Glossary of Terms

Below is a defined list of commonly used terms.

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Anatomy (of any teaching style)

The conceivable decision categories that must be made in any teaching-learning transactions

Axiom

A premise from which the entire structure of the Spectrum stems (i.e., teaching behavior is a chain of decisions making)

Adjustment decisions

Adjustment decisions that are made—immediately or in subsequent episodes--to correct any mishaps during the teaching episode

Assessment

The post-impact set of decisions that includes the overall evaluation of the congruence between the intent and the action of the learning experience and determines whether adjustment decisions are needed in subsequent episodes

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Behavior objectives

Objectives of human behavior (cooperation, self-assessment, honesty, etc.)

Branching off

Selecting one of the learner's divergent designs to frame the next task in the divergent discovery style

Behavior expectation

How the teacher and the learner are expected to look while engaging in a task

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Canopy

The design variations within and between each landmark teaching style

Cognitive economy

A situation in which only minimal cognitive operations are experienced in class and deviation or cognitive wandering by learners is prevented

Command style

The learning focus of the Command style is precision performance — reproducing a predicted response, practice or performance on cue following a set pace and rhythm. The role of the teacher is to make all decisions and the role of the learner is to follow these decisions on cue

Command style (anatomy of)

In the Command style the role of the teacher is to make all decisions in each set of the anatomy. The role of the learner is to follow (to implement) the decisions on cue to achieve precision performance

Concurrent styles

Using more than one teaching-learning style at the same time

Convergent Discovery style

The learning focus of the Convergent Discovery style is to develop the cognitive capacity to discover a single anticipated, predetermined response to a new and unfamiliar stimulus by shuffling known information to produce the discovered anticipated response

Convergent Discovery style (anatomy of)

In the anatomy of the Convergent Discovery style, the role of the teacher is to make subject matter decisions, including the target concept to be discovered, and to design the single question delivered to the learner. The role of the learner is to engage in reasoning, questioning, and logic to sequentially make connections about the content to discover the answers

Convergent thinking

The type of thinking that requires the learner to recall, discover or create a single correct answer to a question

Creative process

A thinking process that engages learners in producing responses that are perceived as unique or original

Criteria sheet

A card that determines the parameters for the observer, keeps the doer accurately informed about the performance and provides the teacher with a concrete basis for interacting with the observer in the reciprocal style of teaching

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Doer

The learner who performs the task in the reciprocal style of teaching, making the nine decisions of the Practice style

Divergent discovery style (anatomy of)

In the Anatomy of the Divergent Discovery style, the role of the teacher is to make decisions about the subject matter topic and the specific questions and logistics to be delivered to the learner. The role of the learner is to discover multiple designs/solutions/responses to a specific question

Divergent thinking

The type of thinking that requires the learner to recall, discover or create several correct answers to a single question/stimulus

Divergent discovery style

The learning focus of the Divergent Discovery style is to produce, within the same set of cognitive operations, multiple discovered responses to one or a series of unfamiliar questions or situation. Each learner produces new multiple ideas that previously were not known

Designing

The most prevalent discovery cognitive operation in the divergent discovery style

Developmental movement

An integrated concept of movements designed to achieve total physical development

Discovery process

A thinking process that engages learners in production of information that was previously unknown to them

Discovery threshold

The line of demarcation between the reproduction cluster and the production cluster that identifies the boundaries of each cluster

Decision classroom chart

A chart that depicts the specific decisions shifted to the learner

Design variations

Shades of the behaviors between the distinct landmark styles. They are also referred as the Canopy

Developmental channels

A developmental channel represents human attributes that are always related to educational objectives

Decision clusters

The conceivable categories of decisions that must be made in any teaching-learning transaction

Decisions makers

The teacher and/or the learners that make decisions in a category delineated in the anatomy

Decision making

The single unifying concept that governs teaching

Degree of difficulty

The varying levels of skill difficulty that are embedded in the same task

Demonstration

The visual and/or written presentation of the various parts of an activity? all reproductive teaching styles rely on it

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Exclusion concept

The single standard design of the task

Episodic teaching (multiple objective design)

Teaching that incorporates a series of planned episodes that represent different teaching styles and reinforce different sets of objectives

Episodic teaching

Teaching that incorporates a series of planned episodes

Episodic teaching (same objective design)

Teaching that incorporates a series of planned episodes that represent the same teaching style and reinforce a similar set of objectives

Episode

A unit of time within which the teacher and learner are engaged in the same teaching-learning style, heading toward the same set of objectives

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Factor grid

A tool that guides teachers in identifying the external and internal factors affecting the design of physical tasks

Feedback

Telling learners how they are doing by giving them information and/or judgment about their performance of the task and their decision making role

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Guided discovery style (anatomy of)

In the Anatomy of the Guided Discovery style, the role of the teacher is to make all subject matter decisions, including the target concept to be discovered and the sequential design of the questions for the learner. The role of the learner is to discover the answers. This implies that the learner makes decisions about segments of the subject matter within the topic selected by the teacher

Guided discovery style

The learning focus of the Guided Discovery style is to develop logical and sequential thinking. In this style questions are designed in a logical and sequential series that leads a learner to discover a predetermined concept, principle, relationship or rule that was not previously known

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Inclusion concept

The choice of the degree of difficulty within the same task as depicted in the “slanted rope” experience

Impact decisions

Decisions related to the actual teaching-learning transaction

Idiosyncratic approach

Decoding theory into daily practice in accordance with one's personal understanding and previous experiences

Inclusion style

The learning focus of the Inclusion style is to provide opportunities for continued participation of all learners in the selected task, regardless of their varied skill levels. Tasks in style E are designed with varying levels of skill difficulty so that learners can survey the options and select an entry level of difficulty. Learners may make adjustment decisions in their task level. Additionally, learners check their performance against the prepared criteria

Inclusion style (anatomy of)

In the anatomy of the Inclusion style, the role of the teacher is to make all subject matter decisions, including the possible levels in the tasks, and the logistical decisions. The learner’s role is to survey the available task levels, select an entry point, practice the task, make any adjustment in the task level (if necessary), and check performance against the criteria

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Landmark teaching style

Unlike a canopy teaching style, a landmark teaching style serves as a milestones and it has a specific decision structure for the teacher and the learners; thus, creating a corresponding set of learning objectives/outcomes

Learner-Designed Individual Program style

In the Learner-Designed Individual Program style, the role of the teacher is to make general subject matter and logistical decisions for the learners. The role of the learner is to make decisions about how to investigate the general subject matter topic: to produce questions that lead to a specific focus within the general topic; to produce questions that result in identifying the process and procedures; to discover the solutions/movements; and to designate the performance criteria

Learner-Designed Individual Program style (anatomy of)

In the anatomy of the Learner-Designed I. P. style, the role of the teacher is to make general subject matter logistical decisions for the learners. The role of the learner is to make decisions about how to investigate the general subject matter topic: to produce questions that lead to a specific focus within the general topic; to produce the questions that result in identifying the process and procedures; to discover the solutions/movements; and to designate the performance criteria

Learner-Initiated style

The learning focus of the Learner-Initiated style is to acknowledge a learner's motivation and cognitive intentions to design his/her own learning experience. In this style a learner initiates a request to pursue the complexities inherent in make all decisions, defining learning objectives, and producing ideas. In this style the learner determines the teacher's degree of involvement

Learner-Initiated style (anatomy of)

In the anatomy of the Learner-Initiated style, the role of the learner is to independently initiate this behavior and make all the decisions in the pre-impact, including which teaching–learning behaviors will be used in the impact, and create the criteria decisions for the post-impact. Provided the teacher is qualified in the subject matter, the teacher’s role is now to accept the learner’s readiness to make maximum decisions in the learning experience, to be supportive, and to participate according to the learner’s requests

Learning stations

The type of teaching that allows different students to practice different tasks at the same time

Lesson plan chart

A chart that indicates the intended learning expectations and the process for attaining them

Lines of communication

Lines that depicts the direction of communication among the doer, the observer, and the teacher in the reciprocal style of teaching

Logistics

The supporting details and parameters for the environment and the task (e.g., organization of learners, location boundaries, time limits)

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Memory process

A thinking process that engages learners in recalling and replicating past knowledge

Mobility ability

The ability to shift among the behaviors, as needed, to accommodate learners' needs, content focus, time constraints and the myriad goals of education

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Non-versus reality

Each teaching style is not inherently better or more effective than the others but rather each style meet a specific set of objectives or goals

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Observer

The learner who offers immediate and on-going feedback to his/her peer who performs the task in the reciprocal style of teaching

