CPD Scotland
Glossary
This glossary explains terms used in CPD - Continuing Professional Development. It is not intended to be exhaustive in educational terms, nor does it include an explanation of every word used in the case study extracts. Instead, it seeks to clarify meanings in order to remove potential barriers to understanding and help the reader to appreciate the messages intended more fully.
Keyword search
| CAME (Cognitive Acceleration in Mathematics in Education) | A teaching strategy that involves students working together in groups and developing ideas while working on curriculum tasks. These ideas are then shared in whole-class discussion. |
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| CAPEX (Capital expenditure) | Funds used by a company to acquire or upgrade physical assets such as property or equipment. |
| Catch question | A question carefully structured to discover whether or not true understanding has taken place. |
| CCEA (Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment) | A non-departmental public body established on 1 April 1994 which reports to the Department of Education in Northern Ireland. |
| CCT (Cross-Curricular Themes) | These are educational themes that cut across the standard curricular divisions: for example, enterprise, citizenship and creativity. |
| CERES (Centre for Education for Racial Equality in Scotland) | This national centre was set up in 1991 following consultation with minority ethnic representatives, racial equality practitioners, teachers and academics in Scotland. It is funded by the Scottish Government and concentrates on specific project work for the schools sector in Scotland. |
| CETIS (Centre for Educational Technology Interoperability Standards) | CETIS represents UK higher education and further education institutions on international learning technology standards initiatives. |
| Chartered Teacher | The Chartered Teacher Programme was established to provide opportunities for experienced teachers to extend and revitalise their knowledge, understanding and skills without having to leave the classroom. The award is a means of valuing and recognising teachers who wish to pursue a challenging career whilst continuing as a classroom teacher. |
| CHAS (Catholic Headteachers Association of Scotland) | Association of Catholic headteachers in Scotland. |
| Chatroom | An online venue where people who share a common interest can communicate in real time – typing out conversations on their keyboards. |
| Christianity | Christianity is the world's biggest religion. It is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ who lived in the Holy Land 2,000 years ago. There are subdivisions within Christianity, the two biggest denominations being Protestant and Catholic though there are others such as Eastern Orthodox, Quakers and Mormons. Followers of Christianity are called Christians. It is the predominant religion in Britain. |
| CIDREE (Consortium of Institutions for Development and Research in Education in Europe) | A self-managing network of educational bodies that play a recognised national role in the field of curriculum development and/or educational research. |
| CILT (The National Centre for Languages) | The Government's recognised centre of expertise on languages. The organisation's mission is to promote a greater capability in languages amongst all sectors of the UK population. |
| Close reading | In English language lessons, an exercise to promote pupils' abilities to analyse and evaluate a text, concentrating for instance, on the writer's craft and point of view. The term is also used for a type of reading test to discover pupils' level of understanding. This type of test activity, or practice for it, is sometimes called 'interpretation' or 'comprehension'. |
| cluster | A group of schools which have elected to work together. Typically this might be a high school and its associated primary schools. |
| CME (Children Missing from Education) | 'Children missing from education' refers to all children of compulsory school age who are not on a school role, nor being educated otherwise (e.g. privately or in alternative provision) and who have been out of any educational provision for a substantial period of time (usually agreed as four weeks or more). |
| coach | The listener; the other person being the talker, the one who is dealing with some special issue that needs the time, attention and service of another human being. |
| Coaching | Individual or small-group tutorials with a particular focus. These often follow a self-assessment exercise which has revealed a misunderstanding or an area of concern. |
| COLEG (Colleges Open Learning Exchange Group) | COLEG (Colleges Open Learning Exchange Group) provides top quality learning materials for use by Scotland's further education colleges. |
| collaborative enquiry | A technique used to explore an issue through sharing thoughts and ideas and agreeing a way forward. |
| collegiality | Working together with shared values and aims, developing the potential of others to assume leadership responsibility and aiming for organisational improvement. |
| Community Schools Partnership | Collaborative arrangements among local schools in an area. Typically in groups consisting of a secondary school and its associated primary schools, the aim is to ensure continuity and progression in curriculum and learning/teaching, and to support pupils effectively in transferring from primary to secondary school. |
| Comparability (of assessment) | The extent to which assessments are reliable, valid and dependable. |
