“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

First Amendment to the United States Constitution

Resources for Educators

• Resources on Academic Freedom (from the American Association of University Professors) https://www.aaup.org/our-programs/academic-freedom/resources-academic-freedom
• American Association of University Professors v. Rubio: A case challenging the Trump administration’s policy of ideological deportation (from Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University) https://knightcolumbia.org/cases/aaup-v-rubio
• Academic freedom in America needs to be defended. Here’s how (The Guardian) https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/mar/18/academic-freedom-us-trump-admimistratio
• Fact sheet on dealing with ICE on your campus (AAUP General Counsel)
• Fact sheet on rights and risks for workers who are in the United States on visas (American Federation of Teachers)
• Issue brief on immigration-related campus concerns (American Council on Education)
• Know Your Rights flyers (AFL-CIO)
• Family preparedness plan template (Immigrant Legal Resource Center)

This month's columns include:

• Series: The Learning Process Methodology
• Step 6: Vocabulary
• Vocabulary in the Student Success Toolbox
• New Word Alert!
• Get the Faculty Guidebook
• Something to Think About: Education either functions as...
• Monthly Self-Growth Tip: Persistence vs. Moving On
• Learn to Learn for Success course starting up in early May
• Process Education Conference 2025

The concepts should be collected from all relevant information resources (e.g., text, notes, and articles) and appropriate categorization or organization techniques should be used before moving forward to memorizing or using the terms.

Simply put, vocabulary is the LPM step that helps students learn the language of the topic they’re studying.

Matthew Watts, professor and curricula designer shares more in The Learning Process Methodology: A Universal Model of the Learning Process and Activity Design (International Journal of Process Education, June 2018)

The identification and learning of vocabulary phase also includes the study of terminology and notation. According to Davis (1944), the study of vocabulary is essential to reading comprehension, the foundation of reading for learning. Knowing the specific vocabulary terms and their precise meaning allows learners to interpret resources and communicate effectively in speech and in writing. While it is common for textbooks to include important vocabulary as part of a summary or index, the salient inclusion of these items in the early stages of the learning activity is warranted (Richardson & Morgan, 1990). The activity component’s name is often dependent upon the content area; however, its necessity permeates across the curriculum. A strategy for studying relevant terminology should be included in the course or program design as it has been seen that “students will skip over unfamiliar words” otherwise (McMurray, Laffey, & Morgan, 1979). A typical best practice is to have learners use the words in context or write definitions in their own words (i.e., create their own glossary).

References



• Davis, F. B. (1944). Fundamental factors of comprehension in reading, Psychometrika, 9, 185-197
• McMurray, M., Laffey, J., & Morgan, R. (1979). College students’ word identification strategies. Twenty-Eighth Yearbook of the National Reading Conference.
• Richardson, J. S., & Morgan, R. F. (1990) Reading to learn in the content areas. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

When learners don’t have the words (or symbols) for particular concepts, they experience hypocognition: being unable to communicate cognitive and linguistic representations. (There's a separate article about hypocognition later in this newsletter.)

“As cognitive psychology affirms, having a verbal label—even a nonsensical terminology, an apparent portmanteau—can distill a nebulous phenomenon into an experience that’s more immediate and concrete.” (Hypocognition is a censorship tool that mutes what we can feel)

When all you have is a hammer, every problem is a nail.

When the only word you have is nail, you can’t work with

the concepts tack, rivet, staple, screw, or fastener.

As Watts explained, if we want learners to be able to think clearly about new concepts, we need to not only provide them with the words and symbols for those concepts but help them add those words/symbols to their vocabulary. When the new term is part of their vocabulary, the learner can link previously understood concepts to new concepts, thereby transferring and generalizing, both of which are higher levels of learning.

Below is one example of how to do this (from our book Foundations of Algebra: A Workbook).

As Matthew Watts shared, the study of vocabulary is essential to reading comprehension, the foundation of reading for learning. This is why the Student Success Toolbox features a handful of tools specifically targeting vocabulary.

These include the full Reading Methodology, Step 5 of which is "Vocabulary terms: Browse the reading for vocabulary terms that are unfamiliar (keep a dictionary handy to look up unfamiliar words and write down definitions so you can refer back to them)."

