Jargon Overload?
Friday, November 27, 2009
When I look over the National Education Technology Standards from ISTE and AASL I see some redundancy to what educators strive for on a fairly regular basis. If you look at the language used in Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning -knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation or better yet, Bloom's Digital Taxonomy of Learning - creating, evaluating, analyzing, applying, understanding, and remembering, the language basically covers what we are already doing when it comes to student learning. Is it a new job for anyone to teach these standards, if we have been doing this all along?
As an educator, I get worried when we try to justify our jobs by creating new ways to talk about what we do and why we do it. I am a teacher and 100% proud of that title. Lately I have felt swamped by more jargon in education than ever. In a recent discussion with a colleague of mine, he advised me that when I am discussing education on a professional level, I should refer to the learning, not the teaching. I understand the switch in terminology but does that make someone that uses the key phrases every other minute a better teacher than me? I know so many people that can talk the talk but they can't walk the walk. Can you make your subject leap off the page and become a passion within your students? That is the question that needs to be asked in an interview. And that should be followed by how. The rest mostly seems to be a reinvention of a wheel that already exists.
That being said, I will continue to talk the talk because it allows me walk in a place that I love . . . education.
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2 comments:
Okay, let's try this again...
First, I really like that video. Was on my blog sidebar for ages. Love it.
And your passion for teaching is ultimately a passion for learning. You want students to "feel" that passion too, so how you teach ensures that students learn.
As for ISTE and AASL, no doubt, there is an element of these organizations trying to add legitimacy to their work with important standards for learning, but this learning is not being articulated by other "content" areas, so if we value it, shouldn't it be explicit?
In the same way, we expect that Math organizations like the NCTM pump out updated thinking on what math learning is valuable, it is important the organizations concerned with technology and information are reminding educators what learning might be important in their area. The question then is whether this "wheel" really exists already.
Are teachers already doing this? Is this already valued learning in schools? If it is, it needs to be articulated - in a less jargon-y way, for sure - so that it's clear that it has to happen...it has to be how we do "learning."
It's not unlike your point about "teaching" vs "learning". To many these aren't that different (mere semantics), but can we say that this is true for all teachers, all classrooms? By focusing conversations on learning, we ensure that the "talk" forces change in the "walk" for those who might otherwise claim, "hey I taught it...they just didn't learn it."
Like that, you value understanding truth, collaboration, and communication. So to you, it's a no-brainer. But is that everyone? Without it articulated at schools, do teachers know they have to do it?
I know you are right on board with all of this. My comment is more about the thinking that goes into articulating curriculum like this. Our ISB21 standards are an attempt to eliminate the jargon and make this valuable learning accessible to teacher and students.
I agree with you 100% Dennis and welcome the idea of articulating the focus of education on learning as a school wide philosophy.
As you know, this week our faculty at ISB watched Martin Skelton from Fieldwork Education explain the concepts of Looking for Learning within schools. The need for articulation is clear and after just a few months, I have begun to challenge myself as a teacher and as a life-long learner. I always thought my lessons were learning focused, but now I find myself questioning the reasons behind my lesson plans and articulating the learning in more meanigful ways to my students.
The ISB21 standards reinforce the value of that articulation in a way that is accessible to all educators.
http://www.teachingtimes.com/articles/aiming-for-learning-focused.htm
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