accommodation The process of creating or revising a scheme to fit a new experience.

achievement batteries Sets of tests designed to assess performance in a broad range of subjects.

active listening A way of dealing with a problem-owning student by showing interest and encouraging the talker to continue expressing feelings.

adaptation The process, described by Piaget, of creating a good fit or match between one's conception of reality and one's real-life experiences.

adolescent egocentrism The introspective, inward turning of a high school student's newly developed powers of thought, with a tendency to project one's self-analysis onto others.

adventure learning A type of learning wherein students might participate in real-life expeditions, virtual field trips, historical reenactments, and local adventures in their community, typically in structured activities with students from other schools.

affective domain taxonomy A classification of instructional outcomes that concentrates on attitudes and values.

anchored instruction Method of embedding important information or skills in authentic problem-solving situations and meaningful contexts for prolonged student exploration.

aptitude tests Tests intended to give educators some idea of the level of knowledge and skill a student could acquire with effective instruction.

assimilation The process of fitting new experience into an existing scheme.

assistive technology Any item, device, or piece of equipment, from low-tech equipment such as taped stories to more sophisticated technologies such as voice-recognition and speech-synthesis devices, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional abilities of persons with disabilities.

attention The selective focusing on a portion of the information currently stored in the sensory register.

attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) A disorder that begins in childhood; is marked by abnormally high levels of impulsive behavior, distractibility, and motor activity; and leads to low levels of learning.

attribution theory A body of research into the ways that students explain their success or failure, usually in terms of ability, effort, task difficulty, and luck.

authoritarian parents Parents who make demands and wield power without considering their children's point of view.

authoritative parents Parents who provide models of competence to be imitated, based on confidence in their own abilities.






behavior modification The use of operant conditioning techniques to modify behavior, generally by making rewards contingent on certain actions. Also called contingency management.

between-class ability grouping Assigning students of similar learning ability to separate classes based on scores from standardized intelligence or achievement tests.






cognitive apprenticeship A relationship in which help and guidance are provided by a mentor or expert practitioner to a learner, enabling him or her to master a task and gradually participate in a culture or community.

cognitive constructivism A form of constructivist learning theory that emphasizes the role of assimilation and accommodation in constructing an understanding of the world in which one lives.

cognitive domain taxonomy A classification scheme of instructional outcomes that stresses knowledge and intellectual skills, including comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Also called Bloom's taxonomy.

collaborative learning Activities for which groups of learners use and combine their individual talents and areas of expertise to investigate problems, negotiate ideas, generate knowledge, and design products.

competency test A test to determine a student's ability to handle basic subjects.

computer adaptive testing (CAT) A testing technique in which a computer program adapts the difficulty of questions to the ability level of the examinee based on his or her responses, thereby resulting in a reduction in test length and greater efficiency.Teaching methods that use interactive software as an aid to learning.

computer-based instruction (CBI) Teaching methods that use interactive software as an aid to learning.

computer conferencing An online discussion group, typically organized by topic, that can provide students with access to information, viewpoints, and communities beyond the boundaries of their classrooms.

concept mapping A technique for identifying and visually representing on paper the ideas that comprise a section of text and the ways in which they relate to each other.

conservation The recognition that certain properties stay the same despite a change in appearance or position.

constructivism The view that meaningful learning is the active creation of knowledge structures rather than a mere transferring of objective knowledge from one person to another.

contingency contracting A behavior-strengthening technique that specifies desirable behaviors and consequent reinforcement.

cooperative learning An approach that uses small heterogeneous groups for purposes of mutual help in the mastery of specific tasks.

criterion-referenced grading A system in which grades are determined on the basis of whether each student has attained a defined standard of achievement or performance.

criterion-referenced tests Tests in which students are evaluated according to how well they have mastered specific objectives in various well-defined skill areas.

cultural pluralism A set of tenets based on three principles: (1) every culture has its own internal coherence, integrity, and logic; (2) no culture is inherently better or worse than another; and (3) all persons are to some extent culture-bound.

culture A description of the ways a group of people perceives the world; formulates beliefs; evaluates objects, ideas, and experiences; and behaves.






decentration The ability to think of more than one quality of an object or problem at a time.

deficiency needs The first four levels (physiological, safety, belongingness or love, and esteem) in Maslow's hierarchy of needs, so called because these needs cause people to act only when they are unmet to some degree.

depression An emotional disorder characterized by self-deprecation, crying spells, and suicidal thoughts, afflicting between 7 and 28 percent of all adolescents.

diagnostic test A single-subject achievement test intended to identify the source of a problem in basic subjects and perhaps in study skills.

digital portfolio A multimedia collection of student work that documents individual expertise, achievement, accomplishments, and growth in one or more areas over extended periods of time. Also called electronic portfolio.

direct instruction An approach to instruction that emphasizes the efficient acquisition of basic skills and subject matter through lectures and demonstrations, extensive practice, and corrective feedback.

discovery learning A teaching strategy that encourages children to seek solutions to problems either on their own or in group discussion.

discrimination A process in which individuals learn to notice the unique aspects of seemingly similar situations and thus learn different ways of responding.

distributed practice The practice of breaking up learning tasks into small, easy-to-manage pieces that are learned over several relatively brief sessions.

drill-and-practice programs Computer programs that help students practice skills and learn factual information.

dual coding theory A theory of elaboration that states that concrete objects and words are remembered better than abstract information because they are coded in memory as both visual images and verbal labels, whereas abstract words are only encoded verbally.






early-maturing boy A boy whose early physical maturation typically draws favorable adult responses and promotes confidence and poise, thus contributing to leadership and popularity with peers.

early-maturing girl A girl whose early physical maturation typically makes her socially out of step with her peers.

educational psychology The branch of psychology that specializes in understanding how different factors affect the classroom behavior of both teachers and students.

egocentrism Difficulty in taking another person's point of view, a characteristic typical of young children.

elaborative rehearsal A process that consciously relates new information to knowledge already stored in long-term memory. Also called elaborative encoding.

emotional disturbance An emotional condition in which inappropriate aggressive or withdrawal behaviors are exhibited over a long period of time and to a marked degree, adversely affecting a child's educational performance.

empirical learning The use of noticeable characteristics of objects and events to form spontaneous concepts; a form of learning typical of young children.

epigenetic principle The notion that a child's personality develops as the ego progresses through a series of interrelated stages, much as the human body takes shape during its fetal development.

equilibration The tendency to organize schemes to allow better understanding of experiences.

ethnic group A collection of people who identify with one another on the basis of such characteristics as ancestral origin, race, religion, language, values, political or economic interests, and behavior patterns.

evaluation In assessment, the use of a rule-governed system to make judgments about the value or worth of a set of measures.

exploratory environments Electronic environments that provide students with materials and resources to discover interesting phenomena and construct new insights; for example, computer simulations. Also called discovery environments.

extinction The weakening of a target behavior by ignoring it.

extrinsic motivation A form of incentive based on a system of rewards not inherent in a particular activity.






far transfer The ability to use knowledge and skills learned at an earlier point in time in a particular context to help one learn new information or solve a problem in a very different context at a much later point in time.

field-dependent style A learning style in which a person's perception of and thinking about a task or problem are strongly influenced by such contextual factors as additional information and other people's behavior.

field-independent style A learning style in which a person's perception of and thinking about a task or problem are influenced more by the person's knowledge base than by the presence of additional information or other people's behavior.

foreclosure status An adolescent identity status marked by the unquestioning endorsement of parents' goals and values.

formative evaluation A type of assessment that monitors a student's progress in order to facilitate learning rather than assign a grade.

frames The individual steps in a teaching program.

full inclusion The practice of eliminating pullout programs (those outside the classroom) and providing regular teachers with special training so as to keep special needs students in regular classrooms. Also called inclusion.






gender bias The tendency of teachers to respond differently to male and female students when there is no educationally sound reason for doing so.

gender roles Sets of behaviors typically identified with either males or females in a society; young children's awareness of these roles shows up clearly in the different toys and activities that boys and girls prefer.

generalization The learned ability to respond in similar ways to similar stimuli.

