Content & Engagement
Introduction (10 min)
Content: introduce the concept of scaffolding technology
Engagement: Have you ever thought about how you implement technology into the curriculum?
Brain Science Connection (20 min)
Content: Why scaffolding matters- neuroscience insights (amygdala, stress responses, prefrontal cortex).
Engagement: Audience poll/interaction- When have you seen students shut down with tech?
Scaffolding in Practice (20 min)
Content: Examples of scaffolded activities (vocabulary books, videos, digital dashboards, character spotlights, content posters).
Engagement: Audience peer-share- brainstorm where scaffolding could help in their own classrooms.
Reflection & Application (10 min)
Content: Participants engage in scaffolded Canva activities (intro basics → advanced functions).
Engagement: Small-group discussion: how scaffolding reduced barriers during the activity.
Content: Participants draft a scaffolded tech activity for their own classroom.
Engagement: Share-out and feedback.
assroom.Share-out and feedback.
After this session, participants will be able to identify the cognitive and emotional barriers that arise when introducing new technology tools and apply scaffolding strategies to sequence tool use in ways that reduce stress and maximize engagement. They will design scaffolded technology-based activities—ranging from introductory to advanced—that build student confidence and transferable skills. In addition, participants will integrate neuroscience-informed strategies such as choice, novelty, humor, and movement into their tech tool instruction to further support student learning.
Thompson, V. (2023). Students struggle with tech, too. ASCD. https://ascd.org/el/articles/students-struggle-with-tech-too
Meier, E. B. (2023, June 26). Transforming education or digitizing the status quo? ASCD Educational Leadership. https://ascd.org/el/articles/transforming-education-or-digitizing-the-status-quo
Hess, K. (2023, September 12). The ABCs of rigorous lesson design. Educational Leadership. ASCD. https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/the-abcs-of-rigorous-lesson-design
Whitman, G., & Kelleher, I. (2016). NeuroTeach: Brain science and the future of education. Rowman & Littlefield.
Center for Transformative Teaching & Learning. (2020). The teenage brain: How can educators support teenagers’ developing executive function and metacognitive skills? https://thecttl.org/2020/09/10/the-teenage-brain-tdd/
The Pathfinder. (n.d.). Yerkes-Dodson Law. https://thepathfinder.org/yerkes-dodson-law/
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