SpringBoard: Academic Vocabulary and Concepts

Fixed Mindset

The belief that a person's intelligence, talents, abilities, and potential are biologically set at birth and cannot improve.

Growth Mindset

The belief that a person's intelligence, talents, abilities, and potential can be developed and improved through effort, learning, and persistence.

Self-awareness

The conscious knowledge of one’s own character, feelings, motives, and desires. There are 2 types: Internal (how clearly one sees their values, passions, and aspirations and how well those standards fit with their environment and reactions) and External (the ability to see how other people view you. Individuals who possess this type of awareness are typically more empathetic and can better understand the perspectives of others).

Self-advocacy

The ability and willingness for person to communicate their needs without prompting.

Self-management

The ability to regulate one's behaviors, thoughts, and emotions in a conscious and productive manner. It encompasses managing personal responsibilities effectively across various aspects of life, including work and personal well-being.

Social-awareness

The ability to accurately understand and empathize with other people's emotions. It involves being aware of the social environment, including cultures, communities, societal norms, and the struggles faced by others. This skill requires individuals to take a moment to consider how their thoughts, emotions, and actions impact those around them.

Imposter Syndrome

A psychological experience characterized by persistent self-doubt regarding one's abilities and accomplishments. It is the fear that others will eventually uncover own's perceived weaknesses and question their competence the way they do.

Punctuality

The characteristic or ability to be on time, which involves arriving at a designated place at the agreed-upon time or intentionally working to meet due dates and deadlines.

Self-discipline

The correction or regulation of oneself for the sake of improvement. It involves the ability to control one's feelings, desires, and impulses in order to achieve specific goals or adhere to certain standards. This concept encompasses various aspects of personal development, including the practice of delaying gratification, maintaining focus on tasks, and exercising restraint in situations that may provoke emotional responses.

Time management

The process of planning and exercising conscious control of time spent on specific activities—especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity.

Critical thinking

The practice of resisting assumptions, considering alternative perspectives, and conducting extension research to form an objective conclusion. This intellectual process requires active and skillful higher order thinking of information gathered from observation, experience, reflection, and reasoning.

Active listening

The practice of closely observing the speaker's verbal and nonverbal messages while speaking and providing reassurance of attentiveness to the message being presented. This skill involves maintaining eye contact with the speaker, seeking to understand rather than simply hearing words, and posing specific probing questions when appropriate.

Empathy

The ability to "put yourself in someone else's shoes", to understand, feel, and possibly share and respond to their experience. It encompasses a range of emotional and cognitive processes that are primarily concerned with understanding others. It plays a crucial role in social interactions and relationships, helping individuals connect with others on an emotional level.

Problem-solving

The cognitive process of using appropriate knowledge, critical thinking, and necessary resources to overcome obstacles and achieve a desired goal. This process involves evaluating various outcomes and selecting the most suitable one based on all available options.

Perseverance

The quality of continuing to do or try to achieve something despite difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement. It embodies a steady persistence in a course of action, purpose, or state, especially when facing challenges. This quality requires an unwavering commitment to a goal and the ability to endure hardships while maintaining effort toward that goal.

Metacognition

The ability to know and be aware of one's own thought process; self-reflection.

Perspective

A view or consideration of situations, people, objects, or events influenced by one's experiences and personality.

Perception

A mental impression, understanding, and interpretation of an event, situation, or object based upon emotion, sensory input, prior knowledge, and/or previous experiences.

"Race"

A categorical system created and defined by the dominant group to classify people based solely upon physical characteristics such as bone structure, skin complexion, hair texture, and eye color.

The N-word ( ending in "-er" or "-a")

Rooted in white supremacy, this historically derogatory, dehumanizing, and racist slur/concept of hate is weaponized against people of African ancestry - particularly African Americans. When this form of racism is internalized, some African Americans will use this slur as a "term of endearment" or a "gesture of animosity" toward other African Americans within their cultural community.

Ethnicity

The cultural identification and grouping of people who share historical experiences, social experiences, cultural traditions, and/or ancestry.

Colorism

Prejudice or discrimination against individuals within a community of color that possesses dark(er) skin tone and/or physical features associated with people of African descent. The belief that European features (i.e. light or fair skin tone, non-brown eyes, straight hair, narrow noses, etc.) are superior or more attractive.

Culture

The enduring behaviors, beliefs, attitudes, values, and traditions chosen and shared by a group of people.

Nationality

Identity with a group of people who share legal attachment and personal allegiance to a specific country.

Heritage

Reference to ancestry, traditions, legacy, and even monetary or tangible possessions that are passed down through the years or inherited from one generation to the next.

Intersectionality

The interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage.

Marginalized cultures

The people who are put or kept in a powerless or unimportant position within a society or group. To treat (a person, group, or concept) as insignificant or peripheral.

Dominant culture

The most important, powerful, or influential group. Commanding, controlling, or prevailing over all others from a superior position.

