MATH & SCIENCE

Environments

All the conditions, circumstances, and influences surrounding and affecting the development of an organism or group of organisms.

Inferring

An interpretation based on observations and reasoning from what you already know.

Organisms

Any living thing.

Variables

Anything changeable. What are we trying to find out? What can we change? (keeping something constant)

Connections

Are between the naturalistic and informal mathematics learned first and formal learned later in school

Naturalistic Learning

Are those in which the child controls choice and action. Experiences initiated spontaneously by children as they go about their daily activities.

Ordinal Position

Being in a specified position in a numbered series

Unit

Measurements must be made with the same unit to accurate and comparable. (can all be a unit 1/2 foot, 3 cm, 2 standard measuring cups).

Picture Graph

More than 2 categories are compared and a more permanent record is kept (such as pictures).

Square Graph

More than 2 categories can be compared and a more permanent record is kept (such as using paper squares).

Specific Time

Morning, afternoon, evening, night, day, noon.

Regrouping

Moving groups from 1 column of numbers to another.

Basic Facts

Number combinations that add up to 1 through 10.

Metric Unit

Measurement units based on groups of 10.

Equality

When groups (2 quantities) have the same amount.

General Time Words

"Time" and "age."

Awareness

1st stage in the learning cycle. A broad recognition of objects, people, events, and concepts that develops from experience.

Play Stage

1st stage of measurement, children imitate adults or older children using measurement tools such as rulers or measuring cups.

Exploration Phase

2nd stage in the leaning cycle. The construction of personal meaning.

Comparisons

2nd stage of measurement, comparisons such as weight, length, and temperature.

Inquiry

3rd stage of the learning cycle. Learners compare their findings. (major focus of science process skill)

Utilization

4th stage of the learning cycle. Learners can apply and use their understandings in new settings and situations.

Reversibility

A child's ability to reverse operations and therefore recognize that the qualities of an object remain the same despite changes in appearance. Occurs in Piaget's Concrete Operational Stage of Cognitive Development (e.g., 1+2=3 to 3-2=1).

Conversation

A discussion that switches from one person to another; a discussion that "turns back and forth."

Play

A major medium in which children learn. They experiment with grown-up roles, explore materials, and develop rules for their actions.

Reasoning

A mental activity that consists of organizing information or beliefs into a series of steps to reach conclusions.

Fractions

A number that expresses parts of a whole or a group.

Subset

A part of a larger group of related things.

Inquiry

A process of learning that starts with asking questions and proceeds by seeking the answers to the question.

Intergrated Curriculum

A project or thematic unit that integrates all areas of learning over a longer period of time. Thematic experiences provide real-life connections for abstract concepts. These activities offer valuable opportunities for naturalistic and informal instruction as well as time to observe and assess children's abilities to use concepts in everyday life.

Hypothesis

A scientific explanation for a set of observations that can be tested in ways that support or reject it.

Centration

A young child's tendency to focus only on his or her own perspective of a specific object and a failure to understand that others may see things differently.

Self Regulation

Active mental process. of forming concepts.

Computational Fluency

Computing with efficiency, accuracy, and flexibility.

Skip Counting

Counting by 2s, 5s, 10s, etc.

Divergent Questions

Do not have one right answer, but provide an opportunity for creativity, guessing, and experimenting. encourage children to think and act for themselves.

Anthropomorphic

Giving human shape or characteristics to animals.

Communications

Interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or signs.

Structured Learning

Learning in which the adult chooses the experience for the child and provides some direction to the child's actions.

Comparisions

Look out for the, like,unlike, similar, different.

Construction

Making space in which some particular items can fit.

Self Correcting Materials

Materials that a child can use by trial and error to solve a problem without adult assistance, and is made in such a way that it can be used with success with very little help.

Informal Measurement

Measurement done by comparison or using nonstandard units (e.g., a shoe, a paper clip, a block).

Convergent Questions

Questions that necessitate right or factual answers.

Informal Learning

Refers to learning that is learner initiated, involves action and doing, is motivated by an intent to develop, and does not occur in a formal setting.

Conservations

Refers to the idea that certain physical characteristics of objects remain the same even when their outward appearance changes.

Number Sentences

Similar to English sentences except they use math symbols instead of words (example: 10 x 6 = 60).

Concreteness

Something is real... (find through science experiment, not book).

Rational Time

Soon, tomorrow, yesterday, early, late, a long time ago, once upon a time, new, old, now, when, sometimes, then, before.

Cultural Time

Special days; birthday Passover, Cinco de Mayo, Kwanza, Ramadan, Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving, vacation, holiday, school day, weekend.

Conclusions

Statements that tell if the original prediction or hypothesis was rejected.

Algorithms

Step by step procedures for solving problems.

Action Symbols

Symbols that tell what action to take such as add, subtract, multiply, divide, equals, less than, and greater than.

Determining Variables

Taking all the factors into account that might affect the outcome of the investigation.

Zone of Proximal Development

Tasks child cannot do alone but can learn to do with help of knowledgeable adults or skilled peers.

Factors

The 2 numbers that are operated on (multiplied).

Duration Time

The measure of continuance of any object or event within time.

Problem Solving

The process of understanding a problem, devising a plan, carrying out the plan, and evaluating the plan in order to solve a problem or meet a need or want.

Place Value

The same number stands for different amounts depending on it's position; 3, 30, 300, ones, tens, hundreds.

Manipulative Materials

These materials develop small muscles in children's fingers and hands. They develop basic concepts, imaginative thinking, and eye-hand coordination. Examples are beads, building sets, crayons, dough, geo-boards, markers, jigsaw puzzles, lacing and sewing frames, pegs.

Arbitrary Units

Third stage of measurement where anything can be used as a unit of measurement.

Representation

Thoughts and understanding of mathematical ideas can be represented through oral and written language, physical gestures, drawings, and invented and conventional symbols

Divide

To separate into parts, groups, and sections.

English Unit

Units of measure customarily use in the United States (such as inches, feet, and yards).

Object Graph

Use real objects to make a graph. Only 2 things are compared, (such as cubed blocks) the basis for comparison is one-to-one correspondence and visualization of length and height.

Notation

Using number and operation symbols.

Relational Symbols

Using symbols (something that stands for something else) to show how numbers or concepts are related.