Scaffolding Student Learning

Explores the theory and practice of scaffolding.

This book uses meta-analysis to synthesize research on scaffolding and scaffolding-related interventions in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education. Specifically, the volume examines the extent to which study quality, assessment type, and scaffolding characteristics (strategy, intended outcome, fading schedule, scaffolding intervention, and paired intervention) influence cognitive student outcomes. It includes detailed descriptions of the theoretical foundations of scaffolding, scaffolding strategies that have been proposed to meet different intended learning outcomes in STEM, and associated efficacy information. Furthermore, the book describes assessment strategies and study designs which can be used to evaluate the influence of scaffolding, and suggests new fields in which scaffolding strategies that have proven efficacious may be used.

The untold story of the root cause of America's education crisis--and the seemingly endless cycle of multigenerational poverty. It was only after years within the education reform movement that Natalie Wexler stumbled across a hidden explanation for our country's frustrating lack of progress when it comes to providing every child with a quality education. The problem wasn't one of the usual scapegoats: lazy teachers, shoddy facilities, lack of accountability. It was something no one was talking about: the elementary school curriculum's intense focus on decontextualized reading comprehension "skills" at the expense of actual knowledge. In the tradition of Dale Russakoff's The Prize and Dana Goldstein's The Teacher Wars, Wexler brings together history, research, and compelling characters to pull back the curtain on this fundamental flaw in our education system--one that fellow reformers, journalists, and policymakers have long overlooked, and of which the general public, including many parents, remains unaware. But The Knowledge Gap isn't just a story of what schools have gotten so wrong--it also follows innovative educators who are in the process of shedding their deeply ingrained habits, and describes the rewards that have come along: students who are not only excited to learn but are also acquiring the knowledge and vocabulary that will enable them to succeed. If we truly want to fix our education system and unlock the potential of our neediest children, we have no choice but to pay attention.

It's no secret that in today's complex world, students face unparalleled demands as they prepare for college, careers, and active citizenship. However, those demands won't be met without a fundamental shift from traditional, teacher-centered instruction toward innovative, student-centered teaching and learning. For schools ready to make such a shift, project-based learning (PBL) offers a proven framework to help students be better equipped to tackle future challenges. Project Based Teachers encourage active questioning, curiosity, and peer learning; create learning environments in which every student has a voice; and have a mastery of content but are also comfortable responding to students' questions by saying, "I don’t know. Let's find out together." In this book, Suzie Boss and John Larmer build on the framework for Gold Standard PBL originally presented in Setting the Standard for Project Based Learning and explore the seven practices integral to Project Based Teaching: Build the Culture Design and Plan Align to Standards Manage Activities Assess Student Learning Scaffold Student Learning Engage and Coach For each practice, the authors present a wide range of practical strategies and include teachers' reflections about and suggestions from their classroom experiences. This book and a related series of free videos provide a detailed look at what's happening in PBL classrooms from the perspective of the Project Based Teacher. Let's find out together. A copublication of ASCD and Buck Institute for Education (BIE).

This insightful and timely volume addresses how scaffolding can be used to support multilingual learners to amplify their opportunities for learning. As a dynamic educational process, scaffolding facilitates responsive and adaptive teaching and learning; addresses students’ needs; increases student autonomy; and promotes adaptive, high-level learning without simplifying instruction. Section I covers the theoretical grounding and reconceptualizations of scaffolding. Section II offers concrete examples and case studies from varied classroom contexts. Section III provides a window into professional development to discuss the work of pre-service and in-service teachers, and how they develop their understandings and practices of teaching multilingual learners. Contributors address diverse topics, including translanguaging in the classroom, scaffolding as a tool for equitable teaching, virtual learning, as well as learning in dual language and content area classrooms. Featuring examples from teacher education programs as well as principles for design of educative curriculum materials, this book is ideal for pre-service teachers and students in TESOL, applied linguistics, and language education.

