Learning Strategies and Tools: English Vocabulary List

the ability to make sound judgments and think in a practical way

"Common sense is useful."

"Common sense told her to stay home in the storm."

the act of rational and logical thinking about something

"Logical reasoning used."

"His reasoning was logical but he lacked enough evidence to support his initial claim."

the process of logical thinking or reasoning

"His ratiocination solved the mystery."

"The detective relied on careful ratiocination while analyzing contradictory witness testimonies thoroughly."

the capacity to understand something

"The reading comprehension passage is two pages long."

"The reading comprehension passage is two pages long and students answer ten questions about the text."

the ability to think about and regulate one's own thinking processes

"Metacognition means thinking about your own thinking."

"Metacognition means thinking about your own thinking and helps students plan monitor and evaluate their learning."

a collaborative technique for generating ideas or solutions through group discussion

"Brainstorming generates many ideas quickly."

"Brainstorming generates many ideas quickly without judging them and participants are encouraged to build on each other's suggestions."

the process of actively and carefully analyzing and evaluating information from a text to form a judgment or opinion about its meaning and quality

"Critical reading requires careful thought."

"Engaging in critical reading allows us to question assumptions and form well-reasoned opinions about the material."

a problem-solving approach that involves considering unconventional or creative solutions to reach a resolution

"Lateral thinking solves problems through indirect reasoning."

"Lateral thinking solves problems through indirect reasoning and often involves looking at challenges from unusual perspectives."

the ability to analyze, evaluate, and make reasoned judgments about information, arguments, or situations

"Critical thinking evaluates arguments and evidence."

"Critical thinking evaluates arguments and evidence and helps people make reasoned judgments without bias."

the act of breaking down complex problems or situations into smaller components to understand them thoroughly and identify patterns or relationships

"Analytic thinking breaks problems into smaller parts."

"Analytic thinking breaks problems into smaller parts and examines each component separately to understand the whole."

the process of recording and summarizing information from lectures, readings, or discussions for future reference or study

"Notetaking helps retain lecture information."

"Notetaking helps retain lecture information and students who take notes by hand remember more than those who type."

the process of adding notes, comments, or explanations to a text or document to provide additional context, clarification, or analysis

"The student's annotation of the text uses sticky notes."

"The student's annotation of the text uses sticky notes to mark important passages and write questions in the margins."

a writing method that involves breaking down information into smaller sections for easier comprehension and organization

"Chunking breaks long numbers into smaller groups."

"Chunking breaks long numbers into smaller groups like a phone number to make them easier to remember."

a conclusion one reaches from the existing evidence or known facts

"This is a logical inference."

"The inference from the data was clear."

the memorization of information through repetition without necessarily understanding its meaning or context

"Rote learning uses repetition and memorization."

"Rote learning memorizes facts through repetition and is useful for times tables but not for deeper understanding."

a learning style where individuals absorb and retain information best through visual aids such as images, diagrams, charts, and videos

"Visual learning uses diagrams and images."

"Visual learning uses diagrams and images and is effective for students who remember what they see better than what they hear."

a type of learning where individuals acquire new behaviors or skills by watching and imitating others

"Observational learning watches others and imitates."

"Observational learning watches others and imitates and children learn many behaviors by watching their parents."

a visual representation of ideas, concepts, or information, typically organized around a central topic or theme

"The mind map connects related ideas with branches."

"The mind map connects related ideas with branches and is used to brainstorm and organize thoughts visually."

a visual tool used to collect and display images, colors, textures, and other elements to convey the desired aesthetic or mood for a project or concept

"The mood board has fabric samples and color swatches."

"The mood board has fabric samples and color swatches and helps designers communicate the feel of a project."

a strategy used in categorizing information by organizing items into groups and providing a label for each group

"List-group-label organizes vocabulary into categories."

"List group label organizes vocabulary into categories and students brainstorm words then group them and name each group."

a diagram consisting of circles that represent mathematical or logical sets showing shared features in overlapping areas

"The Venn diagram compares two historical figures."

"The Venn diagram compares two historical figures with overlapping circles showing shared characteristics."

a visual representation of relationships between ideas, concepts, or information, often depicted as nodes connected by lines

"The concept map shows relationships between theories."

"The concept map shows relationships between theories and uses arrows to indicate cause and effect or association."

a collection of questions or exercises designed to test and reinforce understanding of a particular topic or concept

"The physics problem set has ten questions."

"The physics problem set has ten questions and students must show their work for full credit."

a physical object designed to facilitate hands-on learning and enhance understanding of abstract concepts through tactile exploration and interaction

"The manipulative tool helps teach fractions with colored blocks."

"The manipulative tool helps teach fractions with colored blocks that students can move and arrange."