Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Problems related to the external covering of the body, a multilayered structure made up of the epidermis, the thin outer layer; the dermis, the thick inner layer; and subcutaneous tissue, which contains fat. Growing through these layers are hair and nails, which are actually special kinds of skin.  

A series of X-rays of all of a person’s bones to find evidence of old, as well as new, fractures, commonly done in cases of suspected child abuse and neglect. A radiographic study of the entire skeleton to look for evidence of occult fractures, multiple myeloma, metastatic tumor, or child abuse.  

A word that a student recognizes and understands in a reading selection without needing to sound it out.  

Words that a student can read and under¬ stand in a reading selection without looking them up, as in a dictionary.  

Alternate term for dwarfism, resulting from a growth disorder. A term applied to individuals who are among the shortest 5 percent of people for their age and sex. Short stature may be a symptom of a medical condition, such as delayed or precocious puberty, hypothyroidism, or skeletal dysplasia, or it may represent a normal inherited…

A disorder found among women who have had massive hemorrhaging associated with childbirth. The pituitary gland may cease to function partially or totally, leading to loss of lactation, malfunction of many other glands in the body, and sometimes even death. Hypopituitarism resulting from an infarct of the pituitary following postpartum shock or hemorrhage. Damage to…

A learning style in which materials are carefully structured so that ever-more-complex tasks build on earlier work.  

The first stage of children’s learning, according to Piaget’s theory of cognitive development.  

Any of the five avenues by which someone receives information: seeing (visual), hearing (auditory), touching (tactile), smelling (olfactory), and-tasting (gustatory), plus the sense of the body’s motion (kinesthetic, sometimes called haptic). According to Piaget’s theory, the first stage of a child’s cognitive development is the sensory- motor (or sensorimotor) stage, during which children gain an…

In the Montessori method, use of materials designed to enhance a child’s use of the various sensory modes or modalities for learning.