By Karin Hess

If you select a scaffolding technique, do you first think about the supposed studying targets for the lesson and the the reason why specific college students may be struggling to realize them?

Or do you concentrate on learn how to use scaffolding to maneuver even the best performing college students ahead? Being strategic about scaffolding can advance studying and deepen the engagement of each scholar.

Scaffolding methods must be used strategically. For instance, a technique supposed to help government functioning or language growth is probably not efficient for deepening content material data and considering.

Educators ought to start by asking themselves: Why did I select this technique? Does it match my studying goal and the way will it optimize studying for some or all of my college students?

Dispelling Some Widespread Myths

I’ll share some concepts about making good selections beneath. First, let’s clear up three frequent myths about scaffolding. 

Fantasy #1: Scaffolding is similar as differentiation.

Many educators – and even academic supplies – confuse scaffolding with differentiation. They’re really fairly completely different. A simple option to keep in mind the distinction is that scaffolding offers steps to help finishing a activity, whereas differentiation offers college students completely different selections as to which duties they’ll full.

When instruction is differentiated, college students select and work on completely different – and infrequently comparable – assignments. I first used differentiation with intent once I was instructing center college. I created task menus that differentiated the content material (completely different texts, supplies, conditions, or matters), the processes used (depth of engagement with the content material/DOK, working alone or with somebody, and many others.), or the merchandise college students developed as proof of their studying. Selection boards, menus, and stations are sometimes used throughout a unit of examine to supply elective actions to college students.

In distinction, scaffolding methods are methods to allow every scholar to efficiently entry or exceed grade-level content material, full a fundamental to superior task, and develop in confidence and independence as a learner.

Fantasy #2: Scaffolding is all the time short-term.

Truly, most of the similar scaffolding methods (e.g., breaking down a activity into smaller elements, co-creating an anchor chart to construct conceptual understanding) can be utilized independently afterward with more and more extra complicated duties.

Scaffolds are usually not just for struggling college students; high-performing adults break down complicated duties into smaller chunks and use fashions and peer suggestions to enhance their understanding of latest info.  Consider it this fashion – a painter all the time makes use of some sort of scaffolding to color a ceiling.

Fantasy #3: Scaffolding is used to alter the general supposed rigor.

A scaffolding technique can scale back the cognitive demand on a learner’s working reminiscence throughout studying, however it doesn’t change the rigor of the educational exercise.

For instance, when a posh textual content is learn aloud or introduced as a graphic novel, college students shouldn’t have to make use of all of their working reminiscence to decode unfamiliar phrases in an effort to comprehend the textual content’s that means. As a substitute, they could make sketchnotes whereas listening to seize key concepts in an effort to later summarize, talk about, or clarify extra complicated info.

Whereas decoding abilities are essential, decoding phrases isn’t the first focus on this studying exercise. Likewise, when a scholar makes use of a calculator to compute operations with giant numbers or decimals to allow them to verify their estimations, working reminiscence is freed up from time it could take handy calculate the identical issues.

Figuring out what the educational targets are helps academics decide which scaffolds are most acceptable for that lesson and for specific college students – in different phrases, the scaffolding exercise is of their Zone of Proximal Improvement/ZPD. Scaffolding is used to make sure that regardless that a scholar might battle, the battle will likely be productive.

Consider scaffolding as a bridge that may both (a) make content material extra accessible (“chunking” texts, targeted discussions, constructing background data) or (b) make multi-step duties extra manageable (group knowledge assortment, breaking duties into smaller elements with checkpoints).

Deciding When to Use Scaffolding

Three frequent areas of help might be helpful for educators to think about when serving to college students develop the abilities wanted for carrying out tougher duties or understanding complicated info.

• deepening content material data,
• facilitating government perform, and
• supporting language and vocabulary growth

Strategic scaffolding at one Depth of Data (DOK) degree will often help college students in advancing to the subsequent DOK degree. Under, I describe a couple of methods at every DOK Degree for every completely different educational function.

Scaffolding Function 1: Deepening Content material Data and Connecting to “Huge Concepts”

Many methods used to deepen studying can naturally stream out of actions designed to construct language abilities or help government perform.  For instance, growing an anchor chart with college students on the steps used to unravel a nonroutine arithmetic activity helps government functioning and results in later use of the chart, triggering reminders of every step whereas fixing new issues.

