Glossary Definitions

Question 1

5 to 7 year shift

Answer 1

Major transition in cognitive abilities that gradually occurs between 5 and 7 years of age, resulting in increased ability to think logically, self-regulate, and solve problems

Question 2

Absorbent mind

Answer 2

Maria Montessori’s image of the child as actively learning from sensory experiences

Question 3

Abstraction

Answer 3

The concept that anything can be counted

Question 4

Academic discourse

Answer 4

The language of school, which is important for school success

Question 5

Accommodation

Answer 5

When new information or experience doesn’t fit within an existing concept (scheme), the child must modify it or construct a new scheme

Question 6

Accommodations

Answer 6

Changes in assessment procedures, materials, or setting to eliminate barriers related to the child’s disability that might keep children from demonstrating their full capabilities

Question 7

Accountability

Answer 7

The process of holding teachers, schools, or programs responsible for meeting a required level of performance

Question 8

Accreditation system

Answer 8

NAEYC’s voluntary system for identifying high-quality early childhood centers and schools serving children from birth through kindergarten

Question 9

Acculturation

Answer 9

The process whereby children learn expected rules of behaviors

Question 10

Achievement tests

Answer 10

Tests designed to measure what children have leanred in general or in a content area such as reading or mathematics

Question 11

Acknowledging

Answer 11

Giving positive verbal or nonverbal attention that promotes the child’s persistence and effort

Question 12

Adaptation

Answer 12

The mental process of altering concepts (schemes) in response to experience, which occurs in two was: Through assimilation and accommodation

Question 13

Advance organizers

Answer 13

Ways of introducing new information that serve as a bridge between what the student already knows and the new learning

Question 14

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)

Answer 14

Persistent exposure to violence, adults’ substance abuse, physical, emotional or sexual abuse, or neglect that creates toxic stress

Question 15

Advocacy

Answer 15

Aiding a cause that you believe in

Question 16

Age appropriate

Answer 16

Age-related human characteristics that allow teachers to make general predictions within an age range about what materials, interactions, and experiences will be safe, interesting, challenging, and within reach for children, and thus likely to best promote their learning and development

Question 17

Aggressive communication

Answer 17

Speaking the truth in a hurtful way

Question 18

Alignment or Continuity

Answer 18

Coordination of the curriculum and experiences from one level of education to the next in order to build on hat children have already learned and to ease transitions for students between schools and school levels

Question 19

Alliteration

Answer 19

Two words beginning with the same sound

Question 20

Alphabetic principle

Answer 20

The understanding that there is a systematic relationship between letters and sounds, and that all spoken sounds and words can be represented by a liited set of agreed-on symbols called letters

Question 21

Anecdotal records

Answer 21

Short descriptions written by teachers and based on observations of incidents or anecdotes involving one or more children

Question 22

Anti-bias education

Answer 22

Learning experiences and teaching strategies that are specifically designed not only to prepare all children for life in a culturally rich society, but also to counter the stereotyping of diverse groups, and to guard against expressions of bias

Question 23

Apprenticeship

Answer 23

The process of children learning by observing adults and more accomplished peers performing tasks and by practicing the skills themselves with adult guidance and support

Question 24

Approaches to learning

Answer 24

Behaviors or typical patterns that children use in learning situations that include both how they feel about learning–their level of enthusiasm, interest, and motivation– and how they engage with learning–their curiosity, initiative, and creativity

Question 25

Aptitude tests

Answer 25

Tests designed to measure children’s potential for learning in the future

Question 26

Assertive communication

Answer 26

Telling the truth in a thoughtful and considerate way; considered the most effective form of communication

Question 27

Assessment

Answer 27

The ongoing process of gathering evidence of children’s learning and development, then organizing and interpreting the information to make informed decisions about instructional practice

Question 28

Assimilation

Answer 28

When new information or experience is unerstood in connection with existing knowledge (schemes)

Question 29

Assistive technology

Answer 29

A piece of equipment or product that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of individuals with disabilites

Question 30

Associative play

Answer 30

Children play and share with each other, usually one other child

Question 31

Attachment theory

Answer 31

The theory that children’s ability to learn depends on their developing trusting relationship with caregivers

Question 32

Auditory awareness

Answer 32

Listening to verbal input or distinguishing between different sounds

Question 33

Authentic assessment

Answer 33

Determines what children know and can do from their demonstration of a skill or their creation of a product

Question 34

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

Answer 34

Complex developmental disabilities that impact the normal development of the brain processes related to social interaction and communication skills

Question 35

Babble

Answer 35

Produce consonant/vowel sounds such as “ba ba”

Question 36

Background knowledge

Answer 36

Concepts and basic information about how the world works that is essential for reading comprehension

Question 37

Balanced approach

Answer 37

Effective reading instruction that helps master the alphabetic principle and acquire meaning from text

Question 38

Bank Street approach

Answer 38

Originating with Lucy Sprague Mitchell at Bank Street College and later called the Developmental-Interaction approach, a curriculum framework based on indicidual children’s development, emphasizing that learning begins in children’s experiences in the immediate environment (here and now)

Question 39

Base-10 place value system

Answer 39

Highly efficient system of using 10 numberals to write any counting number no matter how large, in which the meaning of a numeral depends on where it is placed within the number

Question 40

Behavior intervention plan

Answer 40

Describes the strategies adults will use to prevent a child’s negative behavior and to teach more acceptable behavior

Question 41

Behaviorism or behavioral learning

Answer 41

Theory that learning is a change in behavior that is controlled by the consequences, either positive or negative, that follow the behavior

Question 42

Bias

Answer 42

Negative feelings and expressions toward groups or individuals

Question 43

Bicultural

Answer 43

Capable of operating successfully in both the home environment and the dominant culture of the larger world

Question 44

Body composition

Answer 44

Weight and body fat

Question 45

Bullying

Answer 45

Occurs when a person repeatedly commits aggressive acts that intend to harm, and an imbalance of power makes it hard for the victim to defend him or herself

Question 46

Cardinality

Answer 46

The concept that the last number said stands for the total number in the set

Question 47

Cardiorespiratory (aerobic) system

Answer 47

Body system made up of the heart, lungs, and blood; provides the stamina needed to be active for a long period of time

Question 48

Caring community of learners

Answer 48

A group or classroom n which children and adults engage in warm, positive relationships, treat each other with respect, and learn from and with each other

Question 49

Challenging behavior

Answer 49

Any behavior that interferes with children’s learning, development, and success at play; is harmful to the child, other children, or adults; or puts a child at high risk for later social problems or school failure

Question 50

Charter schools

Answer 50

Independently operated, publicly funded schools that have greater flexibility than regular schools in meeting regulations and achieving goals