Stop the Edu BLAH, BLAH, BLAH!

 Edu-Babble.  Edu-Speak.  I'll call it Edu-Blah, Blah, Blah.  A sample of the "blah" goes something like this:

"As teaching practitioners in the 21st century, we need to be pedagogically sound  - embracing practices and values such as assessment for learning, grading for learning, 21st century skills, personalized learning, differentiated instruction, individualized instruction and self regulation............(cue the eyes rolling, yawns, head scratching and/or glazed looks from all the non-educators - and even some educators)" 

We do ourselves, as educators, a huge a disservice when we attempt to use "Edu Blah" to communicate with  our students, parents and greater communities.

We lose them.  

And if we, as educators (and schools), can't communicate our own "story" effectively, we run the risk of creating a communication void or vacuum- leaving it to someone else to potentially distort or misrepresent.   Case in point - the recent "no zero's" story in Edmonton".

 Now before I go any further, I will declare that I can "edu blah, blah" with the best of them.  

Today I come clean.  I would like offer up some "edu blah's" and coinciding plain language definition:

Formative Assessment

Long before any "grade" is assigned to a student, teachers (and other students) give students descriptive feedback regarding their work.  The more detailed the feedback the better. "Good job" doesn't cut it and neither do numbers and/or letter grades.

Summative Assessment

Anything that a student does to demonstrate what they have learned.   It gives a teacher evidence of a student's learning.

Differentiated Instruction

We all learn differently.  Teachers reflect this reality in their teaching.

Rubrics/Criteria/Exemplars

Tools teachers use to assist students in determining what is expected of them.

Personalized Learning

Giving students more control of their learning.  Putting students in the drivers seat.

Rigour

More thinking, problem solving and "doing".  Less memorizing.

Letter Grades

An imperfect way to report student learning.

No Zero Policies
Students that chronically struggle to produce the required evidence of their learning are the most at risk to "slip through the cracks" in school.  Assigning these students a zero does nothing to support them nor teach them the required skills and work habits to be responsible learners. Finding ways to ensure they do the work is the right thing to do.  

Professional Learning Communities 

Teachers need to come together to solve something, produce something or share something related to their teaching.  When they do this, they become better teachers  - benefiting all students

PLN (Personal Learning Network)

See above.

Digital Literacy

Making sure we all know how to appropriately use the internet and the devices that connect to it. 

21st Century Learning

The world is a changing place.  Schools need to reflect this changing reality.

21st Century Skills

Thinking, collaborating, creating, filtering, problem solving and a little bit memorizing too.

BYOD/BYOT

Bring your own device/technology to school.  Students and teachers have it, why not let them use it?

Stakeholders/Educational Partners

All the people involved in educating our students.

I invite all my fellow educators to add to this list.  We need to reclaim our message.  Our communities require this of us.