| A | B |
|---|
| Accommodation | 1. When a student has to modify his or her existing understanding of previously learned information. 2. a change in how the student learns the material. |
| Assimilation | When a student connects the new experience to an existing schema. (Ie when a student uses his understanding of multiplication, realizes that division is similar, and uses multiplication knowledge to solve division problems) |
| Classical conditioning | behavior modification in which the person comes to respond in the desired manner to what was once a neutral stimulus (aka a teacher creating a positive and supportive environment and the student's anxiety and fears may lessen) |
| Conservation | Knowing that a number or amount stays the same even when rearranged or presented in a different shape. |
| Constructivism | a philosophy of learning based on the premise that people construct their own understanding of the world they live in through reflection on experiences |
| Convergent thinking | a process of gathering several pieces of info together to solve a problem |
| Declarative Knowledge | knowledge of what is |
| Procedural Knowledge | knowledge of how to |
| Conditional Knowledge | knowledge of when again |
| Discovery Learning | teaching methods that enable students to discover information by themselves or in groups |
| Disequilibrium | one's inability to explain new events based on existing schemes, which is usually accompanied by discomfort |
| Disposition | A person's natural tendency to approach learning or problem solving in certain ways |
| Distributed Cognition | a process in which two or more learners share their thinking as they work together to solve a problem |
| Divergent thinking | the process of mentally taking a single idea and expanding it in several directions |
| Equilibration | movement from equilibrium to disequilibrium and then back to equilibrium again. |
| Equilibrium | one's ability to explain new events based on existing schemes. |
| Long-term memory | the part of the memory that holds skills and knowledge for a long time |
| Metacognition | a person's ability to think about his or her own thinking (between thinking) - requires self-awareness and self-regulation of thinking |
| Operant conditioning | a form of psychological lerning in which the learner modifies his or her own behavior based on the association of the behavior with a stimulus (work best when teacher sets up system of punishments and reinforcements) |
| Classical conditioning | deals with the conditioning of reflexive behaviors, which are evoked by antecedent conditions (those that came before the event). |
| Problem solving | to use existing knowledge or skills to solve problems or complex issues |
| Readiness to learn | a context within which a student's more basic needs (such as sleep, safety, and love) are met and the student is cognitively ready for developmentally appropriate problem solving and learning |
| Response | a specific behavior that a person demonstrates |
| Scaffolding | Instructional supports provided to a student by an adult or a more capable peer in a learning situation. |
| Schema | a concept in the mind about events, scenarios, actions, or objects that has been acquired from past experience. The mind loves organization and must find previous events with which to associate new info. |
| Self-efficacy | a belief that one is capable |
| Self-regulation | the process of taking control of one's own learning or behavior |
| Stimulus | a specific object or event that influences a person's learning or behavior |
| Transfer | the ability to apply a lesson learned in one situation to a new situation |
| Working memory | the part of memory that holds and actively processes a limited amount of information for a short amount of time |
| Zone of proximal development | key concept in Vygotsky's theory of learning - suggests that students learn best in a social context in which a more able adult or peer teaching the student something he or she could not learn on his or her own |
| Acculturation | process of learning and adopting the customs and values of another culture |
| Attention deficit disorder (ADD) | students with difficulty focusing, following directions, organizing, making transitions, completing tasks, and so on. |
| Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) | difficulty focusing, organizing, and so on but may also have difficulty with impulsivity, sitting still, and taking turns |
| Auditory (aural) learner | process info through listening, discussion, repeating info, and reading aloud |
| Autism spectrum disorders | may include autism, Asperger's, and other pervasive developmental delays |
| Behavior disorder (BD) | also known as conduct disorder - a type of disruptive behavior disorder in children and adolescents - students may violate rules, show aggression toward people or animals, destroy property, or practice deceitfulness |
| Cognitive style | a person's way of perceiving and remembering info - the way a person thinks or solves problems |
| Concrete operational thinker | children approximately ages 7-11 think in logical terms, not in abstract terms - require hands-on experiences to learn concepts and manipulate symbols logically |
| Developmental delays | identified by a medical professional in a person before the age of 22. The student may have one or more of the following difficulties: self-care, expressive or receptive language, learning, mobility, self-direction, capacity for independent living, or economic self-sufficiency |
| ELL | English language learner |
| ESL | English as a second language |
| PLNE | Primary language not English |
| Formal operational thinkers | Children approximately ages 11-15 develop hypothetical and abstract thinking - work abstract problems |
| Functional intellectual disability | Functional ID is a diagnosis determined by a medical professional for a child who exhibits difficulties with the following: age specific activities, communication, daily living activities, and getting along with others |
| giftedness | significantly higher than usual ability or aptitude in one or more areas |
| Kinesthetic learner | process info through moving and doing it - they learn through acting out scenes, putting on plays, moving to the beat, pacing out measurements on the sidewalk and so on |
| Learning Disabilities (LD) | students who are not learning to their potential in one or more areas |
| Physical or sensory difficulties | physical or medical conditions that significantly affect school performance: such as health, visual, or hearing impairments |
| Tactile learner | learns through touching - active involvement with the physical world |
| Visual learner | learn through seeing - visual displays, films, illustrated books, handouts, graphic organizers, bulletin boards, and so on |
| attribution | when one constructs a casual explanation for failure or success |
| Cognitive dissonance | a feeling of mental discomfort in which new info conflicts with beliefs or previously learned info |
| Extrinsic motivation | comes from external sources, or from outside a person. Stickers, behavioral charts, and incentives for learning are examples |
| Intrinsic motivation | comes from within or from inside a person. provides students time to reflect on goals and achievements or helping students see what they have learned and how it is important are examples |
| facilitating anxiety | a low level that can actually enhance student learning and performance on classroom assessments |
| debilitating anxiety | high level and detracts from a student's ability to concentrate on the task or even attempt the task out of fear and intense concern |
| learned helplessness | a tendency for a person to be a passive learner who is dependent on others for guidance and decision making |
| punishment | the goal of punishment is to weaken or extinguish an undesired behavior |
| reinforcement | the process or action of strengthening or reinforcing a behavior |
| self-determination | a paradigm that suggests that humans have a basic need for autonomy when it comes to the courses their lives take |
