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GLOSSARY

All definitions are from the Literacy Dictionary.                        

COGNITION - the process or result of recognizing, interpreting, judging, or reasoning; knowing.

COMPREHENSION 1: the reconstruction of the intended meaning of a communication: accurately understanding what is written or said.

COMPREHENSION 2: the construction of meaning of written or spoken communication through a reciprocal,  holistic interchange between the interpreter and the message.

COMPREHENSION MONITORING: the noting of one’s successes and failures in developing or attaining meaning, usually with reference to an emerging conception of the meaning of the txt as a whole, and adjusting one’s reading processes accordingly.

COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES: 1. a systematic sequences of steps for understanding text, as in the SQ3R method.             2. teaching techniques, such as mapping, etc. used to help students become strategic readers

CONTEXT - the sounds, words, or phrases adjacent to a spoken or written language unit.

DECODE - to analyze spoken or graphic symbols of    A familiar language to ascertain their intended meaning.

FLUENCY - freedom from word identification problems that might hinder comprehension in silent reading or the expression of ideas in oral reading; automaticity.

FUNCTIONAL READING - reading for practical purposes, as to get information

LEARNING DISABILITY- 1.  a generic term that refers to a heterogeneous group of disorders manifested by significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, or mathematical abilities.             2. a disorder of one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which...may manifest itself in imperfect ability to speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations.

MEDIATION - in semiotics, the process or result of bringing together otherwise unconnected things; the function performed by signs; transmediation.  Mediation is a fundamental concept of semiotics because the term identifies the central role of signs in communication.

MENTAL RETARDATION - a markedly lower, mental age than chronological age; a significant lack of intellectual ability for a given chronological age; significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period.

METACOGNITION – awareness and knowledge of one’s mental processes such that one can monitor, regulate, and direct them to a desired end; self-mediation.  Studies by Paris et al. (1983) suggest that one’s attitudes and beliefs are involved in metacognition.

METACOGNITIVE AWARENESS: knowing when what one is reading makes sense by monitoring and controlling one’s own comprehension.

MINIMAL BRAIN DYSFUNCTION - hypothetical construct concerning the nature of a learning disability- namely that subtle brain dysfunction interferes with cognition and learning and is manifested by soft neurologic signs without clear-cut evidence of injury to the nervous system.

PROPOSITIONAL ENCODING: in reading comprehension, processing text as a series of thought units or propositions.

READING DISABILITY- reading achievement significantly below what could reasonably be expected of a person; a marked ability-achievement discrepancy.

READING RECOVERY- a registered trademark for an early intervention program developed by Clay in 1985 for use with children at risk in reading progress after one year of schooling.

READING-TO-LEARN - the use of reading skills to acquire knowledge, broaden understandings, and deepen appreciation.

RECIPROCAL TEACHING- a teaching strategy in which students are involved in summarizing, question-generating, clarifying and predicting as they read texts and observe phenomena.

REMEDIAL READING - specialized reading instruction adjusted to the needs of a student who does not perform satisfactorily with regular reading instruction.

SCAFFOLDING: in learning, the gradual withdrawal of adult (e.g. teacher) support, as through instruction, modeling, questioning, feedback, etc., for a child’s performance across successive engagements, thus transferring more and more autonomy to the child.

SCHEMA THEORY: a view that comprehension depends on integrating new knowledge with a network of prior knowledge.

SEMANTIC MAP - a graphic display of a cluster of words that are meaningfully related.

SEMIOTICS- a philosophy of communication; theory of signs and their relations and manifestations, comprised of the sub-branches of syntactics, semantics, and pragmatics.

SOCRATIC METHOD - the pedagogical technique of asking leading questions to stimulate rational thinking and illuminating ideas.

SQ3R - a series of steps to be used in reading a textbook for study purposes. Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review

STUDY SKILLS- a general term for those techniques and strategies that help a person read or listen for specific purposes with the intent to remember; commonly, following directions, locating, selecting, organizing, and retaining information, interpreting typographic and graphic aids, and reading flexibly.

TITLE I - the federally funded compensatory education program in the United States, intended to serve children of lower socioeconomic backgrounds who may be at risk for school failure, particularly at elementary levels.

VOCABULARY - all the words of a language.

WORD RECOGNITION - the quick and easy identification of the form, pronunciation, and appropriate meaning of a word previously met in print or writing.

WRITING-TO-LEARN - the use of writing to facilitate learning with text by helping students to explore, clarify and think deeply about ideas and concepts encountered in reading.

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