Inglés para Docentes: Vocabulario Profesional Esencial

"seating arrangement"

The deliberate layout of desks and chairs to encourage specific types of interaction or focus

"The teacher changed the seating arrangement from rows to clusters to support collaborative learning."

"on-task behaviour"

Student actions that are directly related to the assigned learning activity

"Monitoring on-task behaviour during group work helps identify students who need additional support."

"transition routine"

A practised procedure for moving smoothly between different classroom activities

"A clear transition routine reduced the time students spent off-task between lessons."

"positive reinforcement"

A strategy of rewarding desired behaviour to increase the likelihood it will be repeated

"Using sticker charts as positive reinforcement motivated the younger students to complete their reading logs."

"behaviour intervention"

A targeted plan to address and change a student's disruptive or concerning conduct

"The SENCO designed a behaviour intervention for the student who struggled with impulsivity."

"classroom norms"

Agreed-upon rules and expectations that guide how students and teachers interact

"Co-creating classroom norms with students at the start of term increased their sense of ownership."

"proximity control"

A low-key management technique in which the teacher moves physically closer to an off-task student

"Proximity control often redirected the student's attention without disrupting the rest of the class."

"de-escalation strategy"

A technique used to reduce the intensity of a student's emotional or behavioural response

"The teacher used de-escalation strategies such as calm tone and private redirection to avoid confrontation."

"learning objective"

A clear, measurable statement of what students should know or be able to do by the end of a lesson

"Each lesson plan began with a specific learning objective aligned to the national curriculum."

"differentiated instruction"

A teaching approach that tailors content, process, or product to meet diverse student needs

"Differentiated instruction allowed the teacher to challenge advanced learners while supporting those who needed extra time."

"scaffolding"

Temporary support provided to help students perform tasks they could not yet complete independently

"Word banks and sentence frames served as scaffolding for students writing their first persuasive essays."

"exit ticket"

A brief formative task completed at the end of a lesson to gauge student understanding

"The exit ticket asked students to write one thing they learned and one question they still had."

"scheme of work"

A structured overview of planned lessons for a term or academic year, showing sequence and coverage

"The head of department reviewed each teacher's scheme of work before the new year began."

"cross-curricular link"

A deliberate connection drawn between the content of one subject and concepts in another

"The history teacher highlighted the cross-curricular link to English by analysing the rhetoric of wartime speeches."

"pacing guide"

A timeline indicating how quickly a teacher should move through curriculum content to finish by a set date

"The pacing guide helped the department ensure all students covered the exam syllabus by March."

"hook activity"

An engaging opening task designed to capture student interest and activate prior knowledge

"A short video clip served as a hook activity before introducing the unit on renewable energy."

"formative assessment"

Ongoing evaluation during the learning process used to inform and adjust teaching

"Formative assessment through mini-whiteboards let the teacher instantly see which students had grasped the concept."

"summative assessment"

Evaluation at the end of a unit or course that measures overall achievement against defined standards

"The end-of-term exam was the main summative assessment for the Year 10 biology course."

"rubric"

A scoring guide that describes the criteria and levels of quality expected for an assessment task

"Sharing the rubric with students before they began the project helped them self-regulate their work."

"peer assessment"

A structured process in which students evaluate each other's work against agreed criteria

"Peer assessment of drafts improved the quality of final essays and developed critical thinking."

"diagnostic assessment"

An evaluation conducted before instruction to identify students' prior knowledge, skills, or misconceptions

"The diagnostic assessment at the start of term revealed significant gaps in students' fraction skills."

"marking policy"

A school's agreed guidelines on how, how often, and in what form teachers should provide written feedback

"The marking policy required teachers to use coded symbols for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors."

"growth-oriented feedback"

Comments that focus on how a student can improve rather than merely labelling performance as good or bad

"Growth-oriented feedback such as "add a counter-argument here" moved students from a fixed to a growth mindset."

"moderation"

A process in which teachers compare and align their judgements to ensure consistent and fair marking

"Cross-school moderation of GCSE coursework ensured all students were graded on the same standard."

"continuing professional development (CPD)"

Structured learning activities that help teachers maintain and improve their skills throughout their career

"The school allocated twelve days per year for staff continuing professional development."

