Fidelity? Rigor? Teachers Are Predicting 2022’s Education Buzzwords

Why is this so painful and so accurate?

Woman rolls eyes at education buzzword
A young woman stands in front of a noticeboard covered with business jargon and buzz words witten on yellow adhesive notes, rolling her eyes cynically at the information overload.

With a new school year comes a new school-wide initiative. Depending on how many years of teaching you have under your belt, you may remember these terms making the rounds. Cloze reading. Chunking and scaffolding. Differentiation. Flipped classrooms.

*Comes closer and whispers*

Asynchronous learning.

While there’s nothing wrong with a new term gaining popularity, buzzwords tend to follow a certain pattern. A school leader hypes up a new word or initiative in a brief PD session. Despite very little (and in some cases, inadequate) training, teachers are expected to put the term into practice immediately. Posters are made. Committees are born. Then, the term is either a) repeated ad nauseam without providing teachers the time, resources, and other supports to actually practice it, b) turned into something it was never intended to be (I’m looking at you, growth mindset), or c) never brought up again.

On Reddit, teachers are guessing this year’s buzzwords after reading this invitation from user @misterdudebro:

Let’s play: Guess this years new buzz word/catchphrase/initiative etc

byu/misterdudebro inTeachers

There were the old standbys:

Rigor, accountability, and responsibility.

Comment
byu/misterdudebro from discussion
inTeachers

Giving grace (note: to students, not yourself).

Comment
byu/misterdudebro from discussion
inTeachers

Grit, growth mindset.

Comment
byu/misterdudebro from discussion
inTeachers

The more recently “rebranded” terms:

Fidelity.

Comment
byu/misterdudebro from discussion
inTeachers

More fidelity!

Comment
byu/misterdudebro from discussion
inTeachers

Expert.

Comment
byu/misterdudebro from discussion
inTeachers

And some new guesses for this year:

Grading reform.

A worthy discussion, so let’s hope it doesn’t end up in the buzzword graveyard.

Comment
byu/misterdudebro from discussion
inTeachers

Universal Design for Learning.

Comment
byu/misterdudebro from discussion
inTeachers

Vertical articulation.

Comment
byu/misterdudebro from discussion
inTeachers

A return to “positivity.” Oh boy.

Comment
byu/misterdudebro from discussion
inTeachers

Learning loss.

Comment
byu/misterdudebro from discussion
inTeachers

Invisible co-teachers.

Comment
byu/misterdudebro from discussion
inTeachers

Quality first and metacognition.

Comment
byu/misterdudebro from discussion
inTeachers

This year, I hope you remember my helpful acronym for success: United. Grit. Growth mindset. Grading reform. Giving grace. Higher-order thinking skills.

Otherwise known as UGGGGH.

I’m making T-shirts.

What are your best guesses for this year’s education buzzwords? Let us know in the comments.

Plus, for more articles like this, be sure to subscribe to our newsletters.

Teachers Are Predicting This Year's Education Buzzwords