- Glossary of education-related terms (A-C)
This glossary of education-related terms is based on how they commonly are used in Wikipedia articles. This page contains terms starting with A – C. Select a letter from the table of contents to find terms on other pages.
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.edu : ("dot-edu") Thegeneric top-level domain for educational institutions, primarily those in theUnited States . Created in January 1985 as one of the first top-level domains, .edu was originally intended for educational institutions anywhere in the world. With few exceptions, however, only those in the United States registered such domains, while educational institutions in other countries usually used domain names under the appropriate country code TLD.A
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Academia : A collective term for the scientific and cultural community engaged inhigher education andresearch , taken as a whole. The word comes from the "akademeia" just outside ancientAthens , where the "gymnasium" was made famous byPlato as a center of learning.*
Academic degree : A degree is any of a wide range of status levels conferred by institutions of higher education, such as universities, normally as the result of successfully completing a program of study.*
Academic dress : (or academical dress, also known in theUnited States as academic regalia) Traditionalclothing worn specifically in academic settings. It is more commonly seen nowadays only atgraduation ceremonies, but in former times academic dress was, and to a lesser extent in many ancient universities still is, worn on a daily basis.*
Academic institution : Aneducational institution dedicated tohigher education andresearch , which grantsacademic degree s.*
Academic publishing : Describes a system ofpublishing that is necessary in order foracademic scholars to review work and make it available for a wider audience. The "system," which is probably disorganized enough not to merit the title, varies widely by field, and is also always changing, if often slowly. Most academic work is published in journal article orbook form.*
Active learning : A process whereby learners are actively engaged in the learning process, rather than "passively" absorbing lectures. Active learning involves reading,writing , discussion, and engagement in solving problems, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Active learning often involvescooperative learning .*
Activity theory : (AT) A Soviet psychological meta-theory, paradigm, or framework, with its roots in socio-cultural approach. Its founders wereAlexei Nikolaevich Leontyev , and S. L. Rubinshtein (1889-1960). It became one of the major psychological approaches in the former USSR, being widely used in both theoretical and applied psychology, in areas such as the education, training, ergonomics, and work psychology.* Additional Support Needs: In Scotland, children who require some additional support to remove barriers to learning in any respect are deemed to have Additional Support Needs. This definition abolished the previously used term
Special Educational Needs and was set out in the 2004 Additional Support for Learning Act.*
Adult education : The practice of teaching and educating adults. This is often done in the workplace, or through 'extension' or 'continuing education ' courses atsecondary school s, or at aCollege orUniversity . The practice is also often referred to as 'Training and Development'. It has also been referred to as "andragogy " (to distinguish it from "pedagogy ").:Educating adults differs from educating children in several ways. One of the most important differences is that adults have accumulated knowledge and experience which can either add value to a learning experience or hinder it.*
Adultism : A predisposition towards adults, which some see as biased against children, youth, and all young people who aren't addressed or viewed as adults. Adultism is popularly used to describe any discrimination against young people, and is distinguished from ageism, which is simply prejudice on the grounds of age; not specifically against youth.*
Advanced Placement Program : (commonly known as Advanced Placement, or AP) AUnited States andCanada -based program that offershigh school student s the opportunity to receiveuniversity credit for their work during high school.*
Agricultural education : Instruction about crop production, livestock management, soil and water conservation, and various other aspects of agriculture. Agricultural education includes instruction in food education, such as nutrition. Agricultural and food education improves the quality of life for all people by helping farmers increase production, conserve resources, and provide nutritious foods.*
Alternative education : (also known as non-traditional education or educational alternative) Describes a number of approaches to teaching andlearning other than traditional publicly- or privately-runschool s. These approaches can be applied to all students of all ages, frominfancy toadulthood , and all levels of education.* : The action of taking something apart in order to study it.