general objectives Objectives that use the three taxonomies (cognitive, affective, and psychomotor) to describe types of behavior that would demonstrate a student's learning.

general transfer A situation in which prior learning aids subsequent learning due to the use of similar cognitive strategies.

gifted and talented student A student who shows unusual ability in any of a variety of ways and who may require services not ordinarily provided by his or her school.

grade equivalent score A measurement that interprets test performance in terms of grade levels.

growth need A yearning for personal fulfillment that people constantly strive to satisfy.

growth spurt The rapid and uneven physical growth that besets adolescents during the middle school years.

guided learning Environments where teachers, experts, or more knowledgeable peers support student inquiry by helping students set plans and goals, ask questions, discuss issues, solve problems, and reflect on strategies and solutions. Also called guided discovery learning.






heuristics General approaches to solving problems, such as studying worked examples and breaking problems into parts, that can be applied to different subject areas.

high-road transfer A situation involving the conscious, controlled, somewhat effortful formulation of an "abstraction" (that is, a rule, a schema, a strategy, or an analogy) that allows a connection to be made between two tasks.

high-stakes testing The use of standardized test results to make such significant decisions as whether students get promoted to the next grade or graduate from high school, whether teachers and administrators receive financial rewards or demotions, and whether school districts receive additional state funds or lose their accreditation.

humanistic approach An approach to instruction that emphasizes the effect of student needs, values, motives, and self-perceptions on learning.

hypermedia A technology that combines multimedia and hypertext so that the learner can nonsequentially access and explore interesting and important information resources. (See hypertext; multimedia)

hypertext A system of linking text in a nonlinear way, thereby enabling users to jump from one section of text to another section of the same document or to other documents, often through pressing highlighted or "hot" words.






IDEA Acronym for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (originally called the Education for All Handicapped Children Act), the principal federal law governing the education of children with disabilities.

identity A relatively stable conception of where and how one fits into a society that is strongly influenced by the perception of one's physical appearance, the goals one establishes and achieves, and recognition from significant others in the environment.

identity achievement status An adolescent identity status marked by self-chosen commitments with respect to at least some aspects of identity.

identity diffusion status An adolescent identity status marked by the avoidance of choices pertaining to jobs, roles, or values and the readiness to change one's position in response to negative or positive feedback.

identity status A style or approach that adolescents adopt to deal with such identity-related issues as career goal, gender-role orientation, and religious beliefs. James Marcia identified four identity statuses: identity diffusion, moratorium, foreclosure, and identity achievement.

ill-structured problems Vaguely stated problems with unclear solution procedures and vague evaluation standards.

I-message A first-person statement by a teacher that emphasizes the teacher's feelings about a situation rather than his or her feelings about the students.

impulsive A learning style in which students respond relatively quickly to questions or tasks for which there is no obvious correct answer or solution.

inclusion An extension of the least restrictive environment provision of IDEA in which students with disabilities are placed in regular classrooms for the entire school day and receive some instruction and support from a special education teacher.

individualized education program (IEP) A written statement describing an educational program designed to meet the unique needs of a child with a particular disability.

inert knowledge Information, typically memorized verbatim, that is unconnected, lacking in context, and not readily accessible for application to real-world tasks.

information-processing theory An area of study that seeks to understand how people acquire, store, and recall information and how their current knowledge guides and determines what and how they will learn.

instructional objectives Statements written by teachers that specify the knowledge and skills students should be able to exhibit after a unit of instruction.

integrated learning systems (ILS) Computer-based instructional systems that provide sequenced and self-paced learning activities to students in many different content areas as well as appropriate remediation or enrichment activities.

intelligence The ability of an individual to use a variety of cognitive and noncognitive capabilities to formulate goals, logically work toward achieving those goals, and adapt to the demands of the environment.

interpersonal reasoning The ability to understand the relationship between motives and behavior among a group of people.

intrinsic motivation A form of incentive inherent in a particular activity, such as the positive consequence of becoming more competent or knowledgeable.

irreversibility The inability of a young child to mentally reverse physical or mental processes, such as pouring water from a tall, thin glass back into a short, squat one.

issues Ill-structured problems that arouse strong feelings.






