Boosting Student Success: Effective Scaffolding Strategies Across Disciplines

Outline

Introduction (5 minutes)
• Content: Speaker introduction, learning intentions, and success criteria. Explanation of how the session aligns with Transformational Learning Principles.
• Engagement: Quick interactive Mentimeter poll to understand audience familiarity with scaffolding techniques.
• How: Brief audience interaction through word cloud.

Foundational Concepts (7 minutes)
• Content: Discussion on language acquisition, comprehensive input, and the role of the affective filter in learning.
• Engagement: Visual presentation of key concepts with real classroom examples.
• How: Q&A segment to clarify concepts.

Defining Scaffolding (7 minutes)
• Content: Use of the Frayer Model to define Scaffolding in educational contexts.
• Engagement: Participants develop their own definitions in small groups.
• How: Group sharing to foster a collective understanding.

The Scaffolding Cycle (7 minutes)
• Content: Detailed explanation of the scaffolding cycle: before, during, and after.
• Engagement: Participants reflect on their practices and share insights.
• How: Peer discussion followed by sharing insights with the larger group.

Macro Scaffolds - Designing for All (6 minutes)
• Content: Strategies for implementing macro scaffolds that cater to diverse learning needs.
• Engagement: Hands-on demonstrations of macro scaffolds for a lesson.
• How: Interactive, collaborative planning using provided materials.

Micro Scaffolds - In Practice (12 minutes)
• Content: Examine scaffolding strategies like choral reading, wait time, cold calling, and QSSSA.
• Engagement: Participants engage in a mini-teaching session to try out strategies.
• How: Role-playing and peer feedback.

Optimizing Scaffolding Timing (3 minutes)
• Content: Guidance on when to reduce or remove Scaffolding.
• Engagement: Scenario-based discussion on timing.
• How: Group consensus activities and decision-making exercises.

Roving Paragraphs Activity (8 minutes)
• Content: Shared reading and writing exercise demonstrating scaffolding integration into literacy instruction.
• Engagement: All participants take part in creating a collaborative paragraph.
• How: Dynamic group interaction involving reading, writing, speaking, and listening.

Applying Learned Techniques (5 minutes)
• Content: Use sentence stems/starters to create an exit slip.
• Engagement: Participants apply the session's learning to craft meaningful exit slips.
• How: Real-time feedback from peers and facilitator.

Supporting research

This session draws on well-established educational theories and practices to support scaffolding across disciplines:

Cognitive Load Theory (Sweller, 1988) emphasizes the importance of managing cognitive load through visual aids to enhance learning retention.

The SIOP Model (Echevarria, 2004) provides a framework for using visuals to bridge language gaps, which is crucial for effective scaffolding.

Dual Coding Theory (Paivio, 1986) highlights the benefits of combining visual and verbal information to enhance memory and understanding.

Dialogue-based Teaching (Paul & Elder, 2006) and Interactive Approaches (Ellis, 2008) discuss the enhancement of critical thinking and language learning through verbal scaffolding.

Bruner (1983) emphasizes the importance of modeling and gradual transfer of responsibility in verbal scaffolding.

Written Scaffolds for promoting higher-order thinking and language development (Gregory, 2013) and improving the quality of written work (Fisher & Frey, 2014).

Structural Writing Supports, as discussed by Hillocks (1986), organize thoughts and develop language structures.

Dr. Carol Salva's "Boosting Achievement" offers practical strategies for reaching students with interrupted or minimal education, aligning with scaffolding techniques included in the session.

Valentina Gonzalez (valentinaesl.com) contributes insights on tailoring instruction to meet the needs of Multilingual Learners, focusing on scaffolding across language barriers.