White supremacy

The practice/belief that people of European descent and the culture of Europe are superior to those of all other races/ethnicities/cultures, and the European culture should therefore dominate society.

Internalized oppression

A complex multi-generational socialization process that conditions marginalized people to believe, accept, and live or act out negative societal definitions of themselves.

Implicit bias

Subconscious stereotypes, attitudes, and prejudices that affect one's understanding, actions, and decisions -- activated involuntarily and without an individual's awareness or intentional control.

Biological sex

A set of attributes in humans and animals. It is primarily associated with physical and physiological features including chromosomes, gene expression, hormone levels and function, and reproductive/sexual anatomy.

Gender/Gender expression

The socially constructed roles, behaviors, expressions and identities of girls, women, boys, men, and gender diverse people. It influences how people perceive themselves and each other, how they act and interact, and the distribution of power and resources in society.

Anti-blackness

The beliefs, attitudes, actions, practices, and behaviors of individuals and institutions that devalue, minimize, discriminate against, and marginalize darker-melanated people, Black people — or those who are perceived to be of African descent.

Assimilation

The process in which a marginalized culture is absorbed into the dominant culture in a society, taking on the traits of the dominant culture to such a degree that the marginalized group becomes socially indistinguishable from other members of the society. This action can be forced, influenced, or voluntary.

Social construct

A collaborative consensus among the dominant group about a philosophy, idea, concept, or practice, and is then accepted as truth or reality by the rest of society.

Microaggression (subtle acts of exclusion)

The everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group membership.

Literary Theory

The systematic study of literature using various critical lenses to analyze text to find its multi-layered meaning.

Reader Response Criticism

An approach to literature that focuses on the reader's personal lens rather than the author's intention or the work itself. This practice is a dynamic interactions between the text and reader. This theory holds that there are many different interpretations of a text based on the reader's cultural, religious, economic, etc. background.

Marxist Criticism

An approach to literature that analyzes the influence of money and power in a text. This theory asserts that economics provides the foundations for all social, political, and ideological reality.

Cultural Criticism

An approach to literature that analyzes the elements of culture and how these elements affect one's perceptions and understanding of a text.

Historical Criticism

An approach to literature that considers the time period and analyzes the text WITHIN its historical context (NOT from current day looking at the past). This theory examines the cultural makeup of a certain era and the ideas and values that define that era to find new meaning of the text.

Feminist/Gender Criticism

An approach to literature that analyzes the relationships between genders/sexes and examines text within a "patriarchal" society- based on the patterns of thought, behavior, values, social expectations, enfranchisement, marginalization, and power between and within the gender and sexes.

Historical context

Information about the time period, the place, and the social, cultural, and political circumstances that created, influenced, or shaped the meaning of a resource being analyzed or examined.

Theme

A literary device, stated or inferred, used in a written, visual, or verbal work of art to conveys a lesson or message the creator intends to teach about life.

Juxtaposition

A literary technique in which two or more ideas, places, characters, and their actions are placed closely together for the purpose of developing comparisons and contrasts.

Fallacy

A false or misleading statement or argument, especially one that is commonly held.

Allusion (to allude)

A direct or indirect reference to a presumably commonly known event, book, myth, place, or work of art - and can be historical, literary, religious, topical, or mythical.

Exemplification

The act of defining by example by showing specific, relevant examples that fit a writer's definition of a topic or concept. Using examples to explain, convince, or amuse.

Etymology

The study of the origin of words and the way in which their meanings have changed throughout history.

Ectoplasm

In the paranormal, ectoplasm is a substance that is believed to surround ghosts and other spirits, and to be a visual connection between the living and spirit worlds.

Epidermis

The outermost layer of skin on your body.

Epigenetics

The study of how environmental factors and behaviors can change how genes work without altering the DNA sequence. These changes can affect how genes are turned on and off, which proteins are produced, and how the genome is structured.

Infrastructure

The basic framework of a building, landscape, or a system

Pathos (a type of Rhetorical Appeal)

A Greek word for 'passion', this mode of persuasion appeals to values, personal beliefs, desires, hopes, fears, biases, prejudices, and emotions.

Logos (a type of Rhetorical Appeal)

A Greek word for 'reason', this mode of persuasion often depends on the use of inductive or deductive reasoning, facts, research, anecdotal accounts, expert testimony, statistics, specific details and examples, and logic.

Ethos (a type of Rhetorical Appeal)

A Greek word for 'character', this mode of persuasion appeals to the writer's integrity, shared values, qualifications, expertise, authority, reputation, knowledge, credibility, character, logic, and reason.

Kairos (a type of Rhetorical Appeal)

A Greek word for 'time' or 'weather', this mode of persuasion appeals to the reader's sense of urgency and considers appropriateness, circumstance, tone, opportunity, and the rhetorical situation.

Imperialism

The policy of a dominant country extending its authority or influence over perceived subordinate countries for political, military, and/or economic domination.

Metaphysics

A branch of philosophy that studies reality and existence, and how things are and what they are.

