EduTip 25: Use neutral language to keep things cool.

welcome to edgy tips a side project of the culta pedagogy podcast where I share one quick idea to make your teaching better this is Jennifer Gonzalez and I am your host edu tip 25 is sponsored by Explore Learning are you looking to supplement your stem instruction with technology you can trust Explore Learning K through2 stem Solutions put data privacy first and are certified safe for student data with high standard data security measures that means pieace of of mind when you teach from early science exploration to foundational math skills like math fact fluency and fractions to Virtual labs and simulations where students take on the role of stem professionals Explore Learning develops edtech for the most critical stem learning needs research-backed and game-based Explore Learning products engage students while building the key skills needed to succeed all while safeguarding student data discover how their award win products are prioritizing data privacy by visiting Cult of pedagogy tocom explor learning today's edgy tip is use neutral language to keep things cool one way to describe an ideal classroom environment is one that is cool in other words the emotions of the people in the room both the teacher and the students are not inflamed in any way no one is preoccupied with any kind of anger hurt feeling anxiety or fear and they can therefore concentrate on the academic tasks of the day free and clear emotionally unfettered this kind of Nirvana is hard to achieve in classrooms because we all bring our outside lives with us and teachers can't control that what we can control are the things we say specifically how we say them in order to bring the atmosphere down to a cooler level or at least avoid making it hotter and more intense one way to do that is through neutral Language by choosing words that are less judgy and more neutral we keep things professional calm and cool here's an example suppose a group of students turns in an assignment on paper and two of the papers have no names on them now you could say something snarky like okay which of you Geniuses forgot to put your names on your papers this might get a laugh yes but for some kids on some days depending on the kind of emotional stuff they happen to be carrying around with them it could really rub them the wrong way and be just one small turn in a sequence of events that eventually leads to a bigger Behavior incident later on instead of going with the genius comment you could simply hold up the two sheets and say I have two papers without names the same information is conveyed but without judgment it just describes the problem you don't get the laugh but you also keep things cool here are some other examples instead of apparently no one wants to listen today you could just describe the problem and prompt a solution by saying I'm noticing a lot of side conversations let's refocus another example instead of saying you're making a huge mess you could just describe the problem and prompt a solution hey there are paper cuttings on the floor can you please throw them away it's also important to note that your tone of voice and Body Language should be neutral as as well like in the last example if I say the neutral thing with an attitude like H there are paper cuttings on the floor can you throw them away it's not going to have the cooling effect it could otherwise have this also works when you're talking about academic things for example if I say this next unit is going to be really difficult that will likely stress some students out but if I get more neutral and descriptive and say this next unit covers some advanced concepts so we're going to need to focus that feels a lot more positive and achievable so the next time you're feeling some kind of way about a situation and you're about to say something do a quick check to see if there's any judgy language that can be swapped out for something a little more neutral that's your tip for this time you can find a written version of these tips at Cult of pedagogy decomps now go forth make thoughtful choices and teach