Why the vocabulary matters
Precise words are not pedantry here. Most stalled conversations about learning are two people using one word for two different things, and neither noticing.
The terms collected below are the ones that come up repeatedly for classroom teachers, instructional coaches and school leaders.
How to read a definition
Read the definition, then close the page and ask yourself: can I say this in my own words without looking? If you cannot, you have recognised it rather than understood it — which is the distinction most of these terms are ultimately about.
Then find the case the definition does not cover. Every definition has one, and finding it is the fastest way to understand what the term is actually doing.
How the terms connect
These are not independent entries. Guided discovery is what the Socratic method looks like in practice; elenchus is the specific move that tests an idea; active recall is why any of it sticks afterwards.
Read together, they describe one process rather than four techniques.
Using them in practice
The point of the vocabulary is to make the method discussable — so that a teacher can say which part is not working rather than simply that it is not working.
Try naming the move you are making next time you planning three questions of increasing depth before the lesson, and using the third only when the first two land.