Scaffolding Methods that
Deepen Data
at Totally different DOK Ranges

DOK 1 – The “DAILY 10” Playlist

The impression of background data on studying comprehension and schema constructing can’t be overstated. To make use of this technique, a playlist of at the least six quick print and nonprint sources on a subject (e.g., pictures, political cartoons, articles, web sites associated to social research or science unit) is created for college kids at the start of the week.

For not more than ten minutes a day, people or teams of scholars select one useful resource to learn/take heed to and take a couple of notes. Notes are not graded.  Class discussions and journal writing can be utilized to attach the rising background data to the continued unit of examine.

DOK 3 – Carousel Suggestions

This technique is a variation on carousel brainstorming the place small teams transfer from one station to the subsequent, producing concepts on completely different subtopics, writing them on giant charts for the subsequent group to learn and add to.

The trainer prepares 4 or 5 giant charts with a special query immediate or problem-solving activity on each. College students are heterogeneously grouped, with every group utilizing a special coloured marker for his or her responses. Every group reads the issue at their desk and begins to unravel it on the chart paper.

After a couple of minutes (earlier than they’ve completed), time is known as, and teams rotate to a brand new drawback. There, they learn the issue from the final group and verify that group’s work thus far. After discussing what they see of their friends’ work, they resolve if the final group was/was not right as much as that time. They use a brand new colour marker to both proceed engaged on that drawback whether it is right or make corrections in the event that they see a mistake. If the issue needed to be corrected, they write a facet notice justifying what was flawed and why or the way it was corrected.

Time is known as once more, and teams rotate to a 3rd drawback, utilizing the identical checking and justifying course of as earlier than. Within the final spherical of rotations, teams develop a justification supporting the answer primarily based on calculations and notes of the opposite groups. Carousel methods promote deeper discussions and learn how to collaboratively develop reasoning with supporting proof.

Scaffolding Function 2: Facilitating Govt Operate and Utility of Expertise and Processes

College students with poor government perform battle to maintain focus and engagement with prolonged texts and multi-step duties. Govt perform additionally impacts the flexibility to set and monitor targets and keep a constructive self-image as a learner. Govt capabilities are a various, however associated, set of abilities that assist learners to provoke, monitor, and full longer and extra complicated multi-step duties. Scaffolding methods can help:

• Initiation – The flexibility to start a activity or exercise and generate concepts, responses, or problem-solving methods (e.g., group brainstorming or drawback fixing).
• Working Reminiscence – The capability to carry info in thoughts for the aim of sustaining engagement with an extended textual content (e.g., chunking texts).
• Planning and Group – The flexibility to handle present and future-oriented activity calls for (e.g., studying logs).
• Self-Monitoring – The flexibility to watch one’s personal efficiency and to measure it in opposition to some customary of what’s wanted or anticipated (e.g., conferencing).
  

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 Scaffolding Methods that Assist
Govt Operate
at Totally different DOK Ranges 

DOK 2: A Card Pyramid Helps Summarize Info

The cardboard pyramid technique can be utilized with numbered sticky notes or index playing cards to interrupt down info in a textual content. Ideally, companions work collectively to construct the pyramid after which take turns orally summarizing info earlier than finishing a written abstract.

DOK 3 – Constructing a Mathematical Argument

Constructing a mathematical argument is as exhausting to show as it’s to be taught. On this technique, companions divide their paper in half lengthwise. On the left, the scholars work via every step to unravel the issue. On the fitting, they clarify why they did every step or how that step helped (e.g., my diagram reveals how the sweet bar was divided; I labeled every fractional half to point out…). This scaffolding technique is efficient as a result of it breaks down HOW we received to the answer and slows down considering so we will clarify WHY we did every step.