| Competencies | Generic knowledge and skills required to carry out tasks to required standards, or to deal effectively with new challenges, lifelong learning needs, etc. Knowledge competence can be measured by questioning or testing, whereas skills-based competence is usually observed. |
| Concept cartoon | A technique often used when introducing a new topic or theme in primary science work, in which characters in a drawing offer varying views on an issue. The drawing is the stimulus for pupils' initial discussion or hypothesis before they carry out relevant investigations, for example whether warm or cold water will dissolve more or less salt, or which one will dissolve it faster or more slowly. |
| Consequential validity (of assessment) | This is about the educational and social implications of the way assessment results are interpreted and used. Even a well-constructed test is not valid for all purposes, and its results can be used inappropriately. |
| Construct validity (of assessment) | The extent to which any assessment matches the particular 'construct', or underlying skills and abilities, that it is intended to match. For example, there are different ways of interpreting reading test information depending on what is meant by 'reading' in that assessment. |
| Content validity (of assessment) | This is about coverage of a scheme of work. For example, does an end-of-topic science assessment cover a good sample of the knowledge, skills and concepts in the relevant scheme of work? |
| Context question | In language lessons, an activity where the class is asked to look closely at an extract from a longer piece of writing. The focus is on the writer's craft, how the extract links to the whole, and how ideas are developed through skilful use of language. |
| COSLA (Convention of Scottish Local Authorities) | COSLA, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, is the representative voice of Scottish local government and also acts as the employers' association on behalf of all Scottish councils. |
| CPD (Continuing Professional Development) | CPD is concerned with supporting learning throughout a person's career. |
| CPD coordinator | The school leader with responsibility for supporting the professional development of colleagues. |
| CPD manager | The officer in the local authority with responsibility for teacher CPD. |
| CPD plan | Individual teachers on an annual basis construct a plan of continuing professional development to address their development needs and share their strengths. |
| CPD portfolio | A document of reflection and evidence maintained by an individual teacher and relating to their professional development. |
| CPD profile | An account of an individual teacher's experience of activities and opportunities in continuing professional development. |
| CPD provider | Any person or organisation who is a source of CPD to colleagues. This can range from large-scale organisations such as universities to classroom teachers willing to share practice. |
| CPD record | An account of an individual's CPD plan for professional development. |
| CPD Scotland | The CPD team project designed to help educators with online CPD. Visit the CPD team website at: www.ltscotland.org.uk/cpdscotland |
| CPDConfer | An online tool to make thought-pieces available and promote discussion. |
| CPDFind | An online database of CPD opportunities from the CPD Team and Learning and Teaching Scotland. |
| CRAC (Careers Research and Advisory Centre) | An independent educational charity founded in 1964. Based in Cambridge and Birmingham, it aims to advance the education of the public, and young persons in particular, in lifelong career-related learning for all. |
| Crash | A sudden failure in either the software or hardware on your computer. You have to restart your computer and there is a danger that any unsaved work will be lost. |
| Criterion-referenced assessment | Assessment that measures pupils' knowledge and understanding against specific standards, as opposed to the performance of other pupils. With this form of summative assessment, it is possible for all pupils to earn the highest grade, if all meet the established criteria. It can be used formatively to inform next steps. |
| Critical friend | Someone who asks questions about practice or developments in supportive yet challenging ways. This could be characterised as a kind of partnership in investigation of practice that supports the reflective process through dialogue following, for example, observation of lessons or reading feedback comments to pupils. |
| Cross-cutting skills | Generic skills such as communication and problem solving, which are relevant in different curriculum areas. |
| Cross-referencing | Comparing a range of evidence before arriving at a judgement. As part of the local moderation process, teachers, in discussion, come to an agreement on learners' achievements by comparing each other's decisions and justifying a professional judgement. |
| CUBE strategy | An acronym for: Circle the words that tell you what to do; Underline the key words; Box any sources you have to refer to; Explain in your own words what you have to do. The strategy was devised to help pupils to understand the questions in Standard Grade Geography and so construct better answers. It appeared in a unit of work produced by Glasgow Corporation (now Glasgow City Council) Geography Group. |
| curriculum manager | School leader with responsibility for a particular curricular area. Also known as Principal Teacher or Faculty Leader. |