Totalitarianism

A form of government that theoretically permits no individual freedom and seeks to transfer all aspects of individual life to the authority of the state.

Naturalization

The legal process through which an immigrant to the United States of America can become a U.S. citizen.

Communism

A political and economic system that aims to create a classless society where the government owns all property and wealth, and everyone shares the benefits of labor.

Capitalism

An economic system in which the buying and selling of goods and services are controlled by private individuals or corporations to increase wealth.

Malicious

Characterized by malice; intending or intended to do harm.

Naïveté

A lack of experience, sophistication, or judgment, or a tendency to believe too easily.

Pathological

Extreme in a way that is not normal or that shows an illness or mental problem. compulsive; obsessive.

Perpetual

Something that continues forever, or happens all the time.

Tenuous

Something is lacking substance or significance, or is not certain, definite, or strong.

Polarization

A state in which the opinions, beliefs, or interests of a group or society no longer range along a continuum but become concentrated at opposing extremes.

Claim/Argument

A position statement (or thesis) that asserts an idea or makes an argument for a specific position.

Counterclaim/Counterargument

A position taken by someone with an opposing viewpoint.

Refutation (to refute)

The reasoning used to disprove an opposing viewpoint.

Concession (to concede)

An admission in an argument that the opposing side has valid points.

Evidence

The available body of facts, statistics, expert opinions, examples, nonfiction anecdotes and/or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid.

Subjective Tone

The expression of an author's attitude about a topic using a biased and emotional delivery of information.

Objective Tone

The expression of an author's attitude about a topic using an unbiased and factual delivery of information.

Diction

The choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing, especially with regard to correctness, clearness, or effectiveness.

Inference

A conclusion or logical interpretation about an idea or information not directly stated.

Syntax

The arrangement of words and the order of grammatical elements in a sentence; the way in which words are put together to make meaningful elements such as phrases, clauses, and sentences.

Micro-invalidation

Communications that subtly exclude, negate or nullify the thoughts, feelings or lived experiences of a person within a marginalized group.

Micro-insult

Verbal and nonverbal communications that subtly convey rudeness and insensitivity and demean a person's racial heritage or identity.

Micro-assault

Conscious and intentional actions or slurs, such as using racial epithets, displaying swastikas or deliberately serving a white person before a person of color in a restaurant.

Rhetoric

The art of using words to persuade in writing or speaking.

Passive voice

Written or spoken, this produces a sentence in which the subject receives an action.Example:The veterinarian was bitten by the dog.

Active voice

Written or spoken, this produces a sentence in which the subject of the sentence performs the action expressed in the verb.Example:The dog bit the veterinarian.

Micro-exclusion

The omission or lack of presence of people of color in real and symbolic locales that serve to facilitate perceptions of exclusion.

Micro-inequity

The pattern of being overlooked, under-respected, ignored, devalued, or otherwise discounted because of one's race or gender.

Cognitive dissonance

The uncomfortable feeling a person gets when their actions, beliefs, or values do not align.

Confirmation bias

The tendency for a person to focus on information that supports their existing beliefs while ignoring or dismissing information that contradicts them.

Misinformation

False, inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading information or data that is shared without malicious intent.

Simple sentence

A statement consisting of only one clause, with a single subject and predicate.

Example:

Joe waited for the train.

Counterargument thesis statement

This type of thesis statement acknowledges an opposing viewpoint while still asserting or claiming the writer’s position as stronger or more valid. It is usually qualified by although or but, followed by the writer's assertion on a topic.

Example:

Although some critics argue that early exposure to technology harms children’s cognitive development, controlled use of educational technology fosters critical thinking and problem-solving skills, making it an essential tool for modern education.

Compound sentence

A statement containing two independent clauses, often joined by one or more conjunctions.

Example:

"I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples.” —Mother Teresa

Complex sentence

A statement that contains one independent clause and one or more subordinate clauses.

Example:

Because the soup was too cold, I warmed it in the microwave.

Compound-complex sentence

A statement having two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses.

Example:

Though Mitchell prefers watching romantic films, he rented the latest spy thriller, and he enjoyed it very much.

Open thesis statement

A type of thesis statement that presents the writer's assertion or claim about a topic but does not offer concrete structure or direction for the paper.

Example:

Technology has significantly transformed modern education in ways that continue to evolve over time.

Closed thesis statement

A type of thesis statement that presents the writer's assertion or claim about a topic and explicitly previews the major points of intention.

Example:

Social media negatively impacts teenagers because it contributes to mental health issues, promotes unrealistic beauty standards, and interferes with academic performance.

Characterization

A literary device in which an author uses details to, directly and indirectly, reveal a character's physical traits, point of view, personality, private thoughts, and actions.

Idiom

A saying or expression that is widely used among speakers of a certain language and whose figurative meaning is different from its literal meaning.

Examples:

You need to get your ducks in a row.

That test was a piece of cake!

My friend gave me the cold shoulder.