Learning About Learning
Glossary
This glossary explains terms used in Learning about Learning. It is not intended to be exhaustive in educational terms, nor does it include an explanation of every word used in the documents and movies. Instead, it seeks to clarify meanings in order to remove potential barriers to understanding and help the reader to appreciate the messages intended more fully.
Keyword search
| Electronic mail. A service which allows people to send and receive messages and files, usually through a computer. | |
| Email lists | Distributed email lists use software to manage messages within a group: everyone who subscribes to the list gets every message, and every reply goes to all subscribers. |
| Emoticons | Characters used in text or email messages to indicate emotions and attitudes that would be conveyed by body language in face-to-face communications. They are created by using symbols on the keyboard: for example, a smile is represented with a basic smiley :-) The colon represents the eyes; the hyphen is for the nose, and the parenthesis for the mouth. |
| Emotional intelligence | The ability to perceive and understand, and act appropriately and reflectively on, one’s own and other people’s feelings and emotions. Whereas emotional intelligence is not specifically related to cognitive or academic intelligence, it encompasses qualities such as self-awareness, self-control, and self-motivation. A person with emotional intelligence will have the ability to empathise with others and practise restraint. |
| Emotional literacy | The ability to identify, manage and express our feelings and to understand what other people are thinking and feeling. |
| Empirical data | This is information based on observation and experience, not scientific reasoning. Empirical data is often very accurate, although it is not accepted as scientifically sound; however, no area of science is devoid of a real-world/empirical component. |
| Empirical research | Empirical research is any research that bases its findings on direct or indirect observation as its test of reality. |
| Enquiry learning | Enquiry learning is a learner-centred approach that emphasises higher order thinking skills. It may take several forms, including analysis, problem solving, discovery and creative activities, both in the classroom and the community. Most importantly, in enquiry learning pupils are responsible for processing the data they are working with in order to reach their own conclusions. |
| Enrichment programmes | Programmes of work designed to provide depth and breadth to a skill, theme or subject. They often demand a higher order level of thinking. |
| Entrepreneurial | The ability to see new ideas, opportunities, and methods and if need be, to take risks. |
| Ethos | The fundamental values of the school or educational establishment. |
| Experiential learning | Experiential education is the process of actively engaging learners in an authentic experience that will have benefits and consequences; ie, they learn by doing instead of hearing or reading about the experiences of others. For example, through work experience and role play. |
| Extra curricular programmes | Activities that are outside the regular curriculum of the school, such as the school choir, orchestra, gymnastic or football teams, computer clubs, etc. |
| Extrinsic motivation | Extrinsic motivation is when we are compelled to do something or act a certain way because of external factors. These might include incentives and rewards or even punishments. Someone else usually determines the goals or expectations. |