Joplin Plan An ability grouping technique that combines students of different grade levels according to their standardized test scores.






late-maturing boy A boy whose delayed physical maturation typically causes inferiority feelings and leads to bossy and attention-getting behavior.

late-maturing girl A girl whose delayed physical maturation typically makes her more poised than others her age and elicits praise from elders, thus conferring leadership tendencies.

learner-centered education An educational philosophy in which the teacher helps guide students to construct knowledge meaningfully and monitor their own learning by emphasizing student choice, responsibility, challenge, intrinsic motivation, and ownership of the learning process.

learning disabilities Problems in otherwise mentally fit students who are unable to respond to certain aspects of the curriculum presented in regular classrooms because of disorders in one or more basic psychological processes.

learning strategy A general plan that a learner formulates for achieving a somewhat distant academic goal.

learning style A consistent tendency or preference to respond to a variety of intellectual tasks and problems in a particular fashion.

learning tactic A specific technique that a learner uses to accomplish an immediate learning objective.

least restrictive environment A requirement (under the 1994 Code of Federal Regulations governing the implementation of IDEA) that disabled children be provided with education in the least restrictive setting possible, usually by including them in regular classrooms.

long-term memory (LTM) Storehouse of permanently recorded information in an individual's memory.

loss of voice The tendency of adolescent females to suppress their true beliefs about issues and either claim that they have no opinion or state what they think others want to hear because of socialization practices.

low-road transfer A situation in which a previously learned skill or idea is almost automatically retrieved from memory and applied to a highly similar current task.






mainstreaming The policy of placing students with disabilities in regular classes.

maintenance rehearsal A rather mechanical process that uses mental and verbal repetition to hold information in short-term memory for some immediate purpose. Also called rote rehearsal or repetition.

massed practice An approach to learning that emphasizes a few long, infrequently spaced study periods.

mastery learning An approach that assumes most students can master the curriculum if certain conditions are established: (1) sufficient aptitude, (2) sufficient ability to understand instruction, (3) a willingness to persevere, (4) sufficient time, and (5) good-quality instruction.

meaningful learning Learning that occurs when new information or activities are made relevant by relating them to personal interests and prior experiences or knowledge.

measurement The assignment of numbers to certain attributes of objects, events, or people according to a rule-governed system.

melting pot A term referring to the assimilation of diverse ethnic groups into one national mainstream.

mental retardation A condition in which learning proceeds at a significantly slow rate, is limited to concrete experiences, and is accompanied by difficulty functioning in social environments.

metacognition Knowledge about the operations of cognition and how to use them to achieve a learning goal.

microcomputer-based laboratory (MBL) A microcomputer with attached sensors and probes that can quickly represent such data as temperature or speed in multiple ways in order to help students explore concepts, test hypotheses, and repair scientific misconceptions.

microworld A computer scenario intended to foster cognitive development and overcome misconceptions by allowing students the chance to explore relationships among variables or concepts and build personal models of how things work.

mnemonic device A memory-directed tactic that helps a learner transform or organize information to enhance its retrievability.

morality of constraint Piaget's term for the moral thinking of children up to age ten or so, in which they hold sacred rules that permit no exceptions and make no allowance for intentions. Also called moral realism.

morality of cooperation Piaget's term for the moral thinking of children age eleven or older, based on flexible rules and considerations of intent. Also called moral relativism.

moratorium status An adolescent identity status marked by various kinds of identity crises, often involving experimentation and restless searching.

multicultural education An approach to learning and teaching that seeks to foster an understanding of and mutual respect for the values, beliefs, and practices of different cultural groups.

multidisciplinary assessment team A group of people involved in determining the nature of a child's disability, typically consisting of a school psychologist, guidance counselor, classroom teacher, school social worker, school nurse, learning disability specialist, physician, and psychiatrist.

multimedia The combination of several forms of media such as text, graphics, animation, sound, images, and video that teachers can use to enrich student understanding and address various student learning styles, preferences, and impairments.






near transfer The ability to use knowledge and skills learned at an earlier point in time in a particular context to help one learn new information or solve a problem in a very similar context and soon after the original learning.

