In Chapter four of Rigor by Design, Not Chance by Karin Hess, Hess focuses on strategic scaffolding. “Strategic Scaffolding can advance and deepen student engagement when we start by identifying the specific goal for using a strategy and which students will most likely benefit from that support” (Hess, p. 71). Hess explains the four different ways to structure scaffolding:
Teacher and peer scaffolding
Content scaffolding
Task scaffolding
Materials scaffolding
Educators should know the learning targets as it can be helpful when they decide what scaffolds are necessary for the lesson. Hess expands on how scaffolding is different from differentiation, “an easy way to remember the difference is that scaffolding provides steps to support completing a task, whereas differentiation gives students different choices as to which task they will complete” (p. 72). Differentiation is related to content and assignments given by the teacher and how the students complete the tasks. Scaffolding is giving students strategies to build in confidence and independence as a learner using grade-level content. Hess shares three big reasons why educators should use scaffolding during instruction:
To deepen content knowledge and connect to big ideas
To facilitate executive function and the application of skills and processes
To support language and vocabulary development
The Actionable Assessment Cycle comes back into play by aligning to some of the strategies Hess provides. Being able to connect these techniques and put them into the framework Hess has laid out.
After reading chapter four of Rigor by Design, Not Chance, I started searching for an article that relates to strategic scaffolding. I found an article titled, Scaffolding in Education by Becton Loveless. This article is similar to Hess’s chapter as Becton discusses the strategy of using scaffolding in the classroom. Loveless begins the article by stating, “Scaffolding refers to breaking up new concepts so that they can be learned more easily. It’s a process that many teachers have used for decades but that has recently received much more attention as an instructional approach” (2023). Loveless, similar to Hess, touches on how scaffolding and differentiation are different, he describes scaffolding, “It breaks up learning new topics into stages in which old ideas are connected to new ones and students are led from guided to independent instruction” (2023). Scaffolding can be implemented during the use of differentiation by educators breaking their lessons down into complex chunks. The author points out the benefits scaffolding provides such as, improved comprehension, problem solving, higher learning, and creating a more positive classroom. Loveless makes a strong point to share that scaffolding works successfully when new concepts are being connected to old ones. “Throughout the scaffolding process, a heavy emphasis should be placed on connecting old concepts to new ones to set a foundation for learning” (Loveless, 2023). A downside to scaffolding stated by Loveless, “Scaffolding activities have to be able to meet the strengths of students with very different learning styles. Teachers have to take the time to understand the strengths of their class and come up with activities that will be broadly appealing to students of many learning styles” (2023). Educators need to make a point to plan for scaffolding to occur in their classroom.
Overall, both texts display how scaffolding is important to a student’s learning path. Loveless and Hess make connections between how learners can build upon their knowledge and engage in deeper learning. Rigor for students can be brought out through the strategic planning of scaffolding through teaching.
References
Hess, K. (2023). Rigor by design not change deeper thinking through actionable instruction and assessment. ARLINGTON VA.
Scaffolding in Education: The Complete guide. (n.d.). https://www.educationcorner.com/scaffolding-education-guide.html
I wonder how the found article helped you better understand the kinds of/ reasons for scaffolding that Hess outlines.
ReplyDeleteKatie, thank you for your succinct overview of Hess’s chapter on scaffolding. I appreciate that Loveless, though supporting the usefulness of scaffolding, also highlights a drawback. “Scaffolding activities have to be able to meet the strengths of students with very different learning styles. Teachers have to take the time to understand the strengths of their class and come up with activities that will be broadly appealing to students of many learning styles” (2023). Teachers are required to do so much. The details of instructional planning, including intentional scaffolding for various students, may be pushed to the side in favor of some other tasks that also demands teacher time. I wonder if there is a tool or resource that could be made available that would make providing scaffolds in a more efficient manner. Perhaps that is why 1:1 laptop classrooms utilize software that provides customized paths for students based on diagnostics (like IXL and i-Ready) in an effort for students to have “just right” support and corrective feedback. We recognize that students benefit from those things, but continue to spread teachers too thin to provide them.
ReplyDeleteKatie,
ReplyDeleteMy biggest take away from your post was how you mentioned the quote: “an easy way to remember the difference is that scaffolding provides steps to support completing a task, whereas differentiation gives students different choices as to which task they will complete” (p. 72). I feel as though this quote is very important and powerful because the difference between differentiation and scaffolding can be very confusing. This quote explicitly describes the difference. Differentiation is important because it gives students instruction based on their current level. Scaffolding is important because it allows students to receive support in order to complete a task. That "task" is the same for all students.