Words and phrases which Parker people use as shorthand; perhaps mystifying to a newcomer:
Advisory:a group of about 10-12 students that meets with an advisor (a Parker faculty member) daily for various amounts of time
Authentic Assessment:judging student work for its applicability to the solution of real-world problems
Chalk Talk:a group "discussion" carried out in silence, with participants writing their thoughts on whiteboard or a large piece of paper
Coach:the teacher when he or she is working with individuals or small groups as they complete their projects
Community Block:a period in which students and faculty work to benefit and/or provide service to the community (Parker and the wider world) and foster active and engaged citizenship among Parker community members
Community Congress (CC):a legislative committee of students, each representing his/her advisory, or a percentage of the whole student body. There are also teacher representatives.
Connections:structured time for sharing one's own news in a faculty meeting or an advisory in order to help participants focus and be ready to engage with the business of the class, meeting, or lesson
Cooperative Learning:working on projects with others
Critical Friends Group (CFGs):a group of faculty who are focused on improving their teaching practice to improve student achievement and advance whole school change
Democratic Decision Making:governance by a wide group, supplemented by an even wider group of advisors
Divisions:three sections of the school, each with certain requirements that each student must achieve in order to progress and ultimately graduate; divisions roughly equate to traditional grade levels, but students advance to the next level based on their ability to meet a given set of standards rather than their age
Documentation:record of something that has been done
Domain:Parker's four areas of knowledge: Arts and Humanities; Math, Science, and Technology; Spanish; and Wellness
Dyad:a pair of teachers who handle one class or break it up as needed
Essential Question:a broad question around which a large part of a year's work is organized; a question that helps to focus work across the domains; In 2004-05, the school's Essential Question is, "What is universal, what is unique?"
Essential Schools:members of the Coalition of Essential Schools, a national school reform organization built around a short list of shared beliefs (The Ten Common Principles)
Exhibition:a public presentation of student work, usually with an accompanying piece of written work; explanation and defense by a student of his or her work
Experiential Education:projects and trips designed to help students learn from them
Feedback:a response to an idea or a piece of work; comes in "warm," "cool" and other varieties
Gateway:
(n.): a series of exercises that a student traverses to progress to a new division
(v.): to advance to the next division
Habits of Learning:qualities and characteristics identified as important to effective learning; the eight habits of learning at Parker are Inquiry, Expression, Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Organization, Attentiveness, Involvement and Reflection
Individual Educational Plan (IEP):required by the state for students with diagnosed special educational needs, developed with Student Services staff
Inquiry:organizing curriculum around questions and investigation
Internships:periods of work that are designed around learning through experience
Just Beginning/ Approaches/ Meets/ Exceeds:how a student's work is judged against the standards of her Division, indicating where she is in her progress towards a Gateway
Justice Committee (JC):Similar to the CC in representation but different in purpose; they make decisions on student disciplinary issues and serve as the judicial branch of Parker governance
"Less is More":the idea that one learns deeply by spending significant time on a relatively narrow subject, then applying its insights; shorthand for the second of the Ten Common Principles
Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS):a series of standardized, mandated tests administered to all public school students at various grade levels
Personal Learning Plan (PLP):a student's individual academic and social goals for a certain period of time, worked out with his or her parents and advisor as a guide to his or her work
Personalization:the assumption that each student will thrive best if taught in the way that are most effective for her or him
Planning Backwards:deciding what an admirable graduate of Parker would "look like," then building into the six-year education the factors which will help each student to get there
Portfolio:a collection of one's written, oral (audio and videotapes) and artistic work, available for assessment
Process Folio:a work in process that forms a basis for a faculty round table discussion
Protocol:a step-by-step tool for examining problems or dilemmas arising from teachers' and students' work
Reflection:looking back on an experience to decide what it means, usually done in journals and in cover letters
Rights and Responsibilities:guideposts for the student's moral growth, as assessed by himself and others
Round Tables:small discussions, especially used by individual students and teachers presenting their work to their peers
Rubrics:guides for students in determining how they have attained the expectations for work within a skill area
Service Learning:work for others or for the environment that emphasizes the social and academic benefits for the worker as well as for those being helped
Socratic Seminar:discussions based on commonly known texts that emphasize wide participation
Standards:agreed-upon goals in various skill areas that are appropriate for all students; also refers to goals set for an individual student for a particular reason
Standardization:the idea that each student is the same and will progress at the same rate
Task Forces:small groups of faculty and students gathered for purposeful and specific work
Tune:the habit of asking clarifying questions and giving warm and cool feedback when assessing another person's ideas or work
Workshops:classes with intense instruction and practice of specific skills
Whip:the practice of asking each member of a class or meeting to give a short response to a question
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