negative reinforcement A way of strengthening a target behavior by removing an aversive stimulus after a particular behavior is exhibited.

negative transfer A situation in which one's prior learning interferes with subsequent learning.

normal curve The bell-shaped distribution of scores that tends to occur when a particular characteristic is measured in thousands of people.

norm group A sample of individuals carefully chosen to reflect the larger population of students for whom a test is intended.

norm-referenced grading A system of grading that assumes classroom achievement will vary among a group of heterogeneous students because of such differences as prior knowledge, learning skills, motivation, and aptitude, and so compares the score of each student to the scores of other students in order to determine grades.

norm-referenced tests Tests in which individual performance is evaluated with reference to the performance of a norm group.






observational learning/modeling That part of the triadic reciprocal causation model of social cognitive theory that describes the role of observing and imitating the behavior of models in learning new capabilities.

operant conditioning The theory of behavior developed by B. F. Skinner, based on the fact that organisms respond to their environments in particular ways to obtain or avoid particular consequences.

organization The tendency to systematize and combine processes into coherent general systems.

overgeneralization A phenomenon of early language development in which preschool children consistently misapply such grammatical rules as adding "ed" and "s" to the ends of words to make them plural.






peer tutoring An approach to learning that involves the teaching of one student by another, based on evidence that a child's cognitive growth benefits from exposure to alternative cognitive schemes.

percentile rank A score that indicates the percentage of students who are at or below a given student's achievement level, providing specific information about relative position.

perceptual centration The tendency to focus attention on only one characteristic of an object or aspect of a problem or event at a time.

performance tests Assessment devices that attempt to gauge how well students can use basic knowledge and skill to perform complex tasks or solve problems under more or less realistic conditions. Also called performance-based assessment and authentic assessment.

permissive parents Parents who make few demands on their children and fail to discourage immature behavior, thus reflecting their own tendency to be disorganized, inconsistent, and lacking in confidence.

personal agency The idea that people are the primary cause of their own behavior rather than environmental forces.

play behavior Kinds of free play observed in preschool children and described by Mildred Parten as consisting of six types: unoccupied, solitary, onlooker, parallel, associative, and cooperative.

portfolio A collection of one or more pieces of a person's work, some of which typically demonstrate different stages of completion.

positive reinforcement A way of strengthening a target behavior (increasing and maintaining the probability that a particular behavior will be repeated) by supplying a positive stimulus immediately after a desired response.

positive transfer A situation in which prior learning aids subsequent learning, when, for example, a new learning task calls for essentially the same response that was made to a similar earlier-learned task.

Premack principle A shaping technique that allows students to indulge in a favorite activity after completing a set of instructional objectives. Also called Grandma's rule.

problem-based learning (PBL) An instructional method that requires learners to develop solutions to authentic and complex problems through problem analysis, hypothesis generation, collaboration, reflection, and extensive teacher coaching and facilitation.

problem representation/problem framing The process of finding ways to express a problem so as to recall the optimal amount of solution-relevant information from long-term memory.

problem solving The identification and application of knowledge and skills that result in goal attainment.

programmed instruction A method of instruction developed by B. F. Skinner that presents specially designed written material to students in a predetermined sequence.

project-based learning An approach to teaching and learning that attempts to motivate students through collaborative investigations of real-world problems that result in tangible products.

psychological androgyny An acquired sense of gender that combines traditional masculine and feminine traits.

psychomotor domain taxonomy A classification of instructional outcomes that focuses on physical abilities and skills.

psychosocial moratorium A period of identity development marked by a delay of commitment, ideally a time of adventure and exploration having a positive, or at least neutral, impact on the individual and society.

punishment A method of weakening a target behavior by presenting an aversive stimulus after the behavior occurs.






recognition A cognitive process that involves noting key features of a stimulus and relating them to previously stored information in an interactive manner.

reflective A learning style in which students collect and analyze information before offering an answer to a question or a solution to a problem.

reflective teaching A way of teaching that blends artistic and scientific elements through thoughtful analysis of classroom activity.

