A-B
C-D
E-F
G-H
I-K
L-O
P-R
S-T
U-Z
Ability – A person’s natural talent, skill, or potential in a specific area, such as intellectual, artistic, or physical domains.
Ability Assessment – An evaluation designed to measure a student’s strengths, skills, or potential in specific areas.
Ability Grouping – Organizing students together based on similar skill levels or talents for instructional purposes.
Ability Test – A test that measures a person’s potential or proficiency in specific areas, often used to guide educational planning.
Acceleration – Providing students access to curriculum or learning experiences at a faster pace or earlier age than usual.
Achievement – The level of knowledge, skill, or competence a student has demonstrated in a subject area.
Achievement Tests – Standardized or classroom assessments measuring learned knowledge or skills in specific subjects.
Advanced Learners (AL) – Students who perform significantly above grade level or demonstrate high potential in one or more areas.
Advanced Placement (AP) – College-level courses and exams offered in high school that can potentially earn students college credit.
Advocacy – The act of supporting or promoting a student’s educational, social, or emotional needs.
Affective Curriculum – Learning experiences designed to develop emotions, attitudes, values, and social skills.
Asynchronous Development – When a student’s intellectual, social, emotional, or physical growth occurs at different rates.
Asynchrony – A characteristic of gifted students where their development in various domains is uneven.
At-Risk – Students who may experience challenges in learning, behavior, or social-emotional development due to environmental, academic, or personal factors.
Authentic Assessment – Evaluation methods that measure a student’s abilities through real-world tasks, projects, or performance.
Autonomous Learner – A student who takes responsibility for their learning, sets goals, and independently pursues knowledge
Bloom’s Taxonomy – A framework for categorizing thinking skills from basic recall to higher-order skills like analysis, evaluation, and creation.
Cluster Grouping – Placing a small group of high-ability students together in a mixed-ability classroom for differentiated instruction.
Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) – A standardized test that measures reasoning and problem-solving skills across verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal domains.
Common Core State Standards (CCSS) – Educational standards defining what students should know and be able to do in English language arts and mathematics at each grade level.
Convergent Thinking – A thinking process focused on finding a single, correct solution to a problem.
Cooperative Learning – An instructional strategy in which students work together to achieve shared learning goals.
Creative Thinking – The ability to generate many original, flexible, or novel ideas and solutions.
Creativity – The capacity to produce original ideas or approaches and apply them effectively.
Criterion-Referenced Testing – Assessments that measure a student’s performance against a predetermined set of standards or objectives.
Critical Thinking – The ability to analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information to form reasoned judgments.
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students (CLD) – Students from backgrounds that differ in language, culture, or ethnicity from the dominant school population.
Curriculum Compacting – A strategy that streamlines regular curriculum for advanced learners, allowing time for enrichment or acceleration.
Differentiation – Adapting instruction to meet the diverse needs, abilities, and interests of students through content, process, or product.
Divergent Thinking – A thinking process that explores multiple possible solutions or ideas.
Dual Enrollment – Programs allowing high school students to earn both high school and college credits simultaneously.
Early Entrance – Allowing students to start school or a grade level before the typical age.
Enrichment – Learning experiences that go beyond the standard curriculum to deepen or broaden understanding.
Equitable Multi-Level System of Support (EMLSS) – A multi-tiered approach to providing academic and behavioral support based on student needs.
Exceptional Learners – Students whose abilities, learning needs, or disabilities require specialized instruction or support.
Executive Function – Cognitive processes including planning, organizing, self-control, and working memory that support goal-directed behavior.
Flexible Grouping – Organizing students in different groups for specific purposes or subjects, based on needs, interests, or abilities.
Gifted and Talented (GT) – Students demonstrating high performance or potential in intellectual, specific academic, creative, visual and performing arts, or leadership domains.
Grouping – Arranging students for instructional purposes based on ability, interest, or other factors.
GT Coordinator – An educator responsible for managing gifted programs, services, and identification processes in a school or district.
Heterogeneous Grouping – Combining students of mixed abilities, backgrounds, or interests for instruction.
High Ability Learners (HAL) – Students who perform above grade level academically or demonstrate exceptional talent in one or more areas.
Higher Order Thinking Skills – Skills that involve analysis, evaluation, synthesis, and creative problem-solving beyond basic recall.
Homogeneous Grouping – Placing students with similar abilities or talents together for instruction.
Identification – The process of recognizing students who are gifted or talented through assessments, observations, and other criteria.
