Buzzword Soup

Pop Quiz:
List five educational buzzwords or phrases making the rounds in your school or district.

I’ll bet that was an easy task!

When I ask colleagues that question, they answer things like brain-based learning, assessment of learning v. assessment for learning, and essential learnings. I’ve also heard professional learning communities, child-centered classrooms and rigor, relevance and relationships. My favorite phrase: Using data to drive instruction.

Almost everywhere I’ve worked, dozens of buzzwords were part of the school culture. Collections of catch phrases defined who we were. “We’re a Covey school,” people would say in one. “We’re a PLC modeled after DuFour,” we’d say in another.

“We’re using common assessments to amplify effective instructional practices.”

“We’re creating learning opportunities that engage students in the creation of knowledge.”

“We’re focusing on the needs of diverse learners.”

Each of these phrases held value in my schools, forming a common vocabulary and providing direction for our efforts. It was easy to determine what was important by listening to our language. As Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach of the Teacher Leaders Network writes, “Just like school colors, team mascots, and other unifying symbols, the terms we use to describe our practice help to build a culture of educational thought…between those that use them.”

The danger in buzzwords, however, is also very real. Overuse can lead to casual interpretations that weaken meaning and lead to disagreement between dedicated individuals in the same organization. What “using data to drive instruction” looks like to one teacher may be completely different than what it looks like to another. Over time, a school that appears to be focused by a “collective commitment” to an “effective mission” and a “shared vision for student learning” may, in fact, be fracturing around what it values the most.

This danger grows exponentially as new members are added to a building’s faculty. Without a foundational understanding of a school’s core beliefs, these teachers are often left to learn by chance. Informal experiences — whether accurate or not — tend to shape their thinking, influencing their ability to effectively strengthen the work of the whole. Over time, what began as a strong commitment to shared ideals can become nothing more than a strong commitment to misinterpreted terms.

In short, a school ends up drowning in buzzword soup!

There is no doubt that teacher leaders play a central role in ensuring that the common language driving our buildings remains common. Our connections and credibility allow us to keep others focused on the true work of our schools. As Carol Midgett, the teacher who introduced me to the idea of buzzword soup, writes, “The challenge is to make certain that I do not fall in. When sharing with others, it is important to know the meaning they attach to these words/phrases so that our dialogue produces mutual learning.”

Where does your building stand when it comes to buzzwords? Are you right at the edge of the bowl? How did you get there?

More importantly, how are you going to crawl out?

Group grows when the fringes mingle

I work on an amazing professional learning team. The six language arts teachers on my grade level are intelligent, dedicated, and committed to the idea that every child can learn. We regularly challenge one another to think in new ways and introduce one another to instructional practices that work. Our meetings are dynamic and our results are nothing short of extraordinary.

Yet not everyone in our building sees us in the same light. In fact, many openly wonder whether some of our decisions are hurting — rather than helping — students. Because we’ve adopted many non-traditional practices, we’re doubted. There is often a palpable tension when we meet with “outsiders.”

What adds to this tension is that we are equally skeptical of many of the instructional decisions made by those who doubt us! Through second-hand conversations or passing comments made in workrooms, we’ve developed strong opinions about what happens beyond our hallway, unsure of whether those actions match our school’s mission to ensure student achievement.

Now, don’t get me wrong. My school is a wonderful place where teachers truly care for one another.

We just don’t completely trust one another!

And I would argue that this lack of trust is not unusual. With limited time to meet across departments and grade levels, teachers have few opportunities to share experiences with anyone other than their core learning teams. The frequent interactions necessary for building professional trust with individuals past our hallways are fleeting at best — and non-existent at worst.

When areas of contention arise, our judgments of one another’s actions and intentions are based on little more than preconceived notions and assumptions. These assumptions cause hurt feelings that hinder our building. The productive conflict that Patrick M. Lencioni speaks about in The Five Dysfunctions of a Team rarely happens.

To move our building forward, it is time for teachers to start thriving on the edges. We must reach out to partners in other grade levels and departments, strengthening relationships with learning teams on our boundaries. We must recognize, value, and celebrate our interconnectedness. With dedicated effort by “connectors” on our staff, trust levels will grow.

While every teacher can work in informal ways to develop relationships with teams on the fringes, the most important connectors in any building are those working in roles outside of the classroom. These teachers — regardless of their official title or role — have the time to develop positive working relationships with individuals across an entire building. With effort, they can identify and advertise common ground between teams.

In many ways, this is an overlooked — yet essential — role of school-based teacher leaders. Organizational capacity in any human endeavor depends on trust that can only be built on the foundation of shared experience. Until all teachers have significant planning time to collaborate across teams, building consensus and facilitating understanding between disparate groups will fall on the shoulders of those who are already influential throughout a building.

What opportunities do you have to serve as a connector in your school?