TL;DR:
- Some examples of edujargon include backwards design, common formative assessment, data walls, essential questions, personalized learning, scaffolding, social emotional learning, whole child, and more.
- Buzzwords or edujargon can support a school’s continuous improvement plan, but there must be consistent implementation.
- This post includes six questions to help educators avoid the edujargon trap.
Faculty meetings, principal newsletters, conversations with colleagues, and school improvement team meetings are traditionally filled with edujargon. Edujargon has become so commonplace in schools that teachers and administrators often have to code-switch during parent-teacher conferences, school board presentations, or when explaining teaching and learning outside of work. If you ask a team of educators to define a word or challenge the desired outcome of the word, you may receive multiple answers and definitions.
Examples of Edujargon in K-12 Education:
- Asynchronous Learning
- Backwards Design
- Blended Learning
- Curriculum Alignment
- Common Formative Assessments
- Culturally Responsive Teaching
- Data Walls
- Design Thinking
- Essential Questions
- Flexible Seating
- Media Literacy
- Personalized Learning
- Professional Learning Community
- Response to Intervention
- Scaffolding
- Social and Emotional Learning
- Standards-Based Report Card
- STEAM
- Student Agency
- Trauma-Informed Instruction
- Universal Design for Learning
- Whole Child
At this point, some readers may be agitated or feeling nervous about the remainder of this article. Some of these terms are ‘sacred cows’ in schools. As an educator, I have seen student growth, teacher collaboration, improved graduation rates, and a strong instructional model developed by passionate teachers and staff members when they dig deeper into one or more of these topics.
Buzzwords or edujargon can support a school’s continuous improvement plan. When the edujargon becomes a word we use in conversation, but we do not see consistent implementation of the term or evidence of consistent implementation at a systems level, then we have fallen prey to talking the talk, but not walking our walk.
Six Questions To Help Educators Avoid the Edujargon Trap
- What is sacred and must be treated as a priority in our classrooms or school meetings?
- What is the ‘Return on Instruction?’ In other words, is the edujargon something we discuss or is there evidence that the program or term is making a difference?
- Do we only use the jargon in meeting minutes, faculty meetings, and conversations with the principal to show that we are a team player?
- Is there an implementation plan or does each teacher have their own interpretation of the term?
Think standards-based report cards, social and emotional learning, and personalized learning. - Do we have goals related to the edujargon or is every teacher using the word because it is the ‘flavor of the month?’
- Are we focused on the needs of the learners or has the edujargon become a distraction to our main purpose?
When schools reopen for onsite learning in August, educators will need to focus on teaching and learning strategies that support student understanding.
Since March 2020, teaching and learning have been disrupted by a global pandemic. Most U.S. schools were closed for several months, while some schools remained closed for the majority of the 2020-21 school year. It may be tempting for school teams to create a lengthy list of edujargon that could address learning loss, support students who experienced trauma, or assist high school students with credit recovery.
Endless meetings with Google Docs, flip chart paper, and meeting minutes often lead to more talk than action. Programs and intentional planning are needed in order to provide students with strong foundational skills that will support them as lifelong learners.
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Edjuargon can be our first resort when planning for reopening schools.
We know the right things to say, because we have been to conferences, read the latest education books, and attended a few Zoom virtual conferences during 2021. We can drink the Kool-Aid and it may taste great! The key is to focus on a few goals and to measure whether or not our efforts are making a difference. Jargon does not improve schools; it takes the unwavering commitment of a group of professional educators focused on the needs of each learner to help students reach their full potential.
About Steven Weber
Dr. Steven Weber is the Associate Superintendent for Teaching and Learning with Fayetteville Public Schools (AR). His areas of research include curriculum design, formative assessment, professional learning, and school leadership.
