In my class, a student asked me to explain a concept “Barney Style.” When I told him I did not know what that meant, he explained it to me in Barney Style, meaning he gave a basic, explicit answer as if Barney the Dinosaur were explaining it to kids. Ahh, now I get it!
There are times when spelling something out is the most effective way to communicate a message. I saw an example of this with clearly labeled recycling and trash bins — with both words and pictures to help people understand which receptacle was correct. This simplification works well for directions, checklists, and instructions, and, apparently, for explaining new concepts to students!
Keep the purple dinosaur in mind when crafting your message and consider whether Barney could understand what you are communicating.
