missions of the public schools in the United States has been to prepare children to perpetuate American democracy. Schools are expected to ensure that all children, regardless of family economic status or future occupation, acquire the skills, knowledge, and civic values they need to perform their roles as citizens in a democracy.

detracking

Reducing or eliminating grouping by ability, resulting in classes with students from all ability levels. The result of detracking is also called heterogeneous rather than homogeneous (or ability) grouping. Strictly speaking, tracking refers to students being lumped into groups for all their classes based on their general ability to learn. Grouping for specific purposes, such as current knowledge of mathematics, is theoretically not tracking, although opponents charge that the practice usually has the same results. Advocates of detracking, also called untracking, point to research indicating that when students are grouped by ability, those in lower tracks are usually taught poorly and don't get exposed to "high-status" knowledge. They see detracking as part of a broader restructuring of schools in which student differences are provided for within each class. Opponents of detracking say ability grouping is easier for teachers and better for students—those who are academically able and should not be held back, and those who are slower and should have attention to their special needs.

developmental screening tests

Used to identify students who may have disabilities, sensory impairments (e.g., near-sightedness or reduced hearing), or behavioral and developmental disabilities.

developmentally appropriate education

Curriculum and instruction that is in accord with the physical and mental development of the student. Developmentally appropriate education is especially important for young children because their physical and mental abilities change quickly and vary greatly from child to child. For example, some 4-year-old children are able to sit quietly through a group story time, while others become fidgety. This does not necessarily mean that the more active children have ADHD; their neurological functions may simply not have matured as quickly as others in their age group.

differentiated instruction

A form of instruction that seeks to "maximize each student's growth by meeting each student where she is and helping the student to progress. In practice, it involves offering several different learning experiences in response to students' varied needs. Learning activities and materials may be varied by difficulty to challenge students at different readiness levels, by topic in response to students' interests, and by students' preferred ways of learning or expressing themselves."

Source: Quote from "Lesson 1: What Is Differentiated Instruction?" in Differentiating Instruction, an ASCD PD Online course by L. Kiernan, 2000, Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

differentiated schooling

The view that no single form of education is best for all students and all situations. Advocates believe school officials should provide alternative programs and let parents choose among them rather than play "winner take all."

differentiated staffing

The practice of having different instructional roles rather than treating all classroom teachers alike. Various people play a part in the teaching process, but their responsibilities and pay may be greater or lesser than regular teachers. Typical roles include teacher aides, paraprofessionals (or assistant teachers), team leaders, and lead teachers.

differentiated supervision

A system of supervising teachers that depends on factors including their experience, proven teaching ability, interests, and preferences. Some members of the teaching staff may be involved in clinical supervision (intensive analysis of their teaching based on observations of their classroom teaching), while others may propose and conduct their own professional development plans.

differentiated teaching

Providing for a range of student differences in the same classroom by using different learning materials, assigning different tasks, and using other practices, such as cooperative learning.

direct instruction

Instruction in which the teacher explains the intended purpose and presents the content in a clear, orderly way. Contrasts with inductive, discovery, or constructive teaching, in which students are led, by means of investigation or discussion, to develop their own ideas.

disaggregated data

Test scores or other data divided so that various categories can be compared. For example, schools may break down the data for the entire student population (aggregated into a single set of numbers) to determine how minority students are doing compared with the majority, or how scores of girls compare with those for boys.

discovery learning

Learning activities designed so that students discover facts and principles themselves rather than having them explained by a textbook or a teacher. These activities are used most often in science classes where, for example, students can directly observe effects of various substances on other substances and infer possible reasons.

distance learning

Taking classes in locations other than the classroom or places where teachers present the lessons. Distance learning uses various forms of technology, especially television and computers, to provide educational materials and experiences to students. Small high schools may arrange for their students to take courses, such as those for advanced foreign language instruction, by television. Many colleges and universities broadcast credit courses for students who live in isolated locations or who for other reasons cannot attend classes on campus.

diversity

In education, discussions about diversity involve recognizing a variety of student needs including those of ethnicity, language, socioeconomic class, disabilities, and gender. School reforms attempt to address these issues to help all students succeed. Schools also respond to societal diversity by attempting to promote understanding and acceptance of cultural and other differences.

dropouts

Students who leave high school before receiving a diploma. Because it is difficult to keep track of adolescents no longer in school, because students may re-enter schools and drop out again more than once, and because many students eventually get the equivalent of secondary education by means of GED tests, dropout rates are not completely accurate. However, many observers believe that the dropout rate is much higher than it ought to be.

dyslexia

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.

Source: From "Frequently Asked Questions," by The International Dyslexia Association, (n.d.). Retrieved September 19, 2005, from http://www.interdys.org/servlet/compose?section_id=5&page_id=95.

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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, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.