Jargon Busting

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ACTIVITY ID: 18431

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Professionals sometimes use jargon. Jargon is a word or term that is specific to your work, and families may not know what these terms mean. Use this exercise to change some common education-related jargon into family-friendly words. Brainstorm different ways you can describe the terms in this table. It may also be good to designate a “jargon buster” at meetings who can help you make sure you are using family-friendly language. Share your responses with your trainer, coach or administrator.

Professional Jargon	Family-friendly Language
Observational assessment	Observing a child’s activities, language, or behaviors, to determine what a child has learned in order to further support the child’s progress
Data-based decisions	Decisions that are made after collecting information about how children are developing in different areas and how children are achieving certain goals
Gross motor skills	Using large muscles, for example climbing, or crawling
Fine motor skills	Using small muscles, for example picking up very small objects using fingers
Cognitive development	How knowledge or information is learned and used
Developmentally appropriate activities	Activities that promote optimal development in children and that are suitable for children of a particular age
Primary caregiver	Parent or adult who takes primary responsibility for the daily care of a child
Add other terms or acronyms here that are common to your workplace, and try to make them family-friendly: