Behaviorism: A learning theory based on the idea that learning is a response to external stimuli. It focuses on observable and measurable aspects of student behavior without considering cognitive processes.

Bloom’s Taxonomy: A classification system used to define and distinguish different levels of human cognition—thinking, learning, and understanding. It’s widely used in education to set learning objectives.

Blended Learning: A mix of traditional face-to-face and online learning. This approach combines the strengths of both environments to provide a more flexible and engaging learning experience.

Bounded Rationality: A concept that decision-making is limited by the information available, the cognitive limitations of the mind, and the finite amount of time available to make a decision.

Brain-Based Learning: An educational approach based on the latest scientific research about how the brain learns, including factors such as emotion, environment, and developmental stages.

Benchmarking: A method for measuring the performance of a company’s products, services, or processes against those of another business considered to be the best in the industry.

Behavior Modification: A theory and technique based on operant conditioning, aiming to change behaviors through reinforcement or punishment.

Behavioral Objectives: Clear, precise, and measurable statements that define the expected outcomes of learning. They focus on the specific behaviors students should exhibit after instruction.

Cognitive Load: The mental effort required to learn new information. It’s divided into intrinsic, extraneous, and germane loads, focusing on how information presentation can aid or hinder learning.

Constructivism: A theory that posits learners actively construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world, through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences. It emphasizes the importance of active involvement in learning.

Curriculum Development: The process of planning and organizing the content, materials, and activities for effective teaching and learning in educational settings.

Cognitive Development: The study of how learning processes change over time, focusing on understanding how people acquire, organize, and use knowledge.

Cognitive Dissonance Theory: A psychological theory suggesting that people experience psychological stress when they hold two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values.

Connectivism: A theory of learning that emphasizes the role of social and cultural context in how and where learning occurs, often through networks and digital platforms.

Constructivist Learning Theory: A theory suggesting learners construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world, through experiences and reflecting on those experiences.

Collaborative Learning: An educational approach where learners work together in groups to solve problems, complete tasks, or create products.

Critical Thinking: The ability to analyze facts, generate and organize ideas, defend opinions, make comparisons, draw inferences, evaluate arguments, and solve problems.

Cultural Literacy: The ability to understand and participate fluently in a given culture. It involves knowledge of history, norms, values, and symbols of that culture.

Design Thinking: An approach to problem-solving that involves empathizing with users, defining problems, ideating, prototyping, and testing. It’s widely used in the universe of experience design for developing user-centered products and learning experiences.

Diffusion of Innovations Theory: A theory that seeks to explain how, why, and at what rate new ideas and technology spread through cultures.

Digital Literacy: The ability to use digital technology, communication tools, or networks to locate, evaluate, use, and create information. It’s considered a crucial skill in the modern world, enabling users to navigate and use digital platforms effectively.

Distance Education: The process of delivering educational or instructional programs to students who are geographically remote from the instructor or the educational institution.

Divergent Thinking: A thought process used to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions. It typically occurs in a spontaneous, free-flowing, non-linear manner.

Digital Divide: The gap between demographics and regions that have access to modern information and communications technology, and those that don’t or have restricted access.

Didactic Teaching: A traditional form of teaching that is instructor-centered, where information is presented in a lecture format, often without much interaction or engagement with the students.

Discovery Learning: A constructivist learning theory and instructional approach that encourages students to explore, ask questions, and discover new things to learn concepts and content.

E-Learning: The use of electronic media and information and communication technologies in education. E-Learning includes various forms of content delivery, such as online courses, digital classrooms, and virtual training.

Experiential Learning: Learning through reflection on doing, which is often contrasted with rote or didactic learning. Experiential learning activities include internships, study abroad, field trips, and projects.

Educational Psychology: The study of how humans learn in educational settings, the effectiveness of educational interventions, the psychology of teaching, and the social psychology of schools as organizations.

Empirical Research: Research based on actual, “hands-on” experimentation or observation, using empirical evidence to reach conclusions.

E-portfolio: A digital collection of artifacts articulating experiences, achievements, and learning. They are used for assessment, as well as showcasing a person’s skills and accomplishments.

Ethical Reasoning: The ability to identify, assess, and develop ethical arguments from a variety of ethical positions. It’s important for responsible citizenship and professional conduct.

Extrinsic Motivation: A drive to perform a task or engage in an activity because of external rewards or pressures, rather than for the enjoyment of the task itself.

Flipped Classroom: An instructional strategy where traditional teaching methods are inverted. Students are introduced to content at home and practice working through it at school. This approach encourages active learning and peer collaboration.

Flipped Learning Model: An educational model that inverts traditional teaching methods, delivering instructional content outside of the classroom, and moving activities, including those that may have traditionally been considered homework, into the classroom.

Formative Assessment: A range of formal and informal assessment procedures conducted by teachers during the learning process. Its purpose is to modify teaching and learning activities to improve student attainment.

Fogg Behavior Model: A model that posits that behavior is a result of three specific elements coming together at one moment: Motivation, Ability, and a Prompt.

Faculty Development: Programs aimed at improving the performance and enhancing the skills of teachers and other educational personnel.

Flexible Learning: Educational programs and systems that offer learners a degree of choice over what, when, where, and how they learn. It encompasses a range of delivery modes, learning styles, and pedagogical strategies.

Feedback Loop: The process through which learners receive and respond to comments or critiques regarding their performance, leading to improvements or changes in future behavior.

Formal Learning: Structured learning that typically takes place in an educational institution, following a set curriculum and leading to certification.

Futurology: The study of future trends and predictions, often used in strategic planning and organizational development.

Gamification: The application of game-design elements and game principles in non-game contexts. It’s used in education and training to enhance learner engagement and motivation through game-like features.

Game Mechanics: The elements and principles that make games engaging and fun, such as points, levels, challenges, and rewards, increasingly used in gamified learning environments.

Gestalt Theory: A psychological theory that proposes that humans naturally perceive objects as organized patterns and objects, summarizing that ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts’.

Group Dynamics: The study of the attitudes and behavioral patterns of a group. It’s important in understanding how to lead and communicate within teams.

Growth Mindset: The belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication and hard work. It contrasts with a fixed mindset, which assumes these traits are static.

Guided Discovery: A teaching method where the teacher guides students as they approach a problem or discover new concepts, helping them along the way.

Grade Inflation: The tendency to award progressively higher academic grades for work that would have received lower grades in the past. It’s a concern in educational policy debates.

Generative Learning: Learning that involves active mental processes to understand and integrate new information with existing knowledge. It’s often seen as a way to promote deeper learning.

Heutagogy: A student-centered instructional strategy that emphasizes the development of autonomy, capacity, and capability, focusing on self-determined learning.

Heuristic Evaluation: A usability inspection method used to identify usability problems in a user interface design. It involves evaluators examining the interface and judging its compliance with recognized usability principles (the “heuristics”).

Holistic Education: An approach to teaching that seeks to address the emotional, social, ethical, and academic needs of students in an integrated learning format.

Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS): Cognitive processes that involve complex judgments, including analysis, evaluation, and synthesis. They are critical for advanced learning and problem-solving.

Hybrid Learning: A blend of online and face-to-face learning experiences. Unlike blended learning, hybrid approaches often involve simultaneous teaching of in-person and remote students.

Human Capital Theory: The concept that investing in human skills and knowledge through education and training increases productivity and efficiency.

Homework: Tasks assigned to students by their teachers to be completed outside the classroom. Homework extends learning opportunities beyond the school environment.

Instructional Design: The practice of systematically designing, developing, and delivering instructional products and experiences. It’s both an art and a science, involving a deep understanding of how people learn.

Interactive Design: The process of designing a user interface that facilitates meaningful interaction between users and digital products. It focuses on creating engaging interfaces with well-thought-out behaviors.