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Andragogy : A theory ofadult education proposed by the American educatorMalcolm Knowles (April 24 ,1913 --November 27 ,1997 ).:Knowles held that andragogy (from the Greek words meaning "man-leading") should be distinguished from the more commonly taught "pedagogy " (Greek: "child-leading").*
Anti-bias curriculum : An active/activist approach ineducation that challenges interlocking systems ofoppression such asracism ,sexism ,ableism /disablism ,ageism ,homophobia , and all the other –isms. :The objective of this approach to teaching is to eliminatebias found in various institutions. This approach attempts to provide children with a solid understanding of social problems and issues while equipping them with strategies to combat bias and improve social conditions for all.:The anti-biascurriculum serves as a catalyst in the critical analysis of various social conditions. It is implemented as a proactive means to eradicate various forms of social oppression with the ultimate goal ofsocial justice in mind.*
Applied academics : An approach to learning and teaching that focuses on how (communications, mathematics, science, and basic literacy) can apply to the real world.cite web
url=http://www.hocking.edu/~aaffairs/GLOSSARY.HTML
title=Glossary
publisher=Hocking College Academic Affairs Department
accessdate=2007-04-26] Further, applied academics can be viewed as theoretical knowledge supporting practical applications. [cite web
url=http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/careers/aa/cfaa-faq.htm#need
title=Frequently Asked Questions about Applied Academics
publisher=Center for Applied Academics
accessdate=2007-05-01] cite web
url=http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Systems_And_Tools_Educational_Model#Definitions
title=Systems and Tools Educational Model
last=Walker
first=Jacob
coauthors=Et. Al.
publisher=Wikimedia
accessdate=2007-05-02]*
Apprenticeship : A traditional method, still popular in some countries, oftraining a new generation of skilled crafts practitioners. Apprentices (or in early modern usage "prentices") built theircareer s from apprenticeships.*
Art education : The area of learning that is based upon the visual arts—drawing ,painting ,sculpture , and design in such fine crafts ofjewelry ,pottery ,weaving ,fabrics , etc and design applied to more practical fields such as commercial graphics and home furnishings.:The term "arts education" implies many things, but it is defined as: Instruction and programming in all arts disciplines—including but not limited todance ,music ,visual art ,theater ,creative writing ,media arts ,history ,criticism , andaesthetics . "Arts education" encompasses all the visual and performing arts delivered in a standards-based, sequential approach by a qualified instructor as part of the core curriculum. The most common courses provided in schools include Art (visual art), Band,Drama , and Choir.*
Assessment : The process of documenting, usually in measurable terms, knowledge, skills, attitudes and beliefs.*
Asynchronous learning : A teaching method using theasynchronous delivery of training materials or content usingcomputer network technology. It is an approach to providing technology-based training that incorporates learner-centric models of instruction. The asynchronous format has been in existence for quite some time; however, new research and strategies suggest that this approach can enable learners to increase knowledge and skills through self-paced and self-directed modules completed when the learner is prepared and motivated to learn.*
Autodidacticism : (also autodidactism) Self-education or self-directed learning. An autodidact, also known as an automath, is a mostly self-taught person - typically someone who has an enthusiasm for self-education and a high degree of self-motivation .B
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Behaviorism : (or behaviourism, not to be confused withbehavioralism inpolitical science ) An approach topsychology based on the proposition thatbehavior can be researched scientifically without recourse to inner mental states. It is a form ofmaterialism , denying any independent significance for the mind. :One of the assumptions of many behaviorists is thatfree will is illusory, and that all behaviour is determined by a combination of forces comprised of genetic factors and the environment, either through association or reinforcement.*
Belief : A conviction to thetruth of aproposition . Beliefs can be acquired throughperception ,contemplation orcommunication . In thepsychological sense, belief is a representational mental state that takes the form of apropositional attitude . :Knowledge is often defined as justified true belief, in that the belief must be considered to correspond to reality and must be derived from valid evidence and arguments. However, this definition has been challenged by theGettier problem which suggests that justified true belief does not provide a complete picture of knowledge.*
Bias in education : A real or perceivedbias in the educational system.*
Bilingual education : Has multiple definitions:
