Hi,
I suggested some of these approaches to the subject
teachers as a part of their lesson observation. I thought to share it
with the rest of my readers. Please share any scaffolding strategies that
work well for your pupil.
What's the opposite of scaffolding a
lesson? It would be saying to students
something like, "Read this nine-page science article, write a detailed
essay on the topic it explores, and turn it in by Wednesday." Yikes --
no safety net, no parachute, no scaffolding -- just left blowing in the wind.
Let's start by agreeing that
scaffolding a lesson and differentiating instruction are two different things.
Scaffolding is breaking up the learning into chunks and then providing a tool,
or structure, with each chunk. When scaffolding reading, for example, you might
preview the text and discuss key vocabulary, or chunk the text and read and
discuss as you go. With differentiation, you may give a child an entirely
different piece of text to read, you might shorten the text or alter it, and
you may modify the writing assignment that follows.
Simply put, scaffolding is what you
do first with kids, then for those students who are still struggling, you may
need to differentiate by modifying an assignment and/or making accommodations
for a student (for example, choose more accessible text and/or assign an
alternative project).
Scaffolding and differentiation do
have something in common though. In order to meet students where they are and
appropriately scaffold a lesson, or differentiate instruction, you have to know
the individual and collective zone of proximal development (ZPD) of your
learners. (As education researcher Eileen Raymond states, "[T]he ZPD is
the distance between what children can do by themselves and the next learning
that they can be helped to achieve with competent assistance.")
So let's get to some scaffolding
strategies you may or may not have tried yet, or perhaps you've not used them
in sometime and just need a gentle reminder on how awesome and helpful they can
be when it comes to student learning:
1.
Show and Tell
How many of us say that we learn
best by seeing something rather than hearing about it? Modeling for students is
a cornerstone of scaffolding in my experience. Have you ever interrupted
someone with "just show me!" while they were in the middle of
explaining to you how to do something? Every chance you have, show or
demonstrate to students exactly what they are expected to do.
- Try the fish bowl
activity, where a small group in the center are circled by the
class as the group in the middle, or fishbowl, engage in an activity,
modeling how it's done for the larger group.
- Always show students the outcome or product before
they do it. If a teacher assigns a persuasive essay or inquiry-based
science project, a model should be presented side-by-side with a criteria
chart or rubric. You can guide students through each step of the process,
model in-hand of the finished product.
- Use think alouds,
which will allow you to model your thought process as you: read a text,
solve a problem, or design a project. Remember that children's cognitive
abilities are still in development so opportunities for them to see
developed, critical thinking are essential.
2.
Tap into Prior Knowledge
Ask students to share their own
experiences, hunches, and ideas about the content or concept of study and have
them relate and connect it to their own lives. Sometimes you may have to offer
hints and suggestions, leading them to the connections a bit, but once they get
there, they will grasp it as their own.
Launching the learning in your
classroom from the prior knowledge of your students, and using this as a
framework for future lessons is not only a scaffolding technique, many would
agree it's just plain good teaching.
3.
Give Time to Talk
All learners need time to process
new ideas and information. They also need time to verbally make sense of and
articulate their learning with the community of learners who are also engaged
in the same experience and journey. As we all know, structured discussions
really work best with children regardless of their level of maturation. If you
aren't weaving in think-pair-share,
turn-and-talk, triad teams or some other structured talking time throughout the
lesson, you should begin including this crucial strategy on a regular basis.
4.
Pre-Teach Vocabulary
Sometimes referred to as
frontloading vocabulary, this is a strategy that we teachers don't use enough.
Many of us, myself included, are guilty of sending students all alone down the
bumpy, muddy path known as Challenging Text -- a road booby trapped with
difficult vocabulary. We send them ill-prepared and then we are often shocked
when they: a) lose interest b) create a ruckus c) fall asleep.
Pre-teaching vocabulary doesn't mean
pulling a dozen words from the chapter and having kids look up definitions and
write them out (we all know how this will go. Again, see above a, b, and c).
Instead, introduce the words to kids in photos, and in context to things they
know and are interested in. Use analogies, metaphors and invite students to
create a symbol or drawing for each word and give time for discussion of the
words (small and whole groups). Not until they've done all this should the
dictionaries come out. And the dictionaries will be used only to compare with
those definitions they've already discovered on their own.
With the dozen or so words
"frontloaded," students are ready, you as their guide, to tackle that
challenging text.
5.
Use Visual Aids
Graphic organizers, pictures, and
charts can all serve as scaffolding tools. Graphic organizers are very specific
in that they help kids visually represent their ideas, organize information,
and grasp concepts such as sequencing and cause and effect.
A graphic organizer shouldn't be The
Product, but rather it's a scaffolding tool that helps guide and shape the
student's thinking so that they can apply it. Some students can dive right into
the discussion, or writing an essay, or synthesizing several different
hypotheses without using a graphic organizer of some sort, but many of our
students benefit from using them with a difficult reading or challenging new
information. Think of graphic organizers as training wheels; they are temporary
and meant to be removed.
6.
Pause, Ask Questions, Pause, Review
This is a wonderful way to check for
understanding while students read a chunk of difficult text or learn a new
concept or content. Here's how this strategy works: a new idea from discussion
or the reading is shared, then pause (providing think time), then ask a
strategic question, pausing again. By strategic, you need to design them ahead
of time, make sure they are specific, guiding and open-ended questions. (Great
questions fail without giving think time for responses so hold out during that
Uncomfortable Silence.) Keep kids engaged as active listeners by calling on
someone to "give the gist" of what was just discussed / discovered /
questioned. If the class seems stuck by the questions, provide an opportunity
for students to discuss it with a neighbor.
Trying
Something New
With all the diverse learners in our
classrooms, there is a strong need for teachers to learn and experiment with
new scaffolding strategies. I often say to teachers I support, you have slow
down in order to go quickly. Scaffolding a lesson may, in fact, take longer to
teach, but the end product is of far greater quality and the experience much
more rewarding for all involved.
