Analogy - looking at similarity in some respect between things that are otherwise dissimilar, an effective instructional approach for students to make connections between topics and/or comparing known with new information

Blogs - Blogs, short for weblogs, are online journals or diaries that have become popular since the mid 1990's. Bloggers post personal opinions, random thoughts, connections and real life stories in order to interact with others via the Web! Weblinks and photos can also be added to the blog. A learner may choose to have their own blog to record their learning on a specific topic. A group of learners could choose to share a blog and read, write, challenge, debate, validate and build shared knowledge as a group. Check out Blogger.com to set up your own personal or professional blog - develop your digital voice and model for your students.

Community of Learners - The learning environment that promotes interaction and communication between students and teachers, creating an interdependent community.

Community Clusters - groups of students formed of different ages to learn from each other and work together. Students work on common learning goals. This strategy is useful for interest-based groups and problem-solving groups. Community service projects also work well using community cluster groups.

Connections - are like building bridges between the old and new. This building bridge can be brief or in-depth as long as it serves the needs of all learners. Pre-assessment determines prior knowledge whereas connections provides the link between old knowledge and new knowledge. This step is critical to applying constructivist theory in a classroom.

Constructivism - a theory of teaching and learning  in which individuals construct knowledge through active experience, building on prior knowledge.

Dialectical thinking - a debate between opposing points of view in a system of reasoned exchange between points of view. The merits of each case (thesis) are discussed and evaluated.

Dialectical evaluation - the process of defining relevant viewpoints within the information; testing the viewpoints for factual accuracy as well as testing for their morality; and forming a conclusion about the issues.

Epistemology - the branch of philosophy that deals with the nature, origin and scope of knowledge. (Wikipedia)

Exit Cards - An easy 5 minute activity to check student knowledge before, during and after a lesson or complete unit of study. Students respond to 3 questions posed by the teacher. Teachers can quickly read the responses and plan necessary instruction.

Exhibits - students use a variety of ways to show what they know, such as projects, metaphors or graphic organizers in order to come to closure on some idea, to develop it and to further their imagination to find understanding.

Fluid Groups - grouping of students that remain flexible allowing students to move in and out of a variety of groupings as needed according to readiness, interest and ability.

Foundational Objectives- the major, general statements that guide what each student is expected to achieve in a specific curriculum area. Foundational objectives indicate the most important knowledge, skills/abilities, attitudes/values for a student to learn in a subject.

Graphic Organizer - Graphic organizers, also known as mind maps, are instructional tools used to illustrate prior knowledge.

Heterogeneous Groups - a group of students with varying ability where each student may take a role in an area of strength that adds to the knowledge of the whole group.

Homogeneous Groups - 'cluster' grouping of a group of students with similar abilities or interest area can be effective for certain areas of study.

KWL charts - K-what do the students already know? W-what do the students need and want to know? L-what did the students learn? An effective pre-assessment tool but also an effective tool to evaluate the level of understanding.

Learning Objectives - specific learning objectives in a content area, usually beginning with 'the students will..."

Literature Circles -small, temporary discussion groups who have chosen to read the same story, poem, article or book. See Best Practice Literature Circles

Portfolios - A portfolio is a representative collection of an individual student's work. A student portfolio is generally composed of best work to date and a few "works in progress" that demonstrate the process. Students show their knowledge, skills and abilities in a variety of different ways that are not dependent upon traditional media such as exams and essays.

Pre-Assessment - Pre-assessment allows the teacher and student to discover what is already known in a specific topic or subject. It is critical to recognize prior knowledge so students can engage in questioning, formulating, thinking and theorizing in order to construct new knowledge appropriate to their level.

Radical constructivism - where each individual constructs their own reality

Reflection - Reflection is a process for looking back and integrating new knowledge. Reflections need to occur throughout the building blocks of constructivism and include teacher-led student-driven and teacher reflections.

Rubrics - Rubrics are scoring guides or sets of expectations used to assess student level of understanding and allow students to know the expectations and what they need to do in order to be learning at a higher level.

Social constructivism - where reality is constructed by social consensus.

Synectics - Using metaphors and analogy to increase the understandings of students about a particular topic or issue. They develop student's ability to think creatively because it can deliberately forces strange things together to form uncommon connections.

T-chart - A simple t is drawn and students jot down information relating to a topic in two different columns.

Think-Pair-Share - Think-pair-share allows students to share and reflect on their ideas or answers with a partner before sharing with the large group. A question is posed and the students are give a few minutes to think independently about their responses. Students then partner with a peer and discuss responses or ideas to the question or problem posed.

Venn Diagram - Graphic organizer that is made with 2 intersecting circles and is used to compare and contrast. Using this tool, students identify what is different about 2 topics and identify the overlap between the two topics in the shared shared area.