“Today’s episode argues that in education, particularly in maths, the way questions are phrased often creates an unnecessary linguistic barrier that prevents students from accessing grade-level content. The author of the source article, Dr. Jaime Hoerricks, contends that instructional materials frequently conflate academic rigour with complex language, making it difficult for many students, including those with specific learning differences, autistic students, and multilingual learners, to demonstrate their actual understanding. Dr. Hoerricks advocates for the use of Plain Language as a way to decouple the standard from the sentence structure, providing an equitable entry point for all students to engage with challenging material. Ultimately, they suggest that adopting Plain Language is a pedagogical choice that prioritises student thinking and fosters belonging.”
Here’s the link to the source article: https://open.substack.com/pub/autside/p/when-words-get-in-the-way-how-plain
Let me know what you think.
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