Scaffolding Student Learning

Scaffolding Student Learning Phase III Activity 7.1

What is scaffolding? • A temporary structure providing assistance at specific points in the learning process • Allows learners to complete tasks that they would not be able to accomplish without assistance Phase III. Activity 7.1 Scaffolding Student Learning

2. Why provide scaffolding? • To help learners make progress and avoid getting left behind • To provide just-in-time help for learners • In technology-supported learning, to help learners “focus more on content rather than on the mechanics of technology use” (Fryer, 1999) • To direct students to good resources and help them form insights (McKenzie, 1998) Phase III. Activity 7.1 Scaffolding Student Learning

2. Why provide scaffolding? • Scaffolding is essential in construction work: for building tall structures, for reaching hard-to-reach places Phase III. Activity 7.1 Scaffolding Student Learning

2. Why provide scaffolding? • Learning is constructing/forming knowledge from various resources/ materials • Learning is transforming information from various resources into new knowledge products Phase III. Activity 7.1 Scaffolding Student Learning

INPUTS OUTPUTS      TRANSFORMATION RECEPTION SCAFFOLDS PRODUCTION SCAFFOLDS TRANSFORMATION SCAFFOLDS Phase III. Activity 7.1 Scaffolding Student Learning

3. How do we scaffold learning? • By providing guides, outlines and templates • By using visual/ graphic and other guides for thinking Phase III. Activity 7.1 Scaffolding Student Learning

4. Reception scaffolds • Helps learners gather information from sources • Directs learners’ attention to what is important, and helps them organize and record what they perceive • Examples: interview process guide, reading guide, dictionaries and glossaries, observation guide, note-taking guide Phase III. Activity 7.1 Scaffolding Student Learning

5. Transformation scaffolds • Helps learners transform information they have collected into some other form • Used to imposestructure on information (while reception scaffolds help learners perceive structure that is already in the information) • Examples: Venn diagram (for comparisons), inductive tower (for making inferences), causal loop and fishbone map (for analyzing causes and effects) Phase III. Activity 7.1 Scaffolding Student Learning

6. Production scaffolds • Helps learners produce something observable that conveys what they have learned • Useful when the form of what is to be produced follows the conventions of a type or publication or presentation format • Examples: presentation checklist and template, outline, story map, play structure, writing guide/template Phase III. Activity 7.1 Scaffolding Student Learning

7. Questions teachers should ask themselves when assigning learning tasks: • Reception task: Do all of my students know how to make sense of this source of information? • Transformation task: Do all of my students know how to manipulate the information in the way I am asking them to? • Production task: Do all of my students know how to produce information in the format I am requiring? Phase III. Activity 7.1 Scaffolding Student Learning

7. Questions teachers should ask themselves when assigning learning tasks: If your answer to any of these questions is “No” or “Not Sure”, then you need to MAKE A SCAFFOLD for your students to use. Phase III. Activity 7.1 Scaffolding Student Learning

8. Key attributes of good scaffolds • Available for just-in-time learning • Can be skipped by those who don’t need them • Blends content and structure to an appropriate degree • Fades when students become more adept Phase III. Activity 7.1 Scaffolding Student Learning

8. Key attributes of good scaffolds • Strike a balance between spoon feeding and allowing your learners to sink-or-swim. • Don’t scaffold everything. Pick the 20% that will solve 80% of your problems. Phase III. Activity 7.1 Scaffolding Student Learning

8. Key attributes of good scaffolds • Make sure your scaffolds do not stifle creativity. • Over time, as your students internalize the structures and skills you want them to have, scaffold less. Phase III. Activity 7.1 Scaffolding Student Learning

References • Dodge, Bernie. (1998). Thinking Visually With WebQuests. Available online at http://edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/tv/. Accessed on 21 August 2006. • Fryer, Wesley A. (1999). Teaching with Templates. Available online at http://www.wtvi.com/teks/99_00_articles/teachingwithtemplates.html. Accessed on 21 August 2006. • McKenzie, Jamie. (1998). Grazing the Net: Raising a Generation of Free-Range Students. Available online at http://www.fno.org/text/grazing.html. Accessed on 21 August 2006. Phase III. Activity 7.1 Scaffolding Student Learning

Scaffolding Student Learning