O-T-L-O relationship

The smallest pedagogical unit that constitutes an interaction of objectives, teaching behavior, learning behavior, and outcomes

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Pre-impact decisions

Decisions related to the face-to-face implementation of the pre-impact decisions

Productive cluster

The cluster of styles F-K that represents options that invite production of new knowledge - knowledge that is new to the learner, new to the teacher and new to society

Practice style

The learning focus of the Practice style is to initiate individual and private practice of a memory/reproduction task while receiving private feedback from the teacher

Practice style (anatomy of)

In the anatomy of the Practice style, the role of the teacher is to make all subject matter and logistical decisions and to provide private feedback to the learners. The role of the learner is to individually and privately practice a memory/reproduction task while making nine specific decisions

Pairing techniques

Different ways of organizing the class into pairs

Parameters

Pre-impact decisions that refer to limits in conjunction with management of quantity, time, allocation, interval, posture, and attire and appearance

P-F-D process

A reduction process employed in the Divergent Discovery style with which certain responses are selected and others are discarded to reach a specific meaning or closure in the subject matter

Post-impact decisions

Decisions related to feedback about the performance during the impact and to overall evaluation of the congruence between the intent and the action of the learning experience

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Reproductive style

The cluster of styles A-E that represents teaching options that foster reproduction of past knowledge

Roles

The decisions made by the teacher and the learners in any teaching style

Reciprocal style

The learning focus of the Reciprocal style is to develop a social interaction that reinforces the giving and receiving of immediate feedback that is guided by specific teacher-prepared criteria

Reciprocal style (anatomy of)

In the anatomy of the Reciprocal style, the role of the teacher is to make all subject matter, criteria, and logistical decisions and to provide feedback to the observer. The learner’s role is to work in partnership relationships. One learner is the doer who performs the task, making the nine decisions of the Practice style, while the other learner is the observer who offers immediate and on-going feedback to the doer, using a criteria sheet designed by the teacher. At the end of the first practice, the doer and the observer switch roles

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Self-Check style

The learning focus of the Self-Check style is to develop independent practice of a memory/reproduction task and engage in self-assessment that is guided by established criteria

Self-Check style (anatomy of)

In the anatomy of the Self-Check style, the role of the teacher is to make all subject matter, criteria, and logistical decisions. The role of the learners is to work independently and to check their own performances against the criteria prepared by the teacher

Self-Teaching style

The learning focus of the Self-Teaching style is individual tenacity and the desire to construct one's own learning experiences. This teaching-learning style does not exist in the school or classrooms. This style is governed by the individual's decision-making expectations and desires

Self-Teaching style (anatomy of)

In the anatomy of the Self-Teaching style, the individual learner participates in the roles of both teacher and learner and makes all the decisions—in the pre-impact, impact, and post-impact sets

Slanted rope concept

A range of degree of difficulty within the same task

Spectrum framework

A structure that is based on six underlying premises (The axiom, the anatomy, the decisions makers, the Spectrum, the clusters)

Spectrum of teaching styles

A pedagogical theory that delineates possible teaching-learning decision structures, presents a rationale that explains why each option is sequenced as it is, and presents the learning focus of each option.

Subject matter expectations

What the teacher and the learner are expected to do while engaging in a task

Subject matter objectives

Objectives that pertain to the particular content of the episode (e.g., performing the folk dance, executing the tennis serve)

Station teaching

A type of teaching in which different learners practice different tasks at the same time

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Task analysis - Three designs

A procedure to identify the factor that determines the degree of difficulty when the teacher arranges a task for inclusion

Task sheets

A paper that presents visually and/or verbally the task and assists the learner in remembering it

Teaching cue

A word used to trigger the proper form, to remind the skill sequence or to make the skill technique visual

Task teaching style (see Practice style)

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Teaching style

A theoretical structure or a decisions pattern that is independent of one's idiosyncrasies; it defines the teacher's and the learner's action so that a prescribed set of objectives can be accomplished

Three dimensional model of movement classification

A universal structure of movement that includes the three dimensions of human classification (i.e., physical attributes, anatomical divisions, kind of movement)

Time decisions

Pre-impact decisions that answer questions about when, at what speed, at what moment, and for how long

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Versus approach

An approach to teaching and learning that presents ideas in education in opposition to the status quo

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Work sheets

See task sheet definition 

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