George Bernard Shaw once said that the "single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place."The article in which I read this quote, Clear as Mud also gave what is becoming my favorite example of a communication illusion:
"We are confident that we can respond to these challenges in a way that will allow us to be an agile institution able to flex as we move forward like a gazelle across the veldt which is the changing landscape of higher education."
When professional developers of higher ed faculty conduct workshops, presentations at conferences and talking with colleges from different disciplines, we often fall into shortcut jargon which younger and new colleague quickly adapt to become part of the in crowd. Sayings like: We should engage the students in our classes, never once providing examples of just what "engaging" students means. Funny lecture? Witty comments? Coloring sheets with difficult vocabulary? We might as well use drinkability in our ability to inform those not in the in crowd what we mean.
My all time favorite education jargon was teachers have "withitness". Others are inquiry learning, collaborative learning, assessment, differentiation strategies, learner centered, teacher centered.... I bet some of you are going to stop me right now saying that those are common terms. No, not to all faculty and certainly not to students.
This contest to identify the education jargon and fuzziness in communication comes at a time when higher education needs to watch its language in order to communicate with colleagues, students, administrators, boards and the general public as we advance forward to tackle challenges like flat enrollment, weary taxpayers, financially over-extended students and negative press on the value of a college education.
I say we run this up the old flag pole and engage at our next meeting!
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