** education where two distinct languages are used for general teaching;
** education designed to help children becomebilingual (sometimes called "two-way bilingual education"; e.g., Spanish speakers and English speakers in a classroom are all taught to speak both languages;
** education in a child's native language for (a) the first year or (b) however long it takes; followed by mainstreaming in English-only classes (in the US);
** education in a child's native language for as long as his parents wish (with minimal instruction in another language).:In the latter cases "native-language instruction " may be a clearer definition.*
Biliteracy : The state of being literate in two or more languages. To be biliterate has a stronger and more specified connotation than the claim of being simplybilingual . This is because with the change of the term from 'lingual' to 'literate' and the concept of reading and writing, which are in addition to simply speaking. In bilingualism the extent offluency in each language is in question. One can be anywhere on the spectrum from comfortable oral communication in certain social contexts to fluency in speaking, reading and writing. With the term biliteracy, however, it is understood that fluency in both reading and writing are present.*
Blogish : Interactive and personal communication as opposed to traditional narrative text.*
Boarding school : A school where some or all students not only study but also live, amongst their peers but away from their home and family. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of a 'boarding house', lodgings which provide both bed and board, that is meals as well as a room. Most famous UK public schools are boarding schools for ages 13 to 18, either single-sex or coeducational. :There are any number of different types of boarding schools, for pupils of all school ages from boarding nursery orKindergarten schools, to senior schools. Boarding prep schools for the age group 9 to 12 are becoming less usual in the UK, but many adolescents like to get away from home.*
Brainstorming : An organized approach for producing ideas by letting themind think without interruption. The term was coined byAlex Osborn . Brainstorming can be done either individually or in a group; in group brainstorming sessions, the participants are encouraged, and often expected, to share their ideas with one another as soon as they are generated. The key to brainstorming is not to interrupt the thought process. As ideas come to the mind, they are captured and stimulate the development of better ideas. Brainstorming is used for enhancing creativity in order to generate a broad selection of ideas in leading to a unique and improved concept.*
Brainwashing : (or thought reform) The application of coercive techniques to change the beliefs or behavior of one or more people for political purposes. Whether any techniques at all exist that will actually work to change thought and behavior to the degree that the term "brainwashing" connotes is a controversial and at times hotly debated question.* Bridge program: This is a
higher education program specifically designed to assist a student with an attained initial educational level (or an initial level of professionallicensure ) to attend college courses and achieve aterminal degree (or a higher level of professional licensure) in the same field of study and in less time than an entry-level student would require. Bridge programs are most notable amonghealthcare professions.* "
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka:" 347 U.S. 483 (1954) A landmark case of the United States Supreme Court which explicitly outlawed "de jure "racial segregation ofpublic education facilities (legal establishment of separate government-run schools for blacks and whites), ruling so on the grounds that the doctrine of "separate but equal " public education could never truly provide black Americans with facilities of the same standards available to white Americans. A companion case dealt with the constitutionality of segregation in theDistrict of Columbia , (not a state and therefore not subject to the Fourteenth Amendment), "Bolling v. Sharpe ", ussc|347|497|1954.* Bully: An individual, thought to be emotionally dysfunctional, who
torment s others through verbalharassment , physicalassault , or other more subtle methods ofcoercion .C
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Campus novel : Anovel whose main action is set in and around thecampus of auniversity . The genre, dating back to the late 1940s, is popular because it allows the author to show the quirks ofhuman nature , and reactions to pressure (for exams etc) within a controlled environment or to describe the reaction of a fixed socio-cultural perspective (the academic staff) to new social attitudes (the new student intake).*
Chemistry education : An active area of research within both the disciplines ofchemistry andeducation . The main focus of research is onlearning andteaching of chemistry inschools ,colleges anduniversities . The practice of chemical education is teaching chemistry to students and the training of teachers to teach chemistry. The research aspect deals with how to teach and how to improve learning outcomes.*
Child : (plural: children) A younghuman . Depending on context it may mean someone who is not yet anadult , or someone who has not yet reachedpuberty (someone who is prepubescent). Child is also a counterpart ofparent : adults are the children of their parents despite their maturation beyond infancy; for example "Benjamin, aged 46, is the child of Tobias, aged 73".*
Classical conditioning : (also Pavlovian conditioning or respondent conditioning) A type of associativelearning . These associations are formed by pairing two stimuli--whatIvan Pavlov described as the learning of conditionedbehavior -- to condition an animal to give a certain response. The simplest form of classical conditioning is reminiscent of whatAristotle would have called the law of contiguity which states that: "When two things commonly occur together, the appearance of one will bring the other to mind."*