This book is the result of a decade long effort in school districts such as New York City, Austin, and San Diego to implement challenging instruction that is designed for classrooms that include English learners and that raises the bar and increases engagement for all learners. Classroom vignettes, transcripts of student interactions, and detailed examples of intellectually engaging middle school and high school lessons provide a concrete picture of the instructional approach developed by coauthor Aida Walqui, founder and director of WestEd s Quality Teaching for English Learners (QTEL) initiative.

Teaching Gradually is a guide for anyone new to teaching and learning in higher education. Written for graduate student instructors, by graduate students with substantive teaching experience, this resource is among the first of its kind to speak to graduate students as comrades-in-arms with voices from alongside them in the trenches, rather than from far behind the lines. Each author featured in this book was a graduate student at the time they wrote their contribution. Consequently, the following chapters give scope to a newer, diverse generation of educators who are closer in experience and professional age to the book’s intended audience. The tools, methods, and ideas discussed here are ones that the authors have found most useful in teaching today’s students. Each chapter offers a variety of strategies for successful classroom practices that are often not explicitly covered in graduate training.Overall, this book consists of 42 chapters written by 51 authors who speak from a vast array of backgrounds and viewpoints, and who represent a broad spectrum of experience spanning small, large, public, and private institutions of higher education. Each chapter offers targeted advice that speaks to the learning curve inherent to early-career teaching, while presenting tangible strategies that readers can leverage to address the dynamic professional landscape they inhabit. The contributors’ stories and reflections provide the context to build the reader’s confidence in trying new approaches in their his or her teaching. This book covers a wide range of topics designed to appeal to graduate student instructors across disciplines, from those teaching discussion sections, to those managing studio classes and lab sessions, to those serving as the instructor of record for their own course. Despite the medley of content, two common threads run throughout this volume: a strong focus on diversity and inclusion, and an acknowledgment of the increasing shift to online teaching.As a result of engaging with Teaching Gradually, readers will be able to:·Identify best teaching practices to enhance student learning ·Develop a plan to implement these strategies in their teaching ·Expand their conception of contexts in which teaching and learning can take place ·Evaluate and refine their approaches to fostering inclusion in and out of the classroom ·Assess student learning and the efficacy of their own teaching practices ·Practice professional self-reflection

Within educational discourse, the idea that teachers should scaffold student learning is extremely widespread, yet it is often less clear what this means in the classroom beyond teacher-structured learning activities and the offering of support to students. Effective Teaching and Learning: Perspectives, Strategies and Implementation opens with a review on the use of the term scaffolding in teaching, and explains the purpose of scaffolding in the context of Vygotsky's developmental theory. The authors draw upon Vygotskys spatial metaphor for how learning activities could be positioned in relation to the learners current and potential levels of development. An analysis of the function of scaffolds, their role in classroom differentiation, and the logic of fading is provided. Following this, the authors report one small-scale study that explored an attempt to design materials using principles of scaffolding in an aspect of upper secondary physics known to present learning difficulties to students. The results demonstrate the difficulty of estimating the level at which to pitch learning materials intended to scaffold learning, but also suggest that such materials may contribute to shifting student thinking even when they are not optimally tuned. The results of this small-scale study indicate both the difficulty and the potential of transferring the scaffolding principle from dyadic contexts to formal classroom teaching. Continuing, our nderstanding of learning and the transmission of knowledge has influenced the design of instructional models. Todays models may appear simplistic, but actually contain very detailed components. Medical education has incorporated instructional designers to assist in developing curricula and to revamp older training programs. Thus, the authors aim to identify the more prominent instructional design (ID) models and their applicability to medical education. With many different instructional design models available, medical educators can be confused and dismayed when first trying to choose an appropriate ID model for educational development. Challenges that medical educators typically overlook, underuse, and overuse when selecting an instructional design model are described. The concluding chapter discusses the need for continuing engineering education and its unique challenges, engineers learning preferences (verbal-visual, learning strategy, and multimedia), the importance of prior knowledge, and instructional design strategies for developing more effective training materials for working engineers. This need has been well-documented and is critical for working engineers due to the breadth of processes and equipment they design and use, as well as rapid changes in technology.