edTPA Basic Terminology

l earning t arget: A lear ner ou tcome that is achieved over t i me by mee t i ng related lesson object i ves. (edTPA Special Education Assessment Handbook, 2014, p. 56)

l earning task: A n ac t i v i ty that en g a g es the focus learner in developing, p ract icing, gene rali z ing, and/or maintaining know ledge and sk ills rel a ted to one or more speci f ic lesson object i ves. Lea rni ng tasks may be sca f folded to connect p r ior know ledge to new know ledge and include guided pr act ice and feedback to a lea rner. In a cur r icular a rea to develop m o tor sk ills, a learni ng task m ight focus on developing t he f ine-mot or s k ills or eye-hand coordinat ion to cut up a piece of chi c ken w i th a kni fe and fork. In an academ ic cu rr icular area, a learni ng task m ight be answer ing co m p r ehension quest ions about a passa ge fr om a chapter boo k. A lea rning task in the social cur r icular a rea m i g ht be learni ng to reco gni ze and descr ibe one�s feeling s. (edTPA Special Education Assessment Handbook, 2014, p. 56)

edTPA Terminology Related to Communication

(edTPA Special Education Assessment Handbook, 2014, p. 55)

commun icat ion: R eceiving and convey ing i n format ion, meani n gs, concep ts, or feeling s. Communicat ion includes langua ge con tent, for m, and se quence; var ious communica t ion modes or for m s, including au g men ted com muni cat ion, verbal and nonverbal communica t ion, and dev ices and o ther technology; expressi ve or recep t i ve com municat ion; and ini t iat i ve or r esponsi ve communica t ion. C u rr iculum-rel a ted co m municat ion, also known as Academ ic Lan gua ge, is the means by which l earners develop and express con tent understandi n g s. R e gardless of t he a rea of focus, there are com municat ion demands that teachers need to consi der as they plan to suppo rt learni ng of conten t. These demands include vocabulary (words, sy mbol s, si gns, behav iors), co m municat ion funct ion/purpose, syntax, social use of co mmunica t ion, concepts and meani n g s, and si tua t ional expectat ions for both recep t i ve and expressi ve langua ge. (edTPA Special Education Assessment Handbook, 2014, p. 55)

�������� commun icat ion demands:19 S peci f ic ways that co mmunica t ion is used by learners to unde rstand what to do to par t icipate in learning tasks, and/or to de mons tr a te their learning or pe r f o rm app ropr iately in the con tex t. (edTPA Special Education Assessment Handbook, 2014, p. 56)

���� commun icat ion sk i ll (function): The pu rpose and focus of a com munica t ion.

C ommon langua ge funct ions include as k i n g, responding, co mmen t ing, signaling, select ing, ini t iat i n g, expressing, desc r ibing, co m par ing, se quencing, anal yz ing, and interpr e t ing. The co mm unicat ion func t ion is o ften represen ted by ac t i ve v e rbs w i thin lesson objec t i ves and is r e f e rred to in this assess ment as the com municat ion s k ill. (edTPA Special Education Assessment Handbook, 2014, p. 56)

�������� commun icat ion suppor ts: S tr a t e g i es that are used to build learners� cur r iculum- related co m municat ion w i thin a learni ng task. S tr a t e g ies invol ve modeling the appropr iate co mmunica t ion f or learne rs to use in a learning t a sk as well as opportuni t ies f or guided pract ice, gene rali zat ion, and maintenance. Lan g uage supports also include assist i ve technology and other mediators. (edTPA Special Education Assessment Handbook, 2014, p. 56)

�������� concepts and mean ings: U nder s tandi ng ideas, feeling s, de f ini t ions, and desi gnat ions conveyed throu gh var ious co m municat ion modes, associ a t ed w i th vocabulary demands. (edTPA Special Education Assessment Handbook, 2014, p. 56)

���� situa tional expec tat ions: R ules and convent ions associated w i th speci f ic si tua t ions.

C ommunicat ion chan ges to m a tch the needs of t he si tuat ion, including changes in word/si gn/sy mbol/behav ior choice; and tone, int ensi t y, volume, t i m i n g, and content of

communica t ion. In an academ ic con tex t, this is o ften r e f e rred to as �discou rse.� (edTPA Special Education Assessment Handbook, 2014, p. 56)

���� social use of commun ication: U si ng co m municat ion f or di ffer ent purposes (e.g., g reet i n g, expressi ve anger) and chan g i ng com m unicat ion to m a tch the needs of the listener/r ecei ver. Includes verbal and nonverbal communica t ion used to es tablish and/or maintain interpe r sonal relat ionships, par t icipate in ac t i v i t ies, co mm unicate intent, and so on. (edTPA Special Education Assessment Handbook, 2014, p. 56)

���� s y ntax: T he set of convent ions f or o r gani z ing sy mbols, words, and phrases t o g e ther into st ruc tures (e.g., words co mposed of l e tt e rs or sy mbols in braille, sen tences, g raphs, tables).20(edTPA Special Education Assessment Handbook, 2014, p. 56)

�v ocabular y: S poken, w r i tten, or de mons tr a ted vocabulary (e.g., bigg e r, mul t ipl y, wet, cold, co mpa re, nex t, >, $, ASL si gns f or �since� in di fferent contex t s, p icture cards for a com municat ion boar d, nonverbal social cues or nonverbal si g nals such as raisi ng your hand to indicate you want to speak). (edTPA Special Education Assessment Handbook, 2014, p. 56)

edTPA Special Education Assessment Handbook (2014, September). The Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning and Equity (SCALE). Stanford, CA: The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University.