regrouping A form of ability grouping that brings together students of the same age, ability, and grade but from different classrooms, for instruction in a specific subject, usually reading or mathematics.

rejecting-neglecting parents Parents who make no demands on their children, provide no structure at home, and do not support their children's goals, activities, and emotional needs.

reliability Consistency in test results, related to the assumption that human characteristics are relatively stable over short periods of time.

response cost The withdrawal of previously earned positive reinforcers as a consequence of undesirable behavior, often used with a token economy. (See token economy)

ripple effect The extent to which an entire class responds to a reprimand directed at only one student.

role confusion Uncertainty as to what behaviors will elicit a favorable reaction from others.

rubric A scoring guide used in performance assessment that helps define and clarify levels of student performance from poor to exemplary.






scaffolding Supporting learning during its early phases through such techniques as demonstrating how tasks should be accomplished, giving hints to the correct solution to a problem or answer to a question, and providing leading questions. As students become more capable of working independently, these supports are withdrawn.

schemata Plural for schema, an abstract information structure by which our store of knowledge is organized in long-term memory. Schemas is another plural form.

scheme An organized pattern of behavior or thought that children formulate as they interact with their environment, parents, teachers, and agemates.

scholastic aptitude The cognitive skills that most directly relate to and best predict the ability to cope with academic demands. Often used as a synonym for intelligence.

scientific concepts A term coined by Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky to denote such psychological tools as language, formulas, rules, and symbols that are learned mostly with the aid of formal instruction.

self-actualization The movement toward full development of a person's potential talents and capabilities.

self-concept The evaluative judgments people make of themselves in specific areas, such as academic performance, social interactions, athletic performance, and physical appearance.

self-description The way people describe themselves to others, using statements that are largely nonevaluative.

self-efficacy The degree to which people believe they are capable or prepared to handle particular tasks.

self-esteem The overall or general evaluation people make of themselves. Also called self-worth.

self-fulfilling prophecy The tendency of students to achieve the levels expected of them by their teachers. Also called the Pygmalion effect.

self-image A mental self-portrait composed of a self-description, self-esteem, and self-concept.

self-regulated learning The conscious and purposeful use of one's cognitive skills, feelings, and actions to maximize the learning of knowledge and skills for a given task and set of conditions.

self-reinforcement A situation in which the individual strives to meet personal standards and does not depend on or care about the reactions of others.

sensory register (SR) The primary memory store that records temporarily (for one to three seconds) an incoming flow of data from the sense receptors.

serial position effect The tendency to learn and remember words at the beginning and end of a list more easily than those in the middle.

sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) Contagious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, gonorrhea, and herpes, that are spread by sexual contact.

shaping Promoting the learning of complex behaviors by reinforcing successive approximations to the terminal behavior.

short-term memory (STM) The second temporary memory store, which holds about seven bits of information for about twenty seconds. (Also called working memory)

simulation programs Highly individualized and flexible programs that allow learners to test hypotheses, display knowledge, repair errors in thinking, and solve problems in an artificial environment that imitates the real world.

single-subject achievement test A test designed to assess learning or achievement in a particular basic school subject, such as reading or mathematics.

situated learning The idea that problem-solving skills, cognitive strategies, and knowledge are closely linked to the specific context or environment in which they are acquired; hence, the more authentic, or true to life, the task, the more meaningful the learning. Also called situated cognition.

social class An individual's or a family's relative standing in society, determined by such factors as income, occupation, education, place of residence, types of associations, manner of dress, and material possessions.

social cognitive theory An explanation of how people learn to become self-regulated learners through the interactive effects of their personal characteristics, behaviors, and social reinforcement.

social constructivism A form of constructivist learning theory that emphasizes how people use such cultural tools as language, mathematics, and approaches to problem solving in social settings to construct a common or shared understanding of the world in which they live.

socioeconomic status (SES) A quantifiable level of social standing, determined by the federal government on the basis of a person's income, occupation, and education.

special-purpose achievement test A test to determine specific qualifications, such as the College-Level Examination Program or the National Teacher Examination.

specific objectives Objectives that specify the behavior to be learned, the conditions under which it will be exhibited, and the criterion for acceptable performance.

