NAPLAN (National
Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy). ACARA (Australian
Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority). SCSEEC (Standing
Council on School Education and Early Childhood). Acronyms that are
sure to cause confusion for most, yet are commonly used by
professionals in the education sector. Along with an entirely
separate language of jargon, these terms are used without mercy to
obfuscate and create a sense of mystique, as well as for the simple
reason of using mental prototypes.
It's not hard to find
examples of educational jargon and acronyms, they are used constantly
in the public. What can be surprising is the way in which educators
will talk to each other. To give an example, it is not uncommon for a
teacher to say “His arousal level was really high when he walked
in, so I used selective attending when he was being disruptive”. A
plain English translation? “He walked in in a really grumpy mood,
so I let him sit there and play on his phone.” Reading through
educational research is even worse, with an acronym soup making a
mess of things.
There has to be a
reason for this particular language though. And there is. It comes
down to mental prototypes and shortcuts. To explain briefly, a mental
prototype is how we link words to ideas. If I say the word table,
everyone has a picture of a table in their head. If you say to a
teacher 'arousal', then that links to a particular explanation in
their head (around the levels of stress hormones in a student, what
might have caused that, and how best to deal with a student with a
high level of arousal).
Acronyms and jargon
also allow educators to share ideas without having to go into a great
deal of detail. Once they start talking about pedagogy and
curriculum, the jargon is a way of keeping track of complex concepts
and ideas. This can lead to problems though. There's an old adage –
familiarity breeds contempt. When you start to talk about things with
an acronym, it becomes very easy to just think of them as that string
of letters. This means that it is harder to have a deep understanding
of the term and concept. The mental shortcut becomes the term, and a
lot of that meaning is lost.
Secondly, mental
prototypes are individual. The table that you thought of earlier
isn't the same as my table, or anyone else's really. Sure, they'll
have similar features (some number of legs, probably four, and a top
surface). But there are some serious differences. Is the table made
from wood, or metal, or maybe glass? Is it square, rectangular,
round?
This is the problem
with using jargon and acronyms, their use presupposes that everyone
really is talking about the same thing. Of course, the number of
acronyms that are used is increasing on a daily basis (a school might
use ASOT (Art and Science Of Teaching) as their pedagogical basis and
SWPBS (School Wide Positive Behaviour Support) for their behaviour
management). By itself, this isn't a problem. But not everyone is
aware of the latest trend, or system, or national body, and not
everyone is willing to admit they don't know. It is common to see a
term being used in a staff meeting followed by whispered
conversations throughout the room as people try to work out what was
just said.
The problem isn't only
with educators. If they have difficulties keeping up with all the
acronyms, what about the parents and students? Some terms have become
very familiar, like NAPLAN, but if you ask the students who sit the
test – can they tell you what it means? Basically, they would say
it's a big scary test. Ask a parent about ACARA, or even worse SCSEEC
and they'll probably give you a blank look. Education is all about
working with everyone involved, which includes parents and most
importantly students. When these terms are used without explanation
it makes it even harder to communicate.
This lack of
communication is what will destroy relationships between parents,
students, and educators. Without those relationships, education
simply cannot happen. Relationships and shared understandings make
for good learning. Excessive use of jargon makes these relationships
harder to create and maintain.
All the acronyms, all
the jargon, it serves a purpose. It can create a commonality amongst
educators, a shared specific language that lets them pass around and
manipulate complex ideas with ease. It can also lead to taking
shortcuts and not really exploring the issue underneath that term.
When it comes to communicating with other people involved in
education, mainly the students themselves, then these terms can
simply mean the student will disengage.
After all, good
pedagogy is about developing meaningful and deep understandings via
relational transactions between all stakeholders.
Good teaching is about
working with the kids to make sure they understand what you're on
about.
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