“How can I scaffold instruction?”

The dictionary defines ‘scaffolding’ as “a temporary structure used to support people and material in the construction or repair of buildings and other large structures”. Though this may seem quite disconnected from the educational scenario, the truth is that for teachers to provide successful classroom instruction, there is a need for ‘scaffolding’. This support, is given by the teacher throughout the lesson in the form of adequate explanations and detailed instructions for all concepts and materials being taught. This makes it easier for students to understand difficult concepts and to clear any doubts they may have. When presenting cognitive strategies that cannot be observed directly, the teacher describes in detail.

Verbal explanations as scaffolds:

• ‘Talk-aloud’: The teacher describes and explains each step of a cognitive strategy.
• ‘Think-aloud’: The teacher applies a cognitive strategy to a particular problem or task and verbalizes the steps in applying the strategy.

Written explanations as scaffolds:

• Exemplars of academic work, such as essays and completed math word problems. The teacher makes these available to students for use as models and keep them engaged in their lessons by using ‘active, accurate responding’ to capture student attention and optimize learning.
• Collaborative Assignments are also excellent, as they give students frequent opportunities to work collaboratively in pairs or groups.

Let us consider some useful guidelines to ensure the scaffolding meets your students’ learning needs.

1. Monitor : It is very essential for the teacher to monitor scaffolding support. The instructor regularly checks for student understanding by posing frequent questions to the group to assess their performance. He ensures full class participation and boosts levels of student attention by having all students respond in various ways to instructor questions (e.g., choral responding, response cards, white boards).
2. Verify: Using this support method, the teacher verifies that students are experiencing at least 80% success in the lesson content to shape their learning in the desired direction and to maintain student motivation and engagement. This means the lesson moves at a brisk rate – sufficient enough to hold student attention.
3. Encourage: Students are also encouraged to work independently. They are taught fix-up strategies for use during independent work (e.g., for defining unknown words in reading assignments, or solving challenging math word problems).

Discuss here: What are some strategies you use to support your students’ varying learning needs and levels in the classroom?