Tag Archives: cognition/learning/understanding

Isaac Asimov on Problems, Knowledge, and Ignorance

Posted on July 7, 2022 | Leave a comment

“If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them.”

Isaac Asimov (1920-1922)

Excerpted from: Howe, Randy, ed. The Quotable Teacher. Guilford, CT: The Lyons Press, 2003.

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Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi

Posted on July 7, 2022 | Leave a comment

“Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi: (1746-1827) Swiss educational reformer. Between 1805 and 1825 he directed the Yverdon Institute (near Neuchatel), which drew pupils and educators (including Friedrich Froebel) from all over Europe. His teaching method emphasized group rather than individual recitation and focused on such participatory activities as drawing, writing, singing, physical exercise, model making, collecting, mapmaking, and field trips. Among his ideas, considered radically innovative at the time, were making allowances for individual differences, grouping students by ability rather than age, and encouraging formal teacher training.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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Term of Art: Symbol

Posted on July 6, 2022 | Leave a comment

“symbol: Something that represents or stands for an idea, object, or sound. In English, the alphabet is the symbol system for language. Individuals who have difficulty processing or naming symbols will have difficulty reading, since reading is the process of interpreting symbols.”

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

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Kahlil Gibran on Accumulating and Applying Knowledge

Posted on July 6, 2022 | Leave a comment

“Life is indeed darkness save when there is urge/And all urge is blind save when there is knowledge/And all knowledge is vain save when there is work/And all work is empty save when here is love.”

Kahlil Gibran The Prophet (1923)

Excerpted from: Howe, Randy, ed. The Quotable Teacher. Guilford, CT: The Lyons Press, 2003.

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Term of Art: Tech Prep

Posted on July 6, 2022 | Leave a comment

“tech prep: A four-year program (the last two years of high school plus two years of community college) that leads to an associate degree or a two-year certificate in a specific career field. The carefully integrated and sequenced curriculum includes a common core of mathematics, science, communications, and technologies. Tech prep provides training for the average student who does not want to attend a four-year college but wants to prepare for a career.”

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: Syllabication

Posted on July 5, 2022 | Leave a comment

“syllabication: The process of dividing words into syllables. Syllabication is a popular word attack strategy taught to individuals with reading problems. Many phonics and structured reading programs teach syllabication.

In English, there are six types of syllables and five principles of syllabication that describe how and where to break a word apart. The six types of syllables include

  1. closed: short vowel followed by a consonant (con, pan, dis)
  2. open: ends in a single long vowel (de, o, fi)
  3. silent ‘e’: long vowel/consonant/silent ‘e’ (hive, ete, ode)
  4. R-controlled: vowel followed by an ‘r’ (ur, fir, cer)
  5. double vowel: any two vowels that make one sound (poor, ear, ay)
  6. consonant ‘le’: found at the end of a word with a consonant (kle, dle, ple)”

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: Single Sex Education

Posted on July 5, 2022 | Leave a comment

“single-sex education: Classes or schools that enroll only girls or only boys. Advocates of single-sex schooling claim that it helps adolescent students concentrate on their studies, free of distracting socialization with or potential intimidation by the opposite sex. Critics claim that single-sex education is comparable to racially segregated schooling.”

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

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Cultural Literacy: Anal Personality

Posted on July 5, 2022 | Leave a comment

Do you hear kids bandying about the word “anal” to describe their more fastidious or compulsive classmates? I think I have heard it at least once a year since I became a teacher. It’s mostly used properly, but when it isn’t, this Cultural Literacy worksheet on the anal personality might help to clarify things. This is a half-page worksheet with a reading of two compound sentences and three comprehension questions.

There’s no mention of Sigmund Freud here, which is an interesting omission considering that the anal stage is the second part of his theory of psychosexual development. This worksheet, again, just explains the basics of the anal personality’s characteristics as (from the text) “…excessive orderliness, extreme meticulousness, and often suspicion and reserve.”

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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Term of Art: Survival Skills

Posted on July 4, 2022 | Leave a comment

“survival skills: The term can mean more than one thing depending on the context in which it is used. Survival skills may refer to daily self-help skills necessary to survive in life, such as feeding, dressing, and communicating. In higher education, survival skills often refer to the study skills necessary to be a successful learner.”

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: Teaching to the Test

Posted on July 4, 2022 | Leave a comment

“teaching to the test: The practice of devoting extra time and attention in the classroom to the skills and knowledge that will be assessed on the state or district test. Critics claim that it reduced education to a limited range of skills, ignores the importance of comprehension, and neglects subjects that are not tested, such as history, civics, geography, and the arts.”

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

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