"instructional coaching"

A one-to-one partnership in which an experienced coach helps a teacher refine specific classroom practices

"Instructional coaching sessions focused on questioning techniques helped the NQT build confidence."

"reflective practice"

The habit of critically thinking about one's own teaching to identify strengths and areas for growth

"Keeping a teaching journal supported reflective practice by prompting weekly self-evaluation."

"mentor teacher"

An experienced colleague assigned to guide and support a newer or student teacher

"The mentor teacher observed three lessons and provided detailed written feedback after each one."

"lesson study"

A collaborative professional development model in which teachers jointly plan, observe, and analyse a research lesson

"The maths department used lesson study to investigate why students struggled with algebraic reasoning."

"teacher appraisal"

A formal process of evaluating a teacher's performance against professional standards, often linked to pay progression

"The annual teacher appraisal included a classroom observation, a data review, and a professional dialogue."

"professional learning community (PLC)"

A collaborative group of educators who meet regularly to share practice and improve student outcomes

"The professional learning community met fortnightly to review student work and discuss common misconceptions."

"induction programme"

A structured support framework for newly qualified or newly appointed teachers in their first year

"The induction programme for NQTs included reduced timetabling and weekly mentoring sessions."

"inquiry-based learning"

A pedagogical approach in which students construct knowledge by asking questions, investigating, and solving problems

"Inquiry-based learning in the science class had students design their own experiments to test a hypothesis."

"spiral curriculum"

A curriculum design in which key concepts are revisited repeatedly with increasing complexity at each stage

"The spiral curriculum ensured that fractions were introduced in Year 3 and deepened every subsequent year."

"hidden curriculum"

The implicit lessons about social norms, values, and expectations that school environments communicate beyond official content

"Teachers discussed the hidden curriculum when examining whose knowledge was centred in their reading lists."

"mastery learning"

An instructional philosophy in which students must demonstrate thorough understanding of one concept before progressing

"Mastery learning in the phonics programme ensured no student moved to blending before securing all phonemes."

"flipped classroom"

A model in which students first encounter new content at home and then apply it through activities in class

"The flipped classroom approach freed lesson time for discussion because students had watched instructional videos as homework."

"active learning"

An approach requiring students to engage meaningfully with material through discussion, problem-solving, or creating

"Active learning strategies such as think-pair-share increased student participation during geography lessons."

"backward design"

A curriculum planning model that begins with desired learning outcomes and works backward to design instruction

"Using backward design, the team wrote the final assessment first and then built the unit around it."

"knowledge organiser"

A single-page reference document summarising the essential facts, vocabulary, and concepts for a unit

"Students used a knowledge organiser to retrieve key terminology independently during revision sessions."

"special educational needs (SEN)"

Learning difficulties or disabilities that require additional or different provision from that available in a mainstream classroom

"The class teacher liaised with the SENCO to implement support for a student with special educational needs."

"education, health and care plan (EHCP)"

A legal document in England describing a child's needs and the provision required to meet them

"The annual review of the student's education, health and care plan involved parents, the form tutor, and a specialist."

"reasonable adjustment"

A change to teaching, assessment, or the learning environment that removes a barrier for a student with a disability

"Providing extended time was a reasonable adjustment for the student with dyslexia during exams."

"universal design for learning (UDL)"

A framework for designing flexible curricula that are accessible to all learners from the outset

"Applying universal design for learning principles meant offering content as text, audio, and visual formats."

"gifted and talented"

A descriptor for students who demonstrate exceptional ability or potential in one or more domains

"The gifted and talented register was reviewed each term to ensure appropriate extension was in place."

"English as an additional language (EAL)"

A designation for students whose first language is not English, who need language support alongside subject learning

"The EAL coordinator provided vocabulary mats to support students with English as an additional language."

"pupil premium"

Additional government funding in England allocated to schools to support disadvantaged students

"The pupil premium was used to fund small-group reading interventions for students eligible for free school meals."

"safeguarding"

The policies and practices that protect students from abuse, neglect, and harm, and promote their welfare

"Every teacher received annual safeguarding training and knew the process for reporting a concern to the designated lead."