Chapter 9

dyslexia

A category of learning disabilities involving a severe impairment in the ability to read and spell.

mental retardation

A condition of limited mental ability in which an individual has a low IQ, usually below 70 on a traditional test of intelligence, and has difficulty adapting to everyday life.

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

A disability in which children consistently show one or more of the following characteristics: (1) inattention, (2) hyperactivity, and (3) impulsivity.

dysgraphia

A learning disability that involves difficulty in handwriting.

intelligence quotient (IQ)

A person's mental age divided by chronological age, multiplied by 100.

Asperger syndrome

A relatively mild autism spectrum disorder in which the child has relatively good verbal language, milder nonverbal language problems, and a restricted range of interests and relationships.

long-term memory

A relatively permanent type of memory that holds huge amounts of information for a long period of time.

musical

A sensitivity to pitch, melody, rhythm, and tone. (Ex: composers, musicians, sensitive listeners)

least restrictive environment (LRE)

A setting that is as similar as possible to the one in which children who do not have a disability are educated.

autistic disorder

A severe autism spectrum disorder that has its onset in the first three years of life and includes deficiencies in social relationships, abnormalities in communication, and restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior.

normal distribution

A symmetrical distribution with most scores falling in the middle of the possible range of scored and a few scores appearing toward the extremes of the range.

brainstorming

A technique in which individuals are encouraged to come up with creative ideas in a group, play off each other's ideas, and say practically whatever comes to mind.

individualized education plan (IEP)

A written statement that spells out a program specifically tailored to a child with a disability.

autism spectrum disorders (ASD)

Also called pervasive development disorders, they range from the severe disorder labeled autistic disorder to the milder disorder called Asperger syndrome. Children with these disorders are characterized by problems in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication, and repetitive behaviors.

dyscalculia

Also known as developmental arithmetic disorder; a learning disability that involves difficulty in math computation.

whole-language approach

An approach to reading instruction based on the idea that instruction should be parallel children's natural language learning. Reading materials should be whole and meaningful.

mindfulness

Being alert, mentally present, and cognitively flexible while going through life's everyday activities and tasks.

mental age (MA)

Binet's measure of an individual's level of mental development, compared with that of others.

metacognition

Cognition about cognition, or knowing about knowing.

learning disability

Describes a child who has difficulty in learning that involves understanding or using spoken or written language, and the difficulty can appear in listening, thinking, reading, writing, and spelling. May also involve difficulty in doing mathematics. The learning problem is not primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities; mental retardation; emotional disorders; or due to environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.

neo-Piagetians

Developmentalists who argue that Piaget got some things right but that his theory needs considerable revision. They have elaborated on Piaget's theory, giving more emphasis to information processing, strategies, and precise cognitive steps.

inclusion

Educating a child with special education needs full-time in the regular classroom.

gifted

Having above-average intelligence (an IQ of 130 or higher) and/or superior talent for something.

metamemory

Knowledge about memory.

organic retardation

Mental retardation that is caused by a genetic disorder or brain damage.

emotional and behavioral disorders

Serious persistent problems that involve relationships, aggression, depression, fears associated with personal or school matters, as well as other inappropriate socioemotional characteristics.

intelligence

Problem-solving skills and the ability to learn from and adapt to the experiences of everyday life.

metalinguistic awareness

Refers to knowledge about language, such as knowing what a preposition is or the ability to discuss the sounds of a language.

cultural-familial retardation

Retardation that is characterized by no evidence of organic brain damage, but the individual's IQ is generally between 50 and 70.

fuzzy trace theory

States that memory is best understood by considering two types of memory representations: (1) verbatim memory trace, and (2) gist. In this theory, older children's better memory is attributed to the fuzzy traces created by extracting the gist of information.

triarchic theory of intelligence

Sternberg's theory that intelligence consists of analytical intelligence, creative intelligence, and practical intelligence.

culture-fair tests

Tests of intelligence that are designed to be free of cultural bias.

mathematical

The ability to carry out mathematical operations. (Ex: scientists, engineers, accountants)

transivity

The ability to logically combine relations to understand certain conclusions.

bodily-kinesthetic

The ability to manipulate objects and be physically adept. (Ex: surgeons, craftspeople, dancers, athletes)

naturalist

The ability to observe patterns in nature and understand natural and human-made systems. (Ex: farmers, botanists, ecologists, landscapers)

creative thinking

The ability to think in novel and unusual ways and to come up with unique solutions to problems.

verbal

The ability to think in words and use language to ecpress meaning. (Ex: authors, journalists, speakers)

spatial

The ability to think three-dimensional. (Ex: Architects, artists, sailors)

interpersonal

The ability to understand and interact effectively with others. (Ex: successful teachers, mental health professionals)

intrapersonal

The ability to understand oneself. (Ex: theologians, psychologists)

seriation

The concrete operation that involves ordering stimuli along a quantitative dimension (such as length).

phonics approach

The idea that reading instruction should teach the basic rules for translating written symbols into sounds.

individual differences

The stable, consistent ways in which people are different from each other.

critical thinking

Thinking reflectively and productively, as well as evaluating the evidence.

divergent thinking

Thinking that produces many answers to the same question and is characteristic of creativity.

convergent thinking

Thinking that produces one correct answer and is characteristic of the kind of thinking tested by standardized intelligence tests.

Gardner's Eight Frames of Mind

verbal, mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalist