A Lexicon of Learning

What Educators Mean When They Say...

early childhood education

The education of young children. Many educators think of early childhood education as including children ages 3 through 7. Recent research information about the brain development of infants is causing many specialists to think of this period of rapid learning as beginning at birth.

Edison schools

Schools run by the Edison Project, a private organization that contracts with local boards of education. All Edison schools (named to commemorate inventor Thomas Edison) are expected to follow the model developed by a design team headed by Benno Schmidt, former president of Yale University. Features of the model include extensive use of technology, individualized learning plans, teaching of values, and parent and community participation. Originally founded by Christopher Whittle, the Edison Project is an example of the privatization of public schools.

Education Commission of the States

A nonprofit organization whose purpose is to help governors, state legislators, state education officials, and others develop policies to improve the quality of education at all levels. The commission was formed in 1965 to help states approach education policy decisions in an organized fashion. Members include 49 states (all but Montana), three territories, and the District of Columbia

effective schools

Schools in which all students, especially those from families in poverty, learn at a higher-than-expected level. The idea of effective schools was pioneered in the early 1980s by the late Ronald Edmonds, who compared schools in which children in poverty earned high test scores with other schools that had similar student populations. He found that effective schools had strong principals who closely monitored student achievement and created an orderly environment characterized by high expectations.

Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)

U.S. legislation passed in 1965 that provided large amounts of federal aid to states and local districts as part of the larger War on Poverty. ESEA must be reauthorized periodically by the Congress. The most well-known provision of ESEA is Title I, which targets funding to schools with high concentrations of economically disadvantaged children in order to improve their educational opportunities.

The 2002 version requires that states administer annual tests in math and reading for all students in grades 3 through 8; schools failing to produce sufficient improvements in student test scores will be subject to sanctions. Advocates of these testing provisions argue that they are necessary to ensure that all children receive a quality education; others argue, however, that such tests are not an accurate measure of educational quality and that the accountability provisions will compel teachers to teach to the test, narrowing the curriculum and focusing on rote learning.

English as a Second Language (ESL)

Teaching English to non-English-speaking or limited-English-proficient (LEP) students to help them learn and succeed in schools. ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) has generally the same meaning as ESL.

English language learner (ELL)

A student whose first language is other than English and who is in a special program for learning English (which may be bilingual education or English as a second language).

enrichment

Topics and activities that are valuable and interesting to learn but are not basic education—knowledge that is "nice to know" but not necessarily what people need to know. Examples might include study of Wordsworth's poetry or a biography of Alexander Hamilton, although people will not necessarily agree on what is basic and what is enrichment.

The term enrichment is also applied to efforts that parents make to supplement their children's learning outside of school, such as trips to science and art museums, educational vacations, visits to local libraries, and attendance at local theaters, orchestras, or ballets.

environmental education

According to the Environmental Education and Training Partnership (EETAP), environmental education "is a learning process that increases people's knowledge and awareness about the environment and associated challenges, develops the necessary skills and expertise to address the challenges, and fosters attitudes, motivations, and commitments to make informed decisions and take responsible action." Although some educators have long argued that environmental education should be an essential part of the school curriculum, the movement to incorporate it has gained ground in recent years as more and more schools have incorporated at least some of its elements.

Source: Quote from Definition of EE [Web page], Stevens Point, WI: Environmental Education and Training Partnership. Web page attributes quote to UNESCO, Tbilisi Declaration, 1978. Retrieved February 21, 2002, from http://eetap.org/definitionofee.html

equal access

Refers to federal legislation that prohibits public school systems from discriminating against student religious groups. If schools permit other non-curriculum-related student groups, such as a chess club, to meet on school property, they must also permit other voluntary student groups, such as prayer groups, to meet.

equity

The goal of equity is to achieve a high-quality education for all students, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, disabilities, or special needs. Studies show widespread inequities in financial support, classroom expectations, texts and technological resources, and quality of teaching, especially in inner cities and among poor populations. Because needs are greater in some situations than others, equal treatment is not necessarily equitable.

ESEA

See Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

ESL

English as a second language. Teaching English to non-English-speaking or limited-English-proficient (LEP) students to help them learn and succeed in schools. ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) has generally the same meaning as ESL.

essential questions

Basic questions, such as "What is distinctive about the American experience?" used to provide focus for a course or a unit of study. Such questions need to be derived from vitally important themes and topics whose answers cannot be summarized neatly and concisely.

evolution

Refers to the theory of natural selection, which is the basis for modern studies of biology. Creationists oppose the teaching of natural selection in public schools, especially if it is not accompanied by the idea of creationism as an alternative explanation of biological differences.

exemplar

An example chosen to illustrate characteristics of a concept. In schools, the term exemplar sometimes refers to samples of student work used to show other students what they are expected to do. An exemplar can also help teachers (and students themselves) evaluate student work when it is completed.

For example, a teacher might have students write a letter suitable for publication in the local newspaper commenting on a community issue. The teacher could provide rubrics specifying the criteria for evaluating the letters, along with sample letters (exemplars) written by previous students on a different topic at each level of quality (e.g., 4, 3, 2, 1 or A, B, C, D). Exemplars are sometimes called model papers.

exhibitions

Demanding projects designed and conducted by high school seniors in schools that are members of the Coalition of Essential Schools. Theodore Sizer, founder of the coalition, proposed the notion of exhibitions in his book Horace's Compromise. Noting that students in 19th century New England secondary schools were expected to present evidence of their learning as a requirement for graduation, he suggested that a similar procedure could make modern high school education more meaningful.

experiential education

Education that emphasizes personal experience of the learner rather than learning from lectures, books, and other secondhand sources. Experiential education, sometimes called experiential learning, may take the form of internships, service learning, school-to-work programs, field studies, cross-cultural education, and leadership development.

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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.