- wait time
- Length of time a teacher waits for students' responses after asking a question. Research shows that increasing wait time from the typical 1.5 seconds after a question to at least 3 seconds increases the likelihood of student participation.
- WebQuest
- A classroom inquiry activity in which most information is drawn from the World Wide Web. Well-designed WebQuests focus learners' time on using information rather than looking for it and support learners' thinking at the higher levels of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
- whole language
- Instructional philosophy that emphasizes reading for meaning and reading in context. Whole language instruction focuses on a variety of strategies (for example, open-ended questions, discussions) to facilitate students' meaningful interpretations of texts, and does not advocate breaking language study into isolated skill components as practiced in phonics instruction.
- word wall
- An organized collection of words displayed on a classroom wall for easy student reference. Word walls help develop student vocabulary and support reading and writing.
- working memory
- A person’s ability to temporarily hold and manipulate information for cognitive tasks performed on a daily basis.
K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education
