Glossary

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.

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Glossary of terms
Scottish Learning Festival	The Scottish Learning Festival is a free two-day annual conference and exhibition, organised by Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS) for the Scottish education community. It aims to inspire and transform professional practice in teaching and learning. The Scottish Learning Festival also encourages creative and effective use of ICT in education. It combines a thought-provoking conference programme of keynote presentations, seminars and workshops with the largest education exhibition to take place in Scotland
SCSSA	The Scottish Centre for Studies in School Administration which provides a broad range of courses on school leadership, management and administration.
SEED	Scottish Executive Education Department. Now known as Scottish Government Schools Division.
SEED (Scottish Executive Education Department)	The government department within the Scottish Executive which is responsible for pre-school and school education in Scotland, as well as other portfolios such as children, young people, social care, social work services, tourism, culture and sport.
Self-assessment	Pupils are involved in self-assessment when they look at their own work in a reflective way and identify aspects that are good and others which need to be improved. Black and Wiliam highlighted this as an important part of learning. One way of doing this is by traffic lighting, where pupils are asked to assign red, amber and green colours to their work to indicate their level of confidence. Like peer assessment, self-assessment benefits if teachers explain and demonstrate it and ensure pupils have a clear understanding of learning objectives and criteria of success.
self evaluation	The process by which individual teachers critically reflect on their knowledge and skills with the aim of identifying their professional development needs.
SEN (Special educational needs)	The term was previously used in relation to pupils whose learning was significantly behind their peers' for a range of reasons, such as a disability or learning difficulties, or who needed special support to enable them to benefit from education. The former concept of Special Educational Needs is now subsumed in a wider Additional Support Needs Framework under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004.
SETT	Another name for the Scottish Learning Festival.
Shareware	Shareware software is typically obtained free of charge, often by downloading from the internet, allowing users to try the program before buying. A shareware program can be downloaded on the understanding that the user will pay for it if they continue to use it.
Sharing criteria	When pupils are made aware of the standard of work expected at a particular level. It is important to ensure that criteria are expressed in language that is accessible to the learner. It is helpful also if pupils are able to discuss examples of work which does / does not meet the criteria.
SHEFC (Scottish Higher Education Funding Council)	A non-departmental public body responsible to the Scottish Executive which was established in June 1992. it provides financial support for teaching, research and associated activities in Scottish higher education institutions.
SLS (School Leaders Scotland)	An organisation to which most secondary headteachers in Scotland belong. It deals with national issues as they affect schools and headteachers and also discusses issues directly with the Scottish Government.
SLS (School Leaders Scotland)	An organisation to which most secondary headteachers in Scotland belong. It deals with national issues as they affect schools and headteachers and also discusses issues directly with the Scottish Government.
SQA	Scottish Qualifications Authority.
SQH	Scottish Qualification for Headship, a development programme through a university for aspiring headteachers.
SSA (Scottish Survey of Achievement)	The annual national survey of pupils' attainment in the Scottish 5-14 curriculum at P3, P5, P7 and S2. It plays an important part in the overall pattern of assessment in Scottish schools. Surveys take place in late April/May each year when pupils are close to completing their programmes of work for the year. The main findings of surveys are published by the Scottish Government in the year following the one in which the survey took place. Reports on specific aspects of pupils' performance may be produced subsequently, where there are findings which may be of particular interest to teachers and schools. Staff can use this summative information at any local level to evaluate their performance in relation to the national sample, and to plan their next steps.
SSDN (Scottish Schools Digital Network)	Now renamed as Glow - see separate entry.
SSTA (Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association)	Scotland's second largest teachers' union, set up to focus on secondary issues, initially as a reaction to the undue influence exercised on national education issues at that time by the primary sector. Nowadays this has developed into a commitment to ensure that the secondary view is properly represented.
Standard for Chartered Teacher	A framework of professional standards for Scottish teachers who have achieved chartered status. See Chartered Teacher .
Standard for Full Registration	A framework of professional standards for Scottish teachers. Full registration is required to teach in Scottish educational establishments beyond the probationary period.
Standard for Headship	A framework of professional standards for Scottish headteachers.
Standard for Initial Teacher Education	A framework of professional standards for initial teachers. Full registration is required to teach in Scottish educational establishments beyond the probationary period.
Starter quiz	A non-threatening way of establishing prior knowledge at the start of a lesson or series of lessons.
Stem	In multiple choice test items/tasks, this is the introductory question or the unfinished statement which pupils complete by selecting from the options provided.
Stereotype / Stereotyping	A pre-conceived and usually oversimplified conception of a characteristic(s), which typify a person/group of people / thing. Presuming that a group of people will share a specific characteristic.
STNE	Scottish Teachers for a New Era (STNE) is investigating and developing a new model for teacher education. This includes engaging with other university faculties to allow education students to gain a broader and deeper curriculum knowledge, developing teaching as a ‘clinical’ practice profession and providing research-based evidence for proposed changes.
Strategy	A strategy is the means by which objectives can be achieved. It is often broken down into discrete tasks or small steps.
Success criteria	Statements of standards from which success in an activity, for example a test/examination or a development plan, can be measured. They specify the acceptable evidence that the aim(s) of the enterprise has/have been achieved.
Support for learning	Specialist provision in schools and education authorities to help groups of pupils, typically those who have learning difficulties or exceptional abilities, to deal effectively with learning challenges. Support for learning staff may plan and teach collaboratively with class teachers, work with individual pupils or groups within the classroom or in tutorials, and offer advice and staff development to class teachers.
Supporting learning / support of learning	Teachers often need to recognise a range of factors which can affect pupils' learning. These have to be considered when planning how to provide the right kind of support that will help pupils make progress.
SVQ (Scottish Vocational Qualification)	SVQs are qualifications which relate to an individual's ability to do a job and which are based on actual working practices in workplace conditions. They are similar to National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) awarded in other parts of the UK.