Strategic Scaffolding Ensures Rigorous Learning

Chapter 4 "Consider Strategic Scaffolding"

    In Chapter 4, "Consider Strategic Scaffolding", of Rigor by Design, Not Chance, author Karin Hess discusses the importance of using strategic scaffolding, or providing "steps to support completing a task", in lessons to ensure they are rigorous for all students (2023, p. 136). Hess emphasizes the importance of scaffolding stating that "scaffolding strategies enable each student to successfully access grade-level content, complete an assignment, and grow in confidence and independence as a learner" (2023, p. 136). She adds that "all learners benefit from the strategic use of scaffolding" (2023, p. 136). Hess goes on to explain that scaffolding assists in reducing "the demands on a student's working memory during learning" (2023, p. 136). This is further explained as allowing students to focus on the target skill of the lessen, rather than additional struggles that may be faced. She also makes mention of the importance of understanding the difference between scaffolding and differentiation, which provides students choices in which tasks to complete. 

    Scaffolding can be structured in four ways, teacher and peer, content, task, and materials. To determine the most appropriate scaffolding for the lesson, the educator must consider the zone of proximal development of each student and how the scaffold will make the content more accessible. This is summarized through the key question "How can scaffolding help students show what they know by making content more accessible or by supporting the processing of content?" (Hess, 2023, p. 139). Through scaffolding, the educator must think of themselves as a "strategic learning coach" (Hess, 2023, p. 139). 

    Finally, Hess summarizes three main reasons to scaffold during instruction. These reasons include deepening content knowledge and connecting to big ideas, facilitating executive function and the application of skills and processes, and supporting language and vocabulary development.  

    Following the reading of "Consider Strategic Scaffolding", I chose to look further into beneficial scaffolding techniques. I chose this topic as I felt it was most relevant to my current situation of being a student teacher and preparing to soon have my own classroom. As a result of this, I felt I would personally benefit from educating myself with a variety of scaffolding strategies to store in my toolbox. Through my search on Edutopia I came across an article titled "6 Scaffolding Strategies to Use with Your Students" by Rebecca Alber. This article discusses six different scaffolding strategies recommended by Alber. 

    Upon initially beginning reading the article, I was hit immediately with many statements similar, if not identical, to Chapter 4 of Rigor by Design, Not Chance, which only affirmed my article choice. After giving a non-example of scaffolding, Alber mentions the need of starting with the difference of scaffolding from differentiating, something also done by Hess. Alber states "Scaffolding is breaking up the learning into chunks and providing a tool, or structure, with each chunk" while differentiating comes after and includes "modifying an assignment or making accommodations like choosing a more accessible text or assigning an alternative project" (2014). This reinforces the differences mentioned by Hess which included choices for differentiating and supporting steps for scaffolding as previously mentioned. Both Hess and Abler also use the term "manageable chunks" when referring to scaffolding. Alber also states, "you have to know the individual and collective zone of proximal development of your learners" (2014) which closely mimics Hess's statement, "In other words, the scaffolding activity is in students' zone of proximal development" (2023, p. 137). 

    After identifying scaffolding and its difference in comparison to differentiating, Alber provides her six recommended scaffolding strategies. The first strategy mentioned is show and tell, or modeling, which is stated to be the "cornerstone of scaffolding" (Alber, 2014). Show and tell can be done through a fishbowl activity or a think aloud. The second strategy mentioned is tapping into prior knowledge which can include students sharing their own experiences. The third strategy mentioned is giving time to talk which can include think-pair-share and turn-and-talk. The fourth strategy mentioned is pre-teaching vocabulary which can be done through appropriate context, symbols, analogies, and discussion. The fifth strategy mentioned is the use of visual aids which can be done through graphic organizers or charts. The sixth and final strategy mentioned is pause, ask questions, pause, review. This strategy allows for a check of understanding and must be designed prior to the start of the lesson and focusing on specific, guiding, and open-ended questions. 

    Of the strategies mentioned, the new information I gained from the article was the sixth strategy, pause, ask questions, pause, review. This was a strategy I had not previously been taught or had ever personally experienced. While I feel that this article was a nice introduction to the strategy itself, I will be conducting additional research on the strategy to further familiarize myself with it, as well as read about it being implemented with more detail. 

    Additional information that stood out to me within the scaffolding strategies was the mention of tapping into prior knowledge which reinforces last week's topic from Chapter 3 "Build Schemas". 

    Overall, Hess uses Chapter 4 to argue the importance of scaffolding and how the use of it ensures that all students, despite capability, are provided with rigorous lessons. Using the support provided within the scaffold will allow each student the opportunity to be successful in the task at hand, ultimately lending toward the completion of the rigorous lesson and subsequently a gained skill. Alber confirms this notion in "6 Scaffolding Strategies to Use with Your Students" while also going into detail as to what that scaffolding implementation might look like. 

Alber, R. (2014). 6 Scaffolding Strategies to Use with Your Students. Edutopia.

Hess, K. (2023c). Chapter 4: Consider Strategic Scaffolding. In Rigor by Design, Not Chance: Deeper Thinking Through Actionable Instruction and Assessment (pp. 134–173). essay, ascd.