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GLOSSARY

local measures of impact on students: descriptions of student learning that is supported in the classroom environment and described by teachers in relationship to the instructional approach that they used and stands in contrast to measures of learning that are orchestrated at the state or national level

 

marginalize: to treat as insignificant and not central to the mission of schools; used particularly in reference to people of color and non-native English speakers who continue to experience oppression and inequity in school-based settings

mentor teacher: a practicing teacher who hosts a teacher candidate while student teaching or provides guidance to early career teachers as they begin their teaching career

 

NExT: a consortium of 14 institutions of higher education that provide teacher preparation in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota that have worked together under the Teacher Effectiveness Initiative funded by the Archibald Bush Foundation from 2010-2020

 

P-12 school partners: members of the preschool through grade 12 education community

professional learning community (PLC): a group of educators that meets regularly, shares expertise, and works collaboratively to improve teaching skills and the academic performance of students

 

school context factors: features of the school such as professional development opportunities and professional culture that make an impact on early career teachers’ instructional effectiveness

 

Student Work Sample Interview: a semi-structured interview procedure that helps teachers and teacher educators investigate the relationships between teaching practices and the evidence of student learning found in examples of actual student assessments

 

Supervisor Survey: one of the Common Metric surveys, administered at the end of the first year of teaching and asks the school-based supervisor (e.g., principal or mentor) about the teaching and professional practices of the first-year teacher

 

teacher candidates: enrolled students in a teacher preparation program or and recent program completers

 

teacher educators: teacher preparation program
instructors / faculty

teacher effectiveness: an umbrella term comprising both teaching quality and teaching impact

teacher preparation programs: programs that prepare future teachers, many of which are located in or partnered with institutions of higher education

teaching impact: measures of P-12 student outcomes broadly imagined and reflective of the multiple purposes of schooling, which may vary widely from school to school and from community to community

teaching quality: measures of teaching competence, good teaching practice, professional commitment, employment, or retention

Transition to Teaching Survey: one of the Common Metrics surveys, administered at the end of the first year of teaching and asks beginning teachers how well their teacher preparation programs prepared them for their first year of teaching

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