Inquiry-Based Learning: An educational approach that focuses on investigation and problem-solving. Students formulate questions, research answers, and present findings.

Interdisciplinary Studies: Educational programs that integrate concepts and teaching methods from multiple disciplines to provide a more comprehensive understanding of complex issues.

Intrinsic Motivation: The internal desire to perform a particular task because it gives pleasure or develops a skill, rather than due to external pressure or rewards.

Information Literacy: The ability to identify, locate, evaluate, and effectively use information. It’s crucial for successful navigation in the digital age.

Institutional Accreditation: The process by which a school or program is evaluated and recognized as meeting certain predetermined standards of education quality.

JIT (Just-In-Time) Training: A learning strategy that offers training and development to employees when they need it, often just before a task. It’s a flexible approach that adapts to the immediate needs of the learner.

Job-Embedded Learning: Professional development activities that are grounded in day-to-day teaching practices and are directly relevant to the instructional challenges teachers face.

Jigsaw Classroom: A cooperative learning technique where students are divided into groups, with each group member assigned a different piece of information necessary for solving a problem or completing a task.

Judgment-Based Assessment: The use of subjective measures, such as teacher observations or peer reviews, to evaluate student performance and progress.

Journaling: A pedagogical tool where students record their thoughts, reflections, and reactions to learning experiences, often enhancing critical thinking and self-reflection.

Just-in-Case Learning: Traditional learning model where learners accumulate knowledge in case it is needed in the future, in contrast to just-in-time learning strategies.

Kinesthetic Learning: A learning style characterized by the physical experience of touch and movement. Kinesthetic learners prefer to learn through hands-on activities and engaging in physical activities rather than watching or listening.

Kirkpatrick Model: A widely used model for evaluating the effectiveness of training, including four levels: Reaction, Learning, Behavior, and Results.

Knowledge Construction: The process through which learners actively build their own understanding and knowledge base through experiences and interactions with the world.

Kinaesthetic Learning: A learning style where physical movement and tactile experiences are used to process and remember information.

Knowledge Transfer: The process by which experienced members of an organization or society pass skills and knowledge to newer members.

Key Performance Indicator (KPI): A measurable value that demonstrates how effectively an organization is achieving key objectives in various fields including education.

Kinship Education: Education models that involve community and family members in the learning process, recognizing the role of cultural and familial connections in education.

Learning Management System (LMS): A software application or web-based technology used to plan, implement, and assess a specific learning process. LMSs are used to distribute courses over the internet and track user performance.

Learning Experience Platforms (LXP): Next-generation digital learning environments that are more personalized and learner-centric, focusing on user experience and often integrating with various tools and systems to facilitate a wide range of learning experiences.

Learner Analytics: The measurement, collection, analysis, and reporting of data about learners and their contexts, for understanding and optimizing learning and the environments in which it occurs.

Learning Objectives: Clearly defined statements that specify what learners will know or be able to do as a result of a learning activity.

Learning Styles Theory: A theory that suggests individuals have preferred ways to learn, such as visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic.

Lifelong Learning: The ongoing, self-motivated pursuit of knowledge for personal or professional reasons. This concept emphasizes that learning can extend beyond formal education settings.

Lesson Planning: The process by which teachers design the content, structure, and methodology of teaching to achieve specific learning objectives.

Literacy Development: The process of acquiring the skills to understand and use written language for communication. It’s a critical part of education, encompassing reading, writing, and critical thinking.

Learning Communities: Groups of people who share common academic goals and attitudes, who collaborate on learning together, often within the framework of formal education.

Microlearning: An approach to training and education that involves delivering content in small, specific bursts. It focuses on skill-based learning and training where each learning unit is short and addresses a single or a few learning objectives.

Mentoring: A developmental relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps to guide a less experienced or less knowledgeable person.

Metacognition: Awareness and understanding of one’s own thought processes, often regarded as a critical component of effective learning.