Classical education : May refer to the education of antiquity and theMiddle Ages , or the education of later periods based onClassics andWestern culture , or the completely different Chinese tradition of education, based in large part onConfucian andTaoist traditions.*
Classroom management : A term used by manyteacher s to describe the process of ensuringlesson s run smoothly without disruptivebehaviour bystudent s. It is possibly the most difficult aspect ofteaching for many teachers and indeed experiencing problems in this area causes many people to leave teaching altogether. It is closely linked to issues ofmotivation ,discipline andrespect .*
Coaching : A coach is aperson who teaches and directs another person via encouragement andadvice . This use of the term "coaching" appears to have origins in English traditionaluniversity "cramming" in the mid-19th century. (The name allegedly recalls themultitasking skills associated with controlling theteam of ahorse -drawnstagecoach .) By the 1880s American collegesports team s had -- in addition tomanager s -- coaches. Some time in the 20th century, non-sporting coaches emerged: non-expert s in the specific technical skills of their clients, but who nevertheless ventured to offer generalisedmotivation al or inspirational advice.*
Coeducation : The integratededucation ofmen andwomen at the sameschool facilities; co-ed is a shortened adjectival form of co-educational. Before the 1960s, many private institutions of higher education restricted their enrollment to a single sex. Indeed, most institutions of higher education—regardless of being public or private—restricted their enrollment to a single sex at some point in their history. "Coed" is aninformal (and increasingly archaic) term for afemale student attending such a college or university.*
Cognitive map s: (mental maps,mind map s, cognitive models, ormental model s) A type of mental processing, or cognition, composed of a series of psychological transformations by which an individual can acquire, code, store, recall, and decode information about the relative locations and attributes of phenomena in their everyday or metaphorical spatial environment. Here, 'cognition' can be used to refer to the mental models, or belief systems, that people use to perceive, contextualize, simplify, and make sense of otherwise complex problems. As they have been studied in various fields of science, these mental models are often referred to, variously, as cognitive maps, scripts, schemata, and frames of reference.*
Cognitive relativism : (also called epistemic or epistemological relativism) A philosophy that claims thetruth or falsity of a statement is relative to a social group.*
Collaborative learning : An umbrella term for a variety of approaches ineducation that involve joint intellectual effort by students or students and teachers. Groups of students work together in searching for understanding, meaning or solutions or in creating a product. The approach is closely related tocooperative learning , but is considered to be more radical because of its reliance onyouth voice . Collaborative learning activities can include collaborative writing, group projects, and other activities.*
College athletics : Refers to a set of physical activities comprisingsports andgame s put into place by institutions of tertiary education (college s inAmerican English ). In theUnited States , college athletics is overseen by theNational Collegiate Athletic Association and by theNational Association of Intercollegiate Athletics . College athletics has a high profile in the United States, and to a lesser extent in Canada, where it is known as interuniversity sport. In the most of the rest of the world the equivalent level of competition is only followed by the competitors and their close friends and families.*
Common sense : (or as anadjective , "commonsense") What people in common would agree; that which they "sense" in common as their common natural understanding. Some use the phrase to refer tobelief s orproposition s that in their opinion they consider would in most people's experience be prudent and of soundjudgment , without dependence uponesoteric knowledge or study or research, but based upon what is believed to be knowledge held by people "in common". The knowledge and experience most people have, or are believed to have by the person using the term.*
Community of practice : (often abbreviated as CoP) Refers to the process of social learning that occurs when people who have a common interest in some subject or problem collaborate over an extended period to share ideas, find solutions, and build innovations.*
Comparative education : Seeks to throw light oneducation in one country (or group of countries) by using data and insights drawn from the practises and situation in another country, or countries.*
Computer Based Learning : (sometimes abbreviated CBL) Refers to the use ofcomputers as a key compoent of the educational environment. While this can refer to the use of computers in aclassroom , the term more broadly refers to a structured environment in which computers are used for teaching purposes. The concept is generally seen as being distinct from the use of computers in ways where learning is at least a peripheral element of the experience (e.g. computer games and web browsing).
