This week’s reflective journal focuses on some of the theories and specific skills that are crucial in our educational journey. We discussed Lev Vygotsky’s Theory of Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and how he viewed interactions with peers as an effective way of developing skills and strategies. Something I was really interested in was the relationship to ZPD and Scaffolding. These theories focused on collaboration with peers where support is given to a less competent child from a more skillful peer. Scaffolding really seemed to set off a lightbulb in my head, because I could relate to this type of learning. As a student I recall that I had a great deal of success in learning when learning occurred through peer to peer collaboration. I thought of my own experience and using this type of learning when taught language arts, mathematics, and in sports. I recall being on both sides of the learning, as a competent child in gym class and helping other kids develop some skills. Additionally, I thought of being the less competent child and gaining support from other peers in language arts and reading. But I also remembered other times that this was not as successful. I thought of when I was quite young, and the students who were helping me would just tell me the answers to write. There was no explanation why this was the correct answer, because it was easier for the student to just tell me the right answer. So I started thinking about how I could use scaffolding to promote optimal learning.
First, I thought about what scaffolding looked like. It is the process of providing guidance and support on the way to mastery. So does that mean that scaffolding should be done only when the person assisting the student must be a master of the prescribed activity? At what age can scaffolding be introduced that promotes optimal learning?
Scaffolding is described as sharing knowledge through social interaction that can include modeling, providing hints or cues, and adaptation of the activity. It is suggested that elemenary school teachers break learning up into smaller, more manageable size to ensure student success. The step by step guide:
o I do, you watch
o I do, you help
o You do, I help
o You do, I watch
In my classroom, I can envision myself using scaffolding to optimize student learning. In order to be successful, I feel that I will have to clearly discuss my expectations for the exercise. I would break the students into small groups and assign certain roles. I believe that students can be taught and encouraged to use scaffolding to provide opportunities to all students. There would be an expert, reporter, and a non-expert. The expert would be knowledgeable about the content and expected to help motivate learners by providing enough support to enable them to accomplish the goal. The expert may model, highlight important features, or provide hints to enable the weaker student. The recorder would be responsible for documenting important points from the discussion of the expert and the weaker student. The expectation of the weaker student would be to be able to clearly explain what the learning outcome was. I feel that if each person is aware of their responsibilities that this would promote optimal student learning. Scaffolding promotes exploration and discovery from all students rather that finding the ‘right’ answers.
This is what I envision scaffolding will be like in my classroom. Although I am not in a classroom yet, I feel that is an important tool to develop. This tool allows for students to take an initiative in their own education. It also allows the student to think critically, select plausible solutions and conclusion. As well, it creates meaningful learning through peer to peer interaction and promotes team work. I am excited to try scaffolding out during my praticuum.
First, I thought about what scaffolding looked like. It is the process of providing guidance and support on the way to mastery. So does that mean that scaffolding should be done only when the person assisting the student must be a master of the prescribed activity? At what age can scaffolding be introduced that promotes optimal learning?
Scaffolding is described as sharing knowledge through social interaction that can include modeling, providing hints or cues, and adaptation of the activity. It is suggested that elemenary school teachers break learning up into smaller, more manageable size to ensure student success. The step by step guide:
o I do, you watch
o I do, you help
o You do, I help
o You do, I watch
In my classroom, I can envision myself using scaffolding to optimize student learning. In order to be successful, I feel that I will have to clearly discuss my expectations for the exercise. I would break the students into small groups and assign certain roles. I believe that students can be taught and encouraged to use scaffolding to provide opportunities to all students. There would be an expert, reporter, and a non-expert. The expert would be knowledgeable about the content and expected to help motivate learners by providing enough support to enable them to accomplish the goal. The expert may model, highlight important features, or provide hints to enable the weaker student. The recorder would be responsible for documenting important points from the discussion of the expert and the weaker student. The expectation of the weaker student would be to be able to clearly explain what the learning outcome was. I feel that if each person is aware of their responsibilities that this would promote optimal student learning. Scaffolding promotes exploration and discovery from all students rather that finding the ‘right’ answers.
This is what I envision scaffolding will be like in my classroom. Although I am not in a classroom yet, I feel that is an important tool to develop. This tool allows for students to take an initiative in their own education. It also allows the student to think critically, select plausible solutions and conclusion. As well, it creates meaningful learning through peer to peer interaction and promotes team work. I am excited to try scaffolding out during my praticuum.
RSS Feed