From posts on twitter to conversations in the staffroom, I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the use of vocabulary in the classroom and particularly how we (to quote Alex Quigley) “close the vocabulary gap” for our students.  But this post isn’t about students and developing their vocabulary, instead my reflections have turned to the teaching profession and the vast vocabulary that we use every day that is part of teaching but would make no sense in any other situation!

The issue with the vocabulary of teaching is that is is very hard to pin down and it’s often reinterpreted with new government agendas or curriculum ideas.  We have to keep up with the trends and expectations but, from books to conversations in department meetings, I’ve come to notice how certain words and phrases are being interpreted differently by different people. This has been especially apparent in conversations with early career teachers as they often find the same terms being used for slightly different reasons and with these varying interpretations.

So over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been trying to note down where the vocabulary of teaching seems to be being used with different interpretations (sometimes associated with commonly held perceptions or the myths in the profession!) in terms of where I have found people have misinterpreted what they are being told and what it seemed the people really meant when they used the term.

My notes so far are in the table at the end of this post.  However, they come with a big caveat – as I’ve been looking at them, it’s clear to me that my interpretation of what the term means will not be same for everyone. There will be people who think the terms should reflect and be defined by what is in the ‘it doesn’t mean’ column.  And for me that’s ok.  People will disagree.  That’s why there is an element of interpretation and subjectivity in their meaning (my best example here is that some people will say confidence testing has a place in AfL in lessons but for me I’d rather actually assess whether or not they do understand than think they do – neither of us are wrong, we just approach this aspect of teaching differently).  What is important, therefore, is that within your classroom, department and school you have a shared understanding of what they exactly mean in your setting and that’s why I started making these notes as a way to help our early career teachers work their way through this vocabulary and unpick what we mean when we use certain terms. When was the last time you checked that you, your colleagues and your school were all working with the same definitions for the vocabulary we use everyday in teaching as teachers?

I’ll be continuing to reflect on/add to/amend/ditch the different bits on this table this year with a view to creating a vocabulary and definition list for the new teachers I’ll be working with next year so they start the year with a shared understanding of what we mean when we use these terms in school – even if they come across them with different interpretations in different settings.  Thoughts/reflections very welcome – this is very much a work in progress.