© Karin Hess (2023). Rigor by Design, Not Likelihood. ASCD

Scaffolding Function 3: Supporting Language and Vocabulary Improvement

Constructing vocabulary and utilizing language are foundational to studying in all content material areas. One methodology for constructing vocabulary is to prioritize and reinforce the important language wanted for studying in any content material space.  Casual methods for academics to strategically help language growth embody utilizing visuals and bodily fashions to immediate prior data, colour coding to emphasise significance or variations (anchor charts, sentence stems, paragraph frames, differentiating place worth of multi-digit numbers), structuring purposeful discourse, and modeling considering out loud.

Multi-sensory approaches to supporting college students in buying language abilities are sometimes very efficient. Nonetheless, a warning is to not use too many various approaches on the similar time or use methods or instruments that can’t simply be transferred to future studying. A cute visible of a pumpkin or cookie won’t be as helpful in growing the schema for paragraph or essay writing, or as clear as an anchor chart or paragraph body utilizing colour coding and visible cues.

Scaffolding Methods that Assist
Language and Vocabulary Expertise
at Totally different DOK Ranges

DOK 2 – Paraphrase Passport

This technique promotes lively listening and talking and builds language comprehension abilities. This can be utilized when college students work in pairs, similar to to review collectively or to facilitate making connections in bigger group discussions.

When a scholar needs so as to add info or make a remark, they have to first paraphrase what the final individual simply mentioned (“What I believe I heard you say is ___”). Then the scholar can add to or lengthen the thought (I believe that is essential as a result of ___” or “Another excuse may be ___”). Since college students are bringing in prior data, making connections, or constructing on concepts of others, this technique, is prone to elicit DOK 2 considering.

DOK 3 – TBEAR

I’ve used the graphic organizer TBEAR for greater than a decade at many grade ranges, with nice success. TBEAR does greater than ask college students to easily write phrases/phrases within the graphic organizer with out making connections amongst concepts or making use of deeper evaluation. TBEAR can be utilized to construct vocabulary or as a pre-writing or dialogue preparation exercise.

I prefer to introduce TBEAR utilizing a textual content acquainted to most college students (e.g., fairy story, a textual content learn earlier by the category). Lecturers have used or tailored TBEAR for all grade ranges and inform me it really works particularly nicely for college kids with restricted language proficiency abilities. Working as an entire class or with a companion, college students can use TBEAR as a information to find textual content proof and put together for sophistication discussions or writing. Center college academics that I’ve labored with had college students create and submit anchor charts for key math vocabulary phrases after analyzing them utilizing TBEAR.

TBEAR effortlessly scaffolds college students to maneuver from DOK 1 to DOK 2, 3, or 4 and “T-B-E-A-R” makes it straightforward to recollect what every half stands for:

T: Write a Topic sentence/Thesis assertion/or declare (DOK 1); or outline a vocabulary Term or idea.

B: Briefly summarize the textual content as a Bridge to proof (DOK 2); or paraphrase the that means in your individual phrases.

E: Find textual content Evidence/Examples (DOK 2); or present each examples and non-examples when defining domain-specific phrases.

A: Analyze each instance/each bit of textual content proof; Add extra info to elaborate or to say why the proof helps the thesis/declare (DOK 3).

R: State one thing to Remember (DOK 1 or 2) or a Reflection that will transcend DOK 3 to DOK 4 (e.g., text-to-world connections, private connections, connection to different sources).

Scaffolding for All

Fairness begins with the assumption that every one college students are able to and want to maneuver past merely memorizing routines and buying floor data in a content material space. This particularly applies to college students with studying disabilities and multilingual college students.

Research have proven that every one learners want day by day alternatives to make use of artistic considering, make sense of data and concepts, ask questions, have interaction in analysis and inquiry, and assemble their very own understandings via collaborating in substantive conversations.

 Additionally see this standard Karin Hess article:
Six Methods to Add Rigor by Deepening Pondering

Dr. Karin Hess, writer of the Hess Cognitive Rigor Matrices and quite a few articles and books, is a former classroom trainer and college administrator. Her newest guide is Rigor by Design, Not Likelihood: Deeper Pondering By Actionable Instruction & Evaluation (2023, ASCD). She is acknowledged internationally as a frontrunner in making use of cognitive rigor, depth of data (DOK), and studying progressions to the event of state and school-based curriculum and evaluation methods. She might be contacted via her web site www.karin-hess.com.