AVID Glossary

AVID:
Advancement Via Individual Determination is a staff development program for educators and a college preparatory program for students.

Collaborative Grouping:
grouping method used in which students are grouped by need. In AVID the purpose of collaborative learning is to bring students together to take responsibility for their own learning. We refer to our groups as collaborative rather than cooperative because the groups do not necessarily follow all the organizational rules of cooperative learning.

Coordinator/Teacher:
the AVID coordinator at Foothill is Mrs. Mika Anderson. She works to insure that the program is running smoothly and the students are meeting their four-year plans for graduation and the A-G requrirements for a university. Mrs. Anderson is also a tutor trainer for AVID's region 8.

Jason Dinkler is the AVID elective teacher.

Cornell Notes:
the Cornell note taking system is taught in the AVID classroom and promoted school wide. Students take detailed notes from class lectures, discussions, and texts in a wide right-hand margin. Clarifying questions or ideas are written in a narrow left-hand margin.

Inquiry:
skillful, higher-level, open-ended questioning methods. In collaborative learning groups, the method of instruction used by the teacher/tutor is inquiry. Students are taught to think for themselves instead of chasing the "right answer."

Learning Log:
a learning "journal" used in the AVID classroom. On a daily basis students record ideas, questions, and thoughts about what they have learned.

Methodology:
"AVID Methodology" is not about changing curriculum, but is about allowing almost all students to have access to a rigorous college preparatory curriculum. The teaching methodologies which are most effective in this quest are writing, inquiry, and collaboration.

Quick Write:
a brainstorming method in which students are asked to write nonstop for a short time.

Site Team:
a team at an AVID school is compromised of the AVID coordinator,teacher, an administrator, a counselor, AVID students, tutors, and instructional leaders representing other subject areas at the site - especially mathematics, English, science, history, and foreign language. Our current site team consists of Mr Bova, Mr Grey, Mr. Boyd, Ms. Anderson, Mr. Villa, Ms. Sabbadini, Mrs. Kindred, Mr. Kellogg, Mr. Villano, Mr. Josh Dinkler, Mr. Chris Prewitt and Mr. Jason Dinkler.

W.I.C.
stands for "writing, inquiry, and collaboration." These are the methodologies used in AVID classrooms and schools.