The buzzword this year is definitely SCAFFOLDING. The BASD made it a priority during professional development at the beginning of the school year.
So, what is scaffolding?
First, it is important to understand the difference between scaffolding and differentiating. When teachers scaffold learning, they are chunking the learning activities and providing tools and structures with each small bite. The technique guides students through complex pieces of learning in order to get to a finished product.
Differentiation is different from scaffolding as it involves accommodating and modifying the curriculum for individual students based upon needs and learning goals. While scaffolding and differentiation are different, they work hand-in-hand. During scaffolding, teachers see where students may continue to struggle; thus, they start to differentiate by making accommodations for accessibility or by modifying content.
Moving forward, teachers can use scaffolding for curricular learning and social-emotional learning. Sometimes just using the scaffolding for learning the content can help support students on a social and emotional level.
There are a few different types of scaffolding that I found; however, there may be more. I thought the three below would be most helpful in the classroom. Please know that most of us use these techniques naturally. But it is always best practice to reflect upon our own practices in order to improve or spice up life!
Soft Scaffold [a.k.a Contingent Scaffold]
This type of scaffolding happens when the teacher circulates among the students and talk to them. The objectives are to ask questions of the students to make them think about their own work and to provide constructive feedback.
Hard Scaffold [a.k.a. Embedded Scaffold]
This technique is when the teacher plans in advance for learning tasks that may be difficult for students. For example, the teacher may chunk each activity that leads to the major task, project, or assessment. Along the way, the teacher provides visual aids, pre-teaching, modeling, etc.
Reciprocal Scaffold
This involves a pair or small group working collaboratively. The students are learning from each others’ experiences and knowledge. It works best when students are paired with another student(s) who has different perspectives rather than more expertise.
Finally, let’s talk about scaffolding tools. Soft scaffolding doesn’t require anything other than walking around and talking to students. However, when planning for hard scaffolding, some tools in your “scaffolding tool box” may help. Again, this is not a comprehensive list. There are so many ways in which scaffolding can occur.
Scaffolding Tools
Modeling [Show’n Tell]
Fishbowl Activities
Show an Example/Finished Product
Tap into Prior Knowledge
Give learners time to talk/Provide structured talking time
Triad Teams [a.k.a. literature circles, station activities, etc.]
Frontload possible difficult items
Pre-teach vocabulary
Use visual aids
Graphic Organizers
Videos
Posters
Diagrams
Sources
6 Scaffolding Strategies to Use with Your Students (Edutopia)
Scaffolding (Psychology Wiki)
