Appropriately Challenging Goals are a foundational precondition for meaningful learning that occurs through cultivating student engagement and the development of intrinsic motivation. Students thrive most when teachers clearly describe the ultimate goals of instruction and when the goals are achievable, yet challenging.

Belonging is the extent to which students feel respected, included, accepted and encouraged by others in the social environment of school.

Classroom Discussion is when students are invited to speak about the topic at hand with clear procedures for engaging in different roles during discussion. This strategy expands upon a teacher or student posing the class a question, then another, etc., to promote student engagement through students discussing set topics with each other, often prompted from an open and not closed set of questions.

When students link clear learning intentions to “implementation intentions”—or plans to overcome expected obstacles—they are more likely to achieve their goals.

Constructivist Teaching involves providing students with learner-centered, active instruction, where students explore ideas, propositions, explanations, solutions and take subsequent actions. The main idea of this approach is that students “construct” their own meaning through experiential learning. In a constructivist environment students are provided authentic, engaging experiences to build understanding rather than being told through a traditional lecture approach.

Cooperative Learning occurs when two or more learners collaborate to achieve a common goal. Typically, cooperative learning programs seek to foster positive interdependence through face-to-face interactions, to hold individual group members accountable for the collective project and to develop interpersonal skills among learners.

Curiosity is the urge to explain the unexpected, to resolve uncertainty, or the urge to know more (Meta X Learning). Cognitive scientist Elizabeth Bonawitz suggests it “acts as a kind of filter you put over the world to help the mind decide what information to attend to. It’s a physiological response that helps drive action and decision-making to support learning.”

Deliberate Practice refers to a special type of practice that is purposeful and systematic. While regular practice might include mindless repetitions, deliberate practice requires focused attention and is conducted with the specific goal of improving performance.

Differentiation refers to a wide variety of teaching techniques and lesson adaptations that educators use to instruct a diverse group of students. It can involve different activities to different groups of students, recognition of multiple pathways and flexibility of time to complete the tasks. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a proactive approach to designing learning experiences to be accessible for all students, while differentiation is a reactive evaluation of the needs of individual students where adjustments are retrofitted into the learning environment. Some people use the terms synonymously, but they are different.

Effort Management is the process of planning and allocating one’s time and energy using tactics—such as mood management, goal-oriented self-talk, persistence, self-reinforcement or attribution of success to effort—to achieve a desired goal. It involves a combination of time management, goal-setting and task prioritization, as well as the ability to focus on the most important tasks and avoid distractions.

Student engagement is the degree of attention, curiosity, interest, optimism and passion that students show when they are learning or being taught, which extends to the level of motivation they have to learn and progress in their education.

Enrichment Programs such as exploratory activities, in-depth materials on a topic, and self-selected independent projects provide gifted and talented students with opportunities to add to or go beyond the existing curriculum, since gifted and talented students generally gain a basic understanding of content standards quickly. Activities may also be extended to those who may not necessarily be officially classified as gifted, but excel in certain areas.

Explicit Instruction is an evidence-based approach to effective instruction that provides a series of engaging instructional supports or scaffolds. Explicit Instruction includes the design of effective lessons as well as highly responsive and interactive teaching. It teaches complex skills through the clear presentation of material, high levels of student engagement, frequent opportunities to respond with feedback, and systematic use of scaffolds. Initial practice is carried out with high levels of teacher involvement. As students gain proficiency, the educator reduces support, and provides sufficient practice so that students are able to independently apply their new skills in a wide variety of situations.

Feedback can be defined as “information allowing a learner to reduce the gap between what is evident currently and what could or should be the case” regarding aspects of one’s performance or understanding that reduces the discrepancy between what is understood and what is aimed to be understood. Leveraging technology can enhance the feedback process in numerous ways.

Flipped Classrooms are a structure in which traditional classroom activities (such as lecture) are reviewed at home or before the class, often via pre-recorded video or audio presentations, which prepares the students for more interactive, discovery, questioning, and engagement in active learning activities in the classroom itself. In a flipped classroom, the background knowledge is expected to be gained through what has historically been “homework” and the kinds of activities done historically outside of classroom hours, such as cooperative learning, application-and practice, are done at school with the support of the teacher and peers.

Formative Assessment is a planned, ongoing process used by all students and teachers during learning and teaching to elicit and use evidence of student learning to improve student understanding of intended disciplinary learning outcomes and support students to become self-directed learners.

Goal Commitment is a student’s determination to achieve a particular goal. Goal commitment is especially important when the goal is both specific and difficult to accomplish.

Inquiry-Based Teaching is the practice of allowing students to drive their learning through generating their own questions and seeking to develop answers through processes that involve gathering evidence, analyzing the data from that evidence and drawing conclusions based on their findings. Students demonstrate their understanding through the process of investigating the questions they have, as well as completing projects that allow them to experience learning through inquiry.

Interleaved Practice involves designing and implementing a schedule of practice that mixes different kinds of problems or material within a single learning experience. For example, teachers can include addition and subtraction problems on a math task to engage students in both types simultaneously. Interleaved practice is similar to how we prepare athletes like in basketball practice where players practice many skills such as shooting, dribbling, and passing all within the same session.

Based on the premise that all students can eventually (at their own speed) learn difficult material, this practice calls for all students to learn material at equivalently high (or mastery) levels. It often involves engaging in formative assessment processes and providing additional opportunities for students to learn content and skills.