Inclusion/Inclusive Classroom – Educational settings where students of varying abilities and needs learn together with appropriate support.
Independent Study – A learning experience where students pursue topics or projects on their own under teacher guidance.
Individual Education Plan (IEP) – A formal plan outlining specific learning goals and services for students with disabilities.
Individualized Instruction – Tailoring teaching methods and materials to meet a student’s unique needs.
Inquiry-Based Learning – Instruction that encourages students to ask questions, investigate, and construct knowledge actively.
Instructional Coach – A professional who supports teachers through mentoring, modeling, and professional development to improve instruction.
Integrated Curriculum – Teaching that connects multiple subject areas around common themes or projects.
Intelligence – The capacity to learn, reason, solve problems, and adapt to new situations.
Intelligence Quotient (IQ) – A standardized score that reflects a person’s cognitive abilities relative to age-based norms.
International Baccalaureate (IB) Program – A rigorous global educational program offering challenging curricula and assessments for students from age 3 through high school.
Intensities (Dabrowski’s Overexcitabilities) – Heightened emotional, intellectual, sensory, imaginational, or physical responses that many gifted individuals experience, reflecting deeper feelings, stronger reactions, and a more vivid inner world than typically expected.
Javits Program – A federal initiative providing funding for research and services to support gifted and talented students, especially from underserved populations.
Learning Styles/Learning Preferences – Individual tendencies in how a person prefers to receive and process information.
Magnet School – A public school offering specialized programs to attract students with specific talents or interests.
Metacognition – Awareness and understanding of one’s own thinking and learning processes.
Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) – A framework for providing academic, behavioral, and social-emotional interventions at increasing levels of intensity.
National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) – A professional organization advocating for the needs of gifted children and the educators who serve them.
Neurodiversity – Recognition that neurological differences, such as ADHD, autism, or dyslexia, are natural variations in human cognition.
Neuroplasticity – The brain’s ability to reorganize and form new neural connections throughout life.
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) – Science education standards emphasizing inquiry, critical thinking, and engineering practices.
Norm-Referenced Testing – Assessments that compare a student’s performance to that of a larger peer group.
Optimal Brain Development Requires Appropriate Challenge (OBDRAC) – The concept that cognitive growth occurs when learners engage in tasks that are sufficiently challenging and novel.
Overexcitability – Intense emotional, intellectual, or sensory responses often observed in gifted individuals.
Pacing – Adjusting the speed and depth of instruction to meet students’ learning needs.
Perfectionism – A tendency to set excessively high standards and critically evaluate one’s own performance.
Pretest – An assessment administered before instruction to determine prior knowledge and skill level.
Problem-Based Learning (PBL) – Instructional approach where students solve real-world problems to develop knowledge and skills.
Project-Based Learning (PBL) – Teaching method where students gain knowledge through completing meaningful projects over time.
Pull-Out Programs – Gifted education programs where students leave their regular classroom for specialized instruction.
Response to Intervention (RTI) – A multi-tiered approach to providing academic and behavioral support based on student needs.
Self-Contained Classroom – A classroom where all students share similar learning needs, often used for gifted or special education programs.
Social-Emotional Needs – The emotional, interpersonal, and psychological requirements essential for a student’s well-being and growth.
Standardized Test – An assessment administered and scored in a consistent manner for all students to evaluate knowledge or skills.
State Mandates – Laws or regulations set by state governments that guide educational practices, standards, and services.
STEAM/STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) – Educational approaches that integrate science, technology, engineering, arts, and math to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Subject Acceleration – Allowing students to study specific subjects at a more advanced level or grade than their age peers
Talent Development – Programs and strategies designed to nurture students’ natural abilities to their full potential.
Three-Exceptional (3e) – Students who are gifted, have a disability, and may also have other learning or behavioral challenges.
Tiered Assignments – Tasks designed at varying levels of difficulty to match students’ readiness and learning needs.
Tracking – Grouping students by ability or achievement for instruction in specific subjects or grade levels.
Twice-Exceptional (2e) – Students who are gifted and also have a disability or learning difference.
Underachievement – When a student performs below their potential in academic, creative, or other domains.
Underrepresented Populations (URP) – Groups of students historically marginalized in education, such as minorities, low-income, or linguistically diverse learners.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) – Instructional framework that provides multiple pathways for students to access, engage, and express learning.
Universal Screening – Systematic assessment of all students to identify strengths, needs, or potential for advanced learning.
Visual or Performing Arts Ability – Exceptional talent or potential in areas such as music, dance, theater, or visual arts.
