Tag Archives: cognition/learning/understanding

Term of Art: Socratic Seminar

Posted on July 24, 2026 | Leave a comment

“Socratic seminar: A class discussion in which the teacher advances a lesson on a specific topic or text by interacting with students, continually asking challenging questions about an assigned reading and responding to the students’ answers by posing more questions. This method, proposed by Mortimer Adler in the Paideia, is intended to encourage students to think rather than just look for the ‘right’ answer. Socratic seminars are based on primary-source works of literature, philosophy, and history instead of textbooks. See also developmental lesson; Paideia Program.”

Excerpted from: Ravitch, Diane. EdSpeak: A Glossary of Education Terms, Phrases, Buzzwords, and Jargon. Alexandria, VA: ASCD, 2007.

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A Learning Support to Accompany Stephanie Ericsson’s Essay “The Ways We Lie”

Posted on July 21, 2026 | Leave a comment

One of the most consistently downloaded items since I published it in 2021 is this set of documents on Stephanie Ericsson’s essay “The Way We Lie.” Last year, I developed this learning support to abet deeper thinking (I hope) and further written work on this essay.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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Posted in English Language Arts, Independent Practice, Quotes, Reference, Social Sciences

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Term of Art: Reverbalization

Posted on July 21, 2026 | Leave a comment

“reverbalization: A strategy in which and individual restates a message out loud to enhance memorization and ensure understanding. Similar to paraphrasing, where individuals restate a message using their own words (usually in writing); in reverbalizing, the individual repeats information out loud to promote long-term memory.

For individuals with short-term memory or auditory processing difficulties, reverbalizing information can enhance learning through rehearsal.

Diagnostically, reverbalizing can be an effective way for instructors to monitor whether students have accurately received information.”

Excerpted from: Turkington, Carol, and Joseph R. Harris, PhD. The Encyclopedia of Learning Disabilities. New York: Facts on File, 2006.

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Concepts in Sociology: Ageism

Posted on July 10, 2026 | Leave a comment

“ageism: A term first employed by Dr. R.N. Butler, director of the American Institute for Aging in 1968. It refers to the negative stereotype of elderly individuals, which prejudicially describes them as senile, rigid in their attitudes and psychologically and socially dependent. Ageism has become important as a political issue with the greying of populations in Western societies. ‘New ageism’ refers to intergenerational conflicts where the elderly are condemned for being ‘takers’ and not ‘givers.’”

Excerpted from: Abercrombie, Nicholas, Stephen Hill, and Bryan S. Turner. Dictionary of Sociology. New York: Penguin, 2006.

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Term of Art: Reciprocal Reading/Teaching

Posted on July 8, 2026 | Leave a comment

“reciprocal reading/teaching: A situation in which teachers and students take turns in reading or discussing a written passage. Reciprocal reading is useful because teachers model good reading such as pausing at punctuation, using intonation, and tracking with a finger. Reciprocal teaching also can involve shared discussion where the teacher can model good comprehension and questioning strategies to promote critical thinking.

In reciprocal teaching and learning, teachers and students share in the process of a learning activity and teachers can also monitor and assess students while they try out new reading/thinking strategies.”

Excerpted from: Turkington, Carol, and Joseph R. Harris, PhD. The Encyclopedia of Learning Disabilities. New York: Facts on File, 2006.

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Term of Art: Socioeconomic Status

Posted on June 23, 2026 | Leave a comment

“socioeconomic status: A term used to describe the home backgrounds of individuals or groups, taking into account such elements as family income and education attainment.”

Excerpted from: Ravitch, Diane. EdSpeak: A Glossary of Education Terms, Phrases, Buzzwords, and Jargon. Alexandria, VA: ASCD, 2007.

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Term of Art: Receptive Language

Posted on June 12, 2026 | Leave a comment

“receptive language: The forms of language that are received as input from listening and reading. Listening and reading are receptive skills that involve feeding information into the brain, as opposed to speaking and writing, which are the expressive forms of language. Most individuals maintain a fairly similar set of receptive and expressive, oral and written language function, but those with learning problems may have specific deficits in one or more of these areas.

Individuals with dyslexia or specific reading disabilities have problems with receptive language, involving deficits with both oral language and processing sounds (phonological processing), and significant problems in decoding and understanding texts. Some individuals with these problems still have relatively strong oral expression, although most will have problems with written expression due to problems with reading written language.”

Excerpted from: Turkington, Carol, and Joseph R. Harris, PhD. The Encyclopedia of Learning Disabilities. New York: Facts on File, 2006.

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Concepts in Sociology: Achievement Motivation

Posted on June 4, 2026 | Leave a comment

“achievement motivation: The need to perform well, or achievement motivation, significantly determines a person’s effort and persistence in reaching some given standard of excellence, or in comparison with competitors, and the level of aspiration that is involved in that standard or competition. This motivation is seen by psychologist D.C. McClelland (1961;1971) as a major determinant of entrepreneurial activity and as a cause of rapid economic growth when widely dispersed in a society. Many managerial roles are also said to require individuals with a high need for achievement if they are to be performed well. McClelland believes that such needs are learned in childhood, when individuals are socialized into the culture of their societies, rather than being innate. Other needs that may be learned are the needs for power, affiliation and autonomy.”

Excerpted from: Abercrombie, Nicholas, Stephen Hill, and Bryan S. Turner. Dictionary of Sociology. New York: Penguin, 2006.

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Term of Art: Recall

Posted on April 17, 2026 | Leave a comment

“recall:  A term used to describe the ability to retrieve information from long-term memory. Recall is involved in a broad range of tasks, from remembering a phone number to recalling information for a school exam. While useful as a descriptive term, it does not refer to a specific area of cognitive function.

Difficulty recalling information may be cause by a number of different learning problems. This may include problems imprinting information during processing because of poor attention or short-term memory, as well as difficulty with rapid retrieval tasks that are typically found in expressive language disorders.”

Excerpted from: Turkington, Carol, and Joseph R. Harris, PhD. The Encyclopedia of Learning Disabilities. New York: Facts on File, 2006.

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Term of Art: Self-Advocacy

Posted on March 27, 2026 | Leave a comment

“self-advocacy: An individual’s ability to discuss a personal learning disability and request appropriate accommodations and services. Self-advocacy skills are important to develop in people with learning disabilities so they can take responsibility for their own learning and become empowered in school, work, and life. Individuals with disabilities should be familiar with their learning profile as well as relevant legislation.

Self-advocacy skills should be developed as soon as an individual is old enough to understand the learning process. Parents have a right to include their children who are being considered for special education classification in the multidisciplinary team meeting and in development of the individualized education program. Many high schools encourage students to become self-advocates by discussing their learning style and needs with teachers and by actively making transition plans from high school to the next environment.

Self-advocacy skills become even more important once an individual leaves school and begins a job or college, where there are no special educators or parents to advocate for them.”

Excerpted from: Turkington, Carol, and Joseph R. Harris, PhD. The Encyclopedia of Learning Disabilities. New York: Facts on File, 2006.

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