parking lot

Definition

A list of off-topic questions or issues temporarily set aside during a meeting or class to address later (theoretically). In practice, it's where good ideas go to die.

Example Usage

Let's put that fascinating tangent about medieval philosophy in the parking lot and return to discussing the syllabus schedule.

Origin

Business meeting facilitation technique adopted by academia in 1990s

Fun Fact

Studies of meeting effectiveness show that items placed in the parking lot are revisited less than 20% of the time

Source: Academic meeting facilitation terminology

Related Terms

Advanced

Bloom Taxonomy

A hierarchical framework of cognitive skills ranging from "remembering" at the bottom to "creating" at the top, used to design learning objectives that sound impressive in grant proposals. It's the food pyramid of education -- everyone references it, nobody actually follows it.

🎓 Education / Academia

Intermediate

teaching out

The process of allowing currently enrolled students to complete a program that's being discontinued, like a slow academic death march. Everyone knows the program is doomed, but you still have to pretend everything's fine.

🎓 Education / Academia

Intermediate

practicum

The terrifying moment when academia kicks you out of the theoretical nest and forces you to apply what you've learned in the real world under supervision. It's essentially a college course where you can't hide behind textbooks anymore and must demonstrate you actually retained something from all those lectures. Think of it as the academic equivalent of "pics or it didn't happen."

🎓 Education / Academia

Beginner

syllabus week

The first week of classes when professors hand out syllabi and students still have hope for the semester ahead, often featuring minimal actual instruction. It's academia's honeymoon period before the workload reality sets in.

🎓 Education / Academia

Intermediate

po mo

Abbreviated slang for 'postmodern,' typically used when you can't be bothered to say all four syllables or want to sound effortlessly academic. Perfect for art school critiques and pretentious coffee shop conversations about the meaninglessness of meaning.

🎓 Education / Academia

Intermediate

fellowship

In academia and medicine, a prestigious post-graduate training position that lets you specialize further while earning slightly more than minimum wage. It's also a fancy word for a group united by common interests, though this meaning has been somewhat corrupted by corporate retreat facilitators. The academic version involves years of intense study; the hobbyist version involves monthly meetings and perhaps matching t-shirts.

🎓 Education / Academia

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Intermediate

runway extension

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