Mastery Learning: An instructional strategy that assumes all students can learn given enough time and support, focusing on mastering each learning unit before moving to a more advanced task.

Mind Mapping: A visual organization strategy that enables students to reflect on different aspects of a concept or problem in a non-linear fashion.

Montessori Method: An educational approach based on self-directed activity, hands-on learning, and collaborative play.

Mobile Learning (mLearning): Learning across multiple contexts, through social and content interactions, using personal electronic devices. mLearning is an extension of eLearning, allowing learning to be accessible anywhere and at any time.

Motivational Interviewing: A counseling approach that helps people resolve ambivalent feelings to find the internal motivation they need to change their behavior.

MOOC (Massive Open Online Course): An online course aimed at unlimited participation and open access via the web. MOOCs are a popular way for learners across the world to access high-quality educational content.

Needs Analysis: The process of identifying and evaluating needs within an organization or a system. It’s a systematic approach to understanding what learners need to achieve their goals and how best to meet these needs.

Narrative Learning: The process of learning through storytelling, an approach that uses narrative to convey important concepts and lessons.

Naturalistic Intelligence: Intelligence that involves understanding nature and the environment, part of Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences theory.

Norm-referenced Assessment: An assessment where a student’s performance is compared to a norm group, often used in standardized testing.

Neuroeducation: An interdisciplinary field that combines neuroscience, psychology, and education to improve teaching methods and learning strategies.

Nonformal Learning: Education that occurs outside the formal school system, such as community education, adult education, and various training programs.

Online Learning: Education or training conducted over the internet. This form of learning can be self-paced or instructor-led and includes a range of media and methods, from online courses to virtual classrooms.

Outcome-based Education: An educational theory that focuses on the outcomes or results of the educational process, emphasizing the achievement of specific competencies or skills.

Open Educational Resources (OER): Free and openly licensed educational materials that can be used for teaching, learning, research, and other purposes.

Organizational Learning: The process by which an organization improves itself over time through gaining experience and using that experience to create knowledge.

Oral Tradition: A form of human communication where knowledge, art, ideas, and cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another.

Outward Bound: An educational program using challenging outdoor activities to develop character, leadership, and teamwork skills.

Pedagogy: The theory and practice of teaching. It involves the study of methods and activities of teaching, and it’s heavily focused on the best ways to educate and impart knowledge.

Performance Support: Tools or resources provided to learners at the point of need to help them perform tasks. These may include job aids, checklists, quick reference guides, and software tools.

Pragmatism: A philosophical tradition focusing on the practical application of ideas and learning through experience. It emphasizes the idea that the meaning of concepts or theories is to be sought in their practical consequences.

Problem-Based Learning (PBL): An educational approach involving confronting students with real-world problems to solve, enhancing their critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Proxemics: The study of human use of space and the effects that population density has on behavior, communication, and social interaction. It’s relevant in understanding physical learning environments.

Psychomotor Learning: Learning or developing skills that involve both mental and physical activities, such as using tools or instruments, which is critical in vocational training and skill-based education.

Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK): The concept that effective teaching requires understanding both what to teach (content) and how to teach it (pedagogy).

Qualitative Assessment: An assessment process that focuses on descriptive, subjective measures rather than numerical metrics. It provides insights into the process, attitudes, feelings, and behaviors of learners.

Quantitative Assessment: The use of measurable, numeric data to evaluate learning outcomes. It often involves tests or quizzes that provide statistical data about learners’ performance.

Questioning Technique: The strategic use of questions in the classroom to stimulate student thinking and learning. It includes open-ended, guiding, and reflective questions.

Quasi-Experimental Design: A type of research design that attempts to establish a cause-and-effect relationship where randomized control trials are not possible.

Qualitative Research: Research that seeks to understand phenomena through the meanings that people assign to them, often using methods like interviews, focus groups, and observations.

Quiet Learning: A pedagogical approach that emphasizes silent study and reflection, recognizing that some learners process information more effectively in a quiet, introspective manner.

