Tag Archives: term of art

“spatial orientation: The ability to maintain a sense of orientation in a physical space. Difficulties in spatial orientation may be part of a larger pattern of visual-spatial skills deficits that are linked with a learning disability in some cases. These problems may have a profound effect on an individual’s ability to follow physical directions or to locate information or objects within a space.”

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

“structural analysis: A type of word recognition that identifies structural features such as syllables, prefixes, suffixes, and roots. Other structural elements include compound words (sunshine) and contradictions (do not).

A reader may use a combination of structural analysis and context clues to identify an unfamiliar word. Individuals with learning disabilities benefit from the explicit teaching of structural analysis skills in order to improve spelling and reading comprehension.”

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

“text-to-self connection: A learning strategy applied by elementary students while reading a text. Prompted by the teacher, students ask themselves whether the text they are reading reminds them of something that happened in their own lives, Advocates claim that making these connections helps students think about and understand what they are learning. Critics contend that the approach is artificial, makes reading a technical process, and does not help students appreciate literature that does not relate to their own lives.”

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