To be considered a competent educator, there are almost 2000 strategies, concepts, and terms that you must know. However, since teachers wear so many hats, who has the time to learn them all? Don’t worry; we have you covered. In this series, we will discuss all the teaching and learning strategies, concepts, and terms that you need to know to be considered an effective educator. There are over 70 articles in this series, so pace yourself. We recommend reading one piece per weekday, which will allow you to complete the series in three to four months. We hope you enjoy it.

Click here to read all the articles in this series.

Speech Act An expression that contains both meaning and function. It is considered the most basic unit of pragmatics.

Speech Impairment When a person has issues speaking in their language.

Speech Sound Disorders Speech sound disorders, often abbreviated as SSD, are a form of communication impairment that is characterized by five specific types of impairment that include phonological, articulation, childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), inconsistent speech disorder, and childhood dysarthria. Included in SSD is a difficulty perceiving, articulating, and phonologically demonstrating that which affects speech intelligibility and acceptability that is inconsistent with age.

Speech The audible sounds made that represent spoken language.

Speech Therapy A type of therapy that assists kids in speaking more clearly, conveying their thoughts and feelings, and deciphering what other people are saying.

Speech-Language Pathologist An expert that can help kids with language disorders learn to speak more clearly, convey their thoughts and feelings, and understand what other people are saying.

Speech-to-Text options This technology is making mainstream waves through its use in popular cell phones like the Android-platform Razr M. While it is a convenience tool for people without disabilities, speech-to-text provides a learning advantage for students who have mobility or dexterity problems or those who are blind. It allows students to speak their thoughts without typing and even navigate the Internet. speech-to-text options can also “talk back” to students and let them know about potential errors in their work.

Split-half Reliability Test An assessment of the reliability of a test. Scores on equivalent portions of a test are compared to each other to test their correlation.

SQ4R An abbreviation for survey, question, read, record, recite, and reflect. This is a textbook reading study strategy that incorporates these six skills to learn more about the text.

Standard Deviation Refers to how widely measured values differ from the mean value. High standard deviations imply that scores varied widely from the mean value, irrespective of what the mean value was. It is given as a numerical value.

Standard Dialect The system of language regarded as formal and used in commercial and public institutions. This form of language is often perceived to be generally used by groups with advanced educational backgrounds or groups within higher income brackets.

Standard Score A derived score statistically created to convert a child’s raw score to a measure that can be used to assess the child’s mastery of a specific topic or skill.

Standardized Instrument An assessment which measures consistent individual differences about a psychological concept and rank-orders students according to this concept.

Standardized Tests Are assessments with consistent and predetermined elements, administration, and scoring.

Standards-Based Education Is an approach adopted on a nationwide level to create uniformity around what students are expected to gain from their school career This is intended to ensure that all students participating in the educational system are offered the same education, regardless of their choice of school.

Standards-based Grading Grading in which student performance on national or state standards is compared to others’ and reported. This approach differs from the traditional approach in which letter grades or percentages based on averages are given.

Stanines A set of standard scores on a group test with nine bands of results. Results falling into bands 4, 5, and 6 represent average performance.

STEAM Acronym for the areas of science, technology, art, engineering, and math.

STEM Acronym for the areas of science, technology, engineering, and math.

Stereotype Threat This occurs when student performance is negatively impacted when students are reminded of stereotypes about various groups. This means that teachers need to be extra vigilant to ensure that digital media does not include harmful stereotypes, such as the idea that women are not good at math. Educators need to carefully vet images, videos, and written materials to ensure that they undermine–and do not promote–stereotypes.

Sticky Floor When women remain stuck in lower tracks within their career. Similar to a glass ceiling, the “sticky floor” keeps women in lower standing within the career field even when they might be offered exceptions from their administration. One prime example of the sticky floor is when university women refuse to accept extensions on their time to receive tenure.

Stimuli Conditions in the environment that cause the senses to react or function.

Stimulus Control A part of the Behavioral Theory that describes the process of providing a particular antecedent behavior that can prompt other behaviors to follow. For example, you may show flashcards to teach a child new vocabulary.

Stop-and-Go Brainstorming A problem-solving technique in which a group alternately engages in brainstorming solutions without evaluation for ten minutes then engages in a short period of evaluation. The group continues alternating between brainstorming and evaluation.

Story Elements Foundational features that make a story be a story such as characters, setting, problem, and solution. These pieces work together to form the plot.

Story Frames A list of keywords meant to guide the organization of written stories through enumeration, generalization, comparison or contrast, sequencing, or question and answer. Through the structure provided, students can express their knowledge of the narrative structure.

Story Grammar The systematic structures that highlight the key elements of a story, including the setting, initiating event, a reaction, a goal, an attempt, an outcome, and a solution.

Story Impressions An activity for the prewriting stage in which a list of words that are to be included in a story are presented as well as the order in which they should be used.