Rapid Prototyping: A method in systems development where prototypes are quickly constructed and iterated upon, increasingly used in e-learning development.

Reciprocal Teaching: An instructional activity where students become the teacher in small group reading sessions. It’s designed to enhance comprehension through guided discussion.

Reflective Practice: The act of routinely reflecting on one’s actions and experiences as a means of learning and improving one’s practice.

Rubric: A scoring tool used to evaluate criteria-based performance. It details performance expectations for an assignment or piece of work.

Rote Learning: Learning through repetition, often without an understanding of the reasoning or relationships behind the material being learned.

Resilience Training: Programs or strategies designed to strengthen individuals’ ability to endure and adapt to challenges and adversity, particularly important in leadership and personal development.

SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model): A set of technical standards for e-learning software products. SCORM defines how online learning content and Learning Management Systems (LMS) communicate with each other, ensuring compatibility between different e-learning software.

Social Learning Theory: A theory developed by Albert Bandura that proposes learning is a cognitive process that takes place in a social context and can occur purely through observation or direct instruction, even in the absence of motor reproduction or direct reinforcement.

Storyboarding: The process of visually predicting and planning the elements of a project or piece of media before it’s created. In LXD it’s used to outline e-learning modules, animations, or interactive storytelling.

Synchronous Learning: A type of learning in which learners participate in learning activities at the same time but not necessarily in the same place. It includes virtual classrooms, live online courses, and teleconferencing.

Scaffolding: Instructional techniques used to move students progressively toward stronger understanding and independence in the learning process.

Self-Directed Learning: A process where individuals take the initiative, with or without help from others, in diagnosing their learning needs, formulating goals, identifying resources, and evaluating learning outcomes.

Social Constructivism: A learning theory that emphasizes the importance of culture and context in understanding what occurs in society and constructing knowledge based on this understanding.

Spatial Learning: Learning that involves understanding the spatial relationships between objects. This type of learning is key in fields like architecture, engineering, and geography.

Summative Assessment: The evaluation of student learning at the end of an instructional unit by comparing it against some standard or benchmark. Examples include final exams, end-of-term projects, and standardized tests.

Transfer of Learning: The application of skills, knowledge, or attitudes that were learned in one situation to another learning situation. It’s a key goal in education, indicating that learning is not just for the immediate task.

Threshold Concepts: Core ideas or principles within a discipline that, once understood, transform the learner’s perception of the discipline.

Tactile Communication: A form of nonverbal communication or expression through touch, important in early childhood education and special education.

Team-Based Learning (TBL): A collaborative learning and teaching strategy that enables people to follow a structured process to enhance student engagement and the quality of student learning.

Tin Can API (also known as xAPI): An e-learning software specification that allows learning content and learning systems to speak to each other in a way that records and tracks all types of learning experiences, similar to SCORM but with more flexibility and capabilities.

Transformative Learning: A theory of adult education that suggests ways in which adults alter their worldviews or frames of reference through critical reflection and experience.

UI (User Interface): The space where interactions between humans and machines occur. The goal of UI design in LXD and UX is to make the user’s interaction as simple and efficient as possible.

UX (User Experience): The overall experience of a person using a product, system, or service. In LXD and UX, it focuses on understanding user needs, values, abilities, and limitations.

Ubiquitous Learning: Learning that can happen anywhere and at any time, made possible through the use of digital technologies that allow access to learning resources regardless of physical location.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL): An educational framework that guides the development of flexible learning environments and learning spaces that can accommodate individual learning differences.

Unstructured Learning: A learning process where the learner sets their own goals and objectives without a prescribed curriculum or set path. It often happens in informal settings.

Underpinning Knowledge: Fundamental knowledge needed to understand a complex skill or topic. It forms the base upon which more advanced understanding is built.

Utilitarian Education: An approach to education that emphasizes practical and useful skills that directly prepare students for certain careers or tasks in life.

Virtual Reality (VR): A simulated experience that can be similar to or completely different from the real world. VR in LXD is used for immersive learning experiences, allowing learners to explore and interact with a 3D world.

Vocational Education: Education that prepares individuals for specific trades, crafts, and careers at various levels from a trade, a craft, technician, or a professional position in engineering, accounting, nursing, medicine, and other healing arts, architecture, pharmacy, law, etc.

Virtual Classroom: A digital learning environment that occurs in the virtual space. It typically involves interaction between the teacher and students and may include other interactive components like discussion boards.

Visual Learning: A learning style in which ideas, concepts, data, and other information are associated with images and techniques. It’s one of the three basic types of learning styles in the Fleming VAK/VARK model.

Value-Based Education: An educational approach that works to instill essential values such as integrity, compassion, and respect in students.

Verbal Learning: Learning that involves the use of words and language, such as reading, writing, listening, and speaking. It’s a crucial part of most educational curriculums.

Webinar: A seminar conducted over the internet. It’s a type of web conferencing that is typically one-way, from the speaker to the audience with limited audience interaction, like in a webcast.

Whole Language Approach: An instructional philosophy on teaching reading and writing that emphasizes the use of natural language. It’s the idea that language should not be broken down into letters and combinations but rather learned as a whole.

Workplace Learning: The acquisition of skills and knowledge in a working environment, often as part of professional development or continuous learning processes within an organization.

Wisdom: In educational contexts, it refers to the use of knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense, and insight in a thoughtful and sensible manner, especially when making decisions.

Web-Based Training (WBT): Training delivered over a network (often the Internet). WBT can be self-paced, asynchronous, or synchronous, with interactive elements like video, quizzes, and forums.

Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC): An educational movement that holds that writing instruction should happen across the academic community and throughout a student’s education.

xAPI (Experience API): A software specification that allows learning content and learning systems to speak to each other in a manner that records and tracks all types of learning experiences. xAPI data can be stored in Learning Record Stores (LRS).

Xenogogy: A term referring to a guide or manual designed to orient someone unfamiliar with a new place or system. In education, it relates to materials or orientation sessions for newcomers to a field or institution.

Xenoeducation: The concept of learning about different cultures and systems, promoting cross-cultural understanding and global awareness.

Xerophytic Adaptation: In a broader educational context, this can refer to adapting learning methods to arid or resource-scarce environments, emphasizing resilience and innovation.

X-Inefficiency: A concept from economics that can be applied in educational administration, referring to inefficiency due to a lack of competitive pressure.

Xerography: The process of dry copying; in educational contexts, it can refer to the reproduction of educational materials. It’s a basic but important aspect of resource preparation and dissemination.

Yield Learning: A term that can be used in educational contexts to describe the process of deriving knowledge or learning outcomes from a set of educational inputs or experiences.

Youth Empowerment: A process where young people gain the skills and knowledge to participate fully in civic and societal matters, often a goal in modern educational settings.

Yin-Yang Learning: A concept derived from Chinese philosophy, applied in education to suggest a balance in learning approaches, such as balancing theory and practice, or individual study and collaboration.

Yield Theory: In education, this can refer to strategies or approaches that maximize learning outcomes or the ‘yield’ from educational activities and resources.

Youth Development: The process through which young people acquire the cognitive, social, and emotional skills and abilities required to navigate life. This includes formal and informal educational contexts.

Zeitgeist in Education: Refers to the dominant set of ideals and beliefs influencing educational trends and approaches at a given time. It represents how educational practices mirror the prevailing cultural and intellectual climate.

Zone of Actual Development: In contrast to Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development, this term refers to the range of tasks that a learner can perform independently without the help of a teacher or peers.

Zone of Proximal Development: A concept in the psychology of learning referring to the difference between what a learner can do without help and what they can achieve with guidance and encouragement. It’s a critical concept in understanding the learning process and scaffolding.

Zestful Learning: An approach that emphasizes enthusiasm and energetic engagement in the learning process, fostering a lively and passionate educational environment.