specific transfer A situation in which prior learning aids subsequent learning because of specific similarities between two tasks.

spontaneous concepts A term coined by Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky to denote the facts, concepts, and rules that young children acquire as a natural consequence of engaging in everyday activities.

spontaneous recovery The reappearance of a seemingly extinguished behavior.

standard deviation A statistic that indicates the degree to which scores in a group of tests differ from the average or mean.

standardized tests Assessment tools designed by people with specialized knowledge and applied to all students under the same conditions.

stanine score A statistic reflecting a division of a score distribution into nine groups, with each stanine being one-half of a standard deviation unit.

styles of mental self-government theory A theory of learning style formulated by Robert Sternberg that is based on the different functions and forms of civil government. The theory describes thirteen styles that can vary in terms of function, form, level, scope, and learning.

summative evaluation Testing done for the purpose of assigning a letter or numerical grade to sum up a student's performance at a variety of tasks over time.






table of specifications A table used in exam preparation that notes types and numbers of included test items, ensuring systematic coverage of the subject matter.

taxonomy A classification scheme with categories arranged in hierarchical order.

teacher expectancy effect The tendency of students to behave in ways they think the teacher expects them to behave. Also called self-fulfilling prophecy; Pygmalion effect.

teaching as an art A way of teaching that involves intangibles such as emotions, values, and flexibility.

teaching as a science A way of teaching based on scientific methods such as sampling, control, objectivity, publication, and replication.

telementoring The use of networking technologies by experts, mentors, instructors, and peers to demonstrate ideas, pose questions, offer insights, and provide relevant information that can help learners build new knowledge and effectively participate in a learning community. (See cognitive apprenticeship)

theoretical learning Learning how to use psychological tools across a range of settings and problem types to acquire new knowledge and skills.

theory of identical elements The theory that a similarity between the stimulus and response elements in two different tasks accounts for transfer of learning from one task to the other.

theory of mind The ability, typically developed by children around the age of four, to be aware of the difference between thinking about something and experiencing that same thing and to predict the thoughts of others.

theory of multiple intelligences A theory formulated by Howard Gardner that describes intelligence as being composed of eight, mostly independent capabilities.

time-out A procedure that weakens a target behavior by temporarily removing the opportunity for the behavior to be rewarded.

token economy A behavior-strengthening technique that uses items of no inherent value to "purchase" other items perceived to be valuable.

transfer of learning A student's ability to apply knowledge and problem-solving skills learned in school to similar but new situations.

triadic reciprocal causation The conceptual foundation of social cognitive theory, which specifies that learned capabilities are the product of interactions among an individual's personal characteristics, behaviors, and social environment.

triarchic theory of intelligence A theory formulated by Robert Sternberg that describes intelligence as being composed of practical, creative, and analytical components.

T score A standardized test score that ranges from 0 to 100 and uses a preselected mean of 50 to avoid negative values.

tutorial programs Programs that attempt to teach facts, definitions, concepts, and other new material to students in either a step-by-step or a more individualized, branching approach.

two-way bilingual (TWB) education An approach to bilingual education in which instruction is provided to all students in both the minority language and the majority language. Also called bilingual immersion or dual language.






validity The extent to which a test measures what it claims to measure.

vicarious reinforcement A situation in which the observer anticipates receiving a reward for behaving in a given way because someone else has been so rewarded.






well-structured problems Clearly formulated problems with known solution procedures and known evaluation standards.

within-class ability grouping A form of ability grouping that involves the division of a single class of students into two or three groups for reading and math instruction.

withitness An attribute of teachers who prove to their students that they know what is going on in a classroom and as a result have fewer discipline problems than teachers who lack this characteristic.

World Wide Web A global system of interconnected computers that provides access to a wide variety of data in differe+B21nt formats. Also called the Internet; the Web; WWW.






zero transfer A situation in which prior learning has no effect on new learning.

zone of proximal development (ZPD) Vygotsky's term for the difference between what a child can do on his or her own and what can be accomplished with some assistance.

z score A standardized test score that tells how far a given raw score differs from the mean in standard deviation units.