11/23/2019 Seven Common Educational Terms to Reconsider – The Master Teacher Blog

Seven Common Educational Terms to Reconsider

The time has come to rethink some of the most common terms we use in education circles. Some of these terms are
applied as shortcuts to convey an assumed common understanding. Others are used to make us sound up-to-date and
professional, but upon examination they clearly have outlived their currency. Still others risk conveying an unintended
meaning if the recipient is unfamiliar with the context and takes our words at face value.

Consider that many of us still talk about 21st Century Learning,

Learning yet we are approaching the beginning of the third decade
of the new century. In fact, students entering college this fall were born a er the beginning of the new century. If what we
are trying to convey is that we need to ensure learning is current and prepares students for success in the 21st century, we
would do better to use a term like future ready learning that is not time bound or out of date.

We still hear teachers talk about how important it is that they cover each topic and skill contained in the curriculum as
though coverage is that same as learning. Obviously, this term is a euphemism for teaching. Teaching is also not the same
as learning. Just because something is taught does not mean is has been learned. We need to shi our language to focus
on what students are learning and how we know without hiding behind what we have covered.

O en educators talk about what is best practice as though by employing these practices we maximize the probability that
learning will occur. Yet, best practices applied indiscriminately and inappropriately are no more e ective than any other
practice. In fact, best practices only become e ective practice when they are matched with student readiness to learn. We
need to move our language beyond what might be useful in some situations to focus on what will be most e ective in the
current time and context with our students.

Rigor is a popular term when educators talk about presenting work to students that causes them to struggle. Yet, just
being di icult does not make something worth learning. Students need learning challenges that are also interesting,
worthwhile, and purposeful. Rather than focusing on rigor, we might put our energy into presenting learning challenges
that o er vigor. Students deserve learning that is stimulating, energizing, and challenging.

When students fail to learn on the preset timeline established by our lesson plans, a pacing guide, or the assessment
schedule we o en call them slow learners.
learners While on its face this term might sound descriptive, in practice it too o en is
shorthand for unskilled, poor learners. Of course, there is no universal right pace for learning. We set schedules for
learning based on the time necessary to teach a concept or skill and our estimate of the average time students will need
to perform the learning related tasks we assign. Research shows that learning tasks with which we struggle and require
more time o en result in deeper, richer learning. In fact, if given adequate time, learners who are behind pace may
become very proficient and successful learners. Unfortunately, we o en assume that learning quickly is the same as
learning well. Yet, we know that learning that comes easily and quickly is o en forgotten just as quickly. Being a fast
learner is not necessarily synonymous with being a good learner.

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11/23/2019 Seven Common Educational Terms to Reconsider – The Master Teacher Blog

We also need to rethink our use of the term remediation. Remediation is something we do with contaminated soil. It is a
treatment to fix someone or something. When we describe our e orts to intervene and assist a student’s learning e orts
as remediation, we risk conveying the message that the student is the problem when the problem is as likely to be that
they were not taught in a manner or with a strategy that worked for them.

While we are at it, let’s be careful about labeling groups of students as high ability.
ability All we can know is a student’s past
performance. There is no way to know a student’s real ability. Some students perform exceptionally well in a predictable,
adult directed, academic world, but flounder in a less predictable, more autonomous environment. Conversely, we have
students who struggle with the structure and narrow focus of traditional classrooms and later flourish when they leave
school and are asked to learn and perform in a less structured environment. In fact, what we may be seeing as “high
ability” and “low ability” is highly contextual. Unfortunately, when we place these types of labels on students, they
believe what we say. We can diminish dreams and undermine confidence that will have a lifetime impact without any real
basis in the broader context of life. 

What other educational language pet peeves do you have? How do you see the language we use to describe students and
our work having an impact on the lives and success of students?

Author: James R. Rickabaugh, Ph.D.

Dr. Jim Rickabaugh currently serves as Senior Advisor at the Institute for Personalized Learning in
Wisconsin—an organization dedicated to the transformation of public education. He formerly served as
Superintendent for Whitefish Bay Schools in Wisconsin and Superintendent for the Burnsville-Eagan-
Savage School District in Minnesota. He also served as Midwest Regional President for Voyager Expanded
Learning of Dallas, Texas. Dr. Rickabaugh was named Wisconsin Superintendent of the Year in 2008 and
Minnesota Superintendent of the Year in 1996. He is also a contributing author for many publications for
The Master Teacher—including Galileo for Superintendents, The Board, and The Master Teacher Pd
Program.

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