thumb|150px|A_concept map ]
*Concept map ping: A technique for visualizing the relationships between differentconcepts . A concept map is a diagram showing the relationships between concepts. Concepts are connected with labelled arrows, in a downward-branching hierarchical structure. The relationship between concepts is articulated in linking phrases, e.g., "gives rise to", "results in", "is required by," or "contributes to". Concept mapping serves several purposes. One, which takes place via knowledge elicitation, is to represent the mental models, i.e., thecognitive map of individuals, teams and organizations. Another, which takes place by knowledge capture, is to represent the structure of knowledge gleaned from written documents. The addition of knowledge resources, e.g., diagrams, reports, other concept maps, spreadsheets, etc., to the concept nodes (attached during or after construction) has been found to significantly improve the level of meaningful learning of the concept mapper. Educators are increasingly realising the utility of such maps and have started using them in classroom.* Constructivism: A set of assumptions about the nature of human learning that guide constructivist learning theories and teaching methods. Constructivism values developmentally appropriate, teacher-supported learning that is initiated and directed by the student.
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Constructivist epistemology : (constructivism) A recent development inphilosophy which criticizesessentialism , whether it is in the form of medieval realism, classicalrationalism , orempiricism . It originated in sociology under the termsocial constructionism and has been given the name constructivism when referring to philosophicalepistemology , though "constructionism" and "constructivism" are often used interchangeably.:Constructivism views all of our knowledge as "constructed," because it does not reflect any external "transcendent" realities; it is contingent on convention, human perception, and social experience. It is believed by constructivists that representations of physical and biological reality, including race, sexuality, andgender are socially constructed (Hegel , Garns, andMarx were among the first to suggest such an ambitious expansion ofsocial determinism ). The common thread between all forms of constructivism is that they do not focus on anontological reality, but instead on the constructed reality.*
Cooperative education : A structured method of combining academic education with practical work experience. Research indicates that one of the attributes employers value most in newly hired employees is work experience. A cooperative education experience, commonly know as a "co-op", provides academic credit for career work. Cooperative education is taking on new importance inschool-to-work transition ,service learning , andexperiential learning initiatives.*
Cooperative learning : Proposed in response to traditionalcurriculum -driveneducation . In cooperative learning environments, students interact in purposely structuredheterogeneous group to support the learning of one self and others in the same group.* Course: in the United States, a unit of instruction in one subject, lasting one academic term
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Course of study : in the British Commonwealth, a programme of education leading to a degree or diploma*
Creativity : A human mental phenomenon based around the deployment of mentalskills and/or conceptualtool s, which, in turn, originate and developinnovation , inspiration, or insight.*
Creativity techniques :Heuristic methods to facilitatecreativity in a person or a group of people. Generally, most creativity techniques use associations between the goal (or the problem), the current state (which may be an imperfect solution to the problem), and some stimulus (possibly selected randomly). There is ananalogy between many creativity techniques and methods ofevolutionary computation .*
Critical pedagogy : A teaching approach which attempts to help students question and challengedomination , and the beliefs and practices that dominate. In other words, it is a theory and practice of helping students achieve critical consciousness. In this tradition the teacher works to lead students to question ideologies and practices considered oppressive (including those at school), and encourage liberatory collective and individual responses to the actual conditions of their own lives.*
Critical thinking : Consists of a mental process of or evaluatinginformation , particularly statements orproposition s that people have offered as true. It forms a process of reflecting upon the meaning of statements, examining the offered evidence and reasoning, and forming judgments about the facts. Critical thinkers can gather such information fromobservation ,experience ,reasoning , and/or communication. Critical thinking has its basis in intellectual values that go beyond subject-matter divisions and which include: clarity, accuracy, precision, evidence, thoroughness and fairness.*
Cultural learning : The way a group of people within asociety orculture tend to learn and pass on new information. Learning styles are greatly influenced by how a culture socializes with its children and young people.*
Curriculum : (plural curricula) The set of courses and their contents offered by an institution such as aschool oruniversity . In some cases, a curriculum may be partially or entirely determined by an external body (such as theNational Curriculum for England in English schools). In the U.S., the basic curriculum is established by eachstate with the individualschool district s adjusting it to their desires; inAustralia each state's Education Department sets the various curricula.
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