The Student Success Toolbox also includes a multi-page Glossary (for students to record words/terms/formulae along with their definitions) and multiple Reading Logs (students record key vocabulary and use each in a sentence or phrase). See the image below.

If the goal is to ensure that students actually understand new vocabulary terms, a critical step in learning, then giving them the tools that make that easier is a no-brainer!

Let's take a moment and recognize that hypocognition is a new term for many of us. Even as we’re learning about the vocabulary step of the LPM, we're encountering at least one new vocabulary term! (Not you, smartypants, but the rest of us.) If we want to truly pull the word into our current vocabularies, we need to do more than just encounter it. Let's see if we can take what we've learned about making terms stick and make it happen.

Let's look at the word itself: hypocognition

According to Wiktionary, it was coined from hypo- +‎ cognition by Robert Levy (who is covered in the article below):

hypo- (from Ancient Greek): Deficient, less than normal

cognition: The process of knowing, of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought and through the senses.

And here's a wonderful resource for learning more about hypocognition:

Hypocognition: Making Sense of the Landscape Beyond One's Conceptual Reach (Originally published in the March 2018 Review of General Psychology 22(1):25-35)

Let’s keep going with this, connecting both the word and concept it represents to the world around us. Dr. Kaidi Wu, co-author of the article above, explains how hypocognition can be weaponized against a population:

Intentional hypocognition can serve as a powerful means of information control. In 2010, the Chinese rebel writer Han Han told CNN that any of his writings containing the words ‘government’ or ‘communist’ would be censored by the Chinese internet police. Ironically, these censorship efforts also muffled an abundance of praise from pro-leadership blogs. An effusive commendation such as ‘Long live the government!’ would be censored too, for the mere mention of ‘government’. A closer look reveals the furtive workings of hypocognition. Rather than rebuking negative remarks and rewarding praises, the government blocks access to any related discussion altogether, rendering any conceptual understanding of politically sensitive information impoverished in the public consciousness. ‘They don’t want people discussing events. They simply pretend nothing happened… That’s their goal,’ Han Han said. Regulating what is said is more difficult than ensuring nothing is said. The peril of silence is not a suffocation of ideas. It is to engender a state of blithe apathy in which no idea is formed. (Hypocognition is a censorship tool that mutes what we can feel):

. . .

Did it work?

Is hypocognition potentially part of your vocabulary now?

Can you use it in a conversation?

Can you spot it in the world around you?

Are you able to think more clearly about the concept it represents?

This is the design philosophy behind the Faculty Guidebook and why we touch on it in nearly every topic we feature!





“Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world.”



— Paolo Freire (Brazilian educator & philosopher)

Freire is probably best known for his book Pedagogy of the Oppressed (pdf)

Sticking with it isn’t always the right choice! Having a set of criteria to help answer this question is a great idea.

Consider the following questions to get you thinking:

1. How valuable is the outcome and success?
2. How much control do you have in whether or not you succeed?
3. How much do you value the experience itself?
4. What other opportunities are you missing while you persist with this work?
5. How is your continued persistence affecting people you care about (for better AND worse)?

When you’re coming up with your own criteria, be sure to take time to consider contexts like your relationships, emotional connections (to things/ideas/the past), projects, goals, and your health.

Learn to Learn for Success course starting up in early May!

This is a custom version of Learn to Learn for Success and we can do the same for you! Click below to earn more about this powerful course that helps struggling students turn things around (or just get the bet prep possible for college success).

The 2025 PE Conference is hosted by the Academy of Process Educators and the University of Indianapolis (UIndy)

Tuesday, June 3 through Thursday, June 5

1-day pre-conference workshop (Developing Performance to Unlock Your Limitless Capability) on Monday, June 2

Breakout sessions will be focused on:

• Innovating with PE Tools & Techniques for the Post-Covid Era
• Leveraging Instructional Technologies: AI, LMS, eLearning, Distance Education
• Reconciling Life’s Challenges
• Enhancing Reflective Practice
• Deploying Learner-Centered Communication
• Incorporating International Perspectives
• Advancing Wellness & Self-Care
• Cultivating Mentorship

Other information:

The conference will be presented in a hybrid format. In-person participation at the University of Indianapolis is encouraged because of the many advantages of sharing time and space together. However virtual options for participating will be available.