Rosenshine #8: provide scaffolds

Summary

The transcript explores Rosenshine's Principle 8, emphasizing the importance of scaffolding in effective teaching. It highlights how breaking complex tasks into manageable steps and providing guided practice enables students to build understanding and confidence. Scaffolding acts as temporary support, helping learners master strategies and content before independent practice. Techniques such as thinking aloud, using writing frames, labeling diagrams, and analyzing exemplars make expert problem-solving visible and accessible. By gradually withdrawing support, teachers empower students to become competent readers, writers, and problem solvers, illustrating scaffolding as a fundamental, practical approach to fostering learning and cognitive development.

Takeaways

• 😀 Scaffolding is crucial for effective teaching, helping break down complex tasks into smaller steps.
• 😀 Teachers should create opportunities for students to practice each small step in the learning process.
• 😀 Scaffolding provides structured support for students as they build their understanding of new concepts.
• 😀 The learning process involves two phases: introducing new material (taking a step) and practicing that material (securing balance).
• 😀 Guided practice should precede independent practice, ensuring students are ready for success before they work independently.
• 😀 Scaffolding helps students learn strategies and content that support their development as competent readers, writers, and problem-solvers.
• 😀 Scaffolds are temporary tools meant to support cognitive development and should be gradually removed as students gain confidence.
• 😀 Scaffolding is likened to training wheels on a bike, supporting learning until students can independently perform the task.
• 😀 In cognitive apprenticeship, expert thinking is made visible to students to guide them through problem-solving processes.
• 😀 'Thinking aloud' is an effective form of scaffolding, as it allows students to observe expert problem-solving in action.
• 😀 Tools like writing frames, exemplars, and diagrams help scaffold student learning by offering concrete ways to approach tasks.

Q & A

What is Rosenshine's Principle 8 about?

Rosenshine's Principle 8 focuses on providing scaffolds for difficult tasks. Effective teachers break down complex concepts and procedures into small, manageable steps and create opportunities for students to practice each step.

What does the concept of scaffolding mean in teaching?

Scaffolding in teaching refers to the support structures put in place by the teacher to assist students as they build their understanding of new concepts. It involves guiding practice and offering structured help before students practice independently.

How does scaffolding relate to the concept of ‘taking a step’ and ‘securing balance’ in learning?

In the Wallingham learning journey model, taking a step means introducing new material, while securing balance involves practicing that material. Scaffolding helps students secure their balance by guiding them through this practice before they can work independently.

What role does guiding practice play in scaffolding?

Guiding practice is the key aspect of scaffolding. It refers to the teacher’s role in helping students practice material with support, ensuring a high success rate before transitioning to independent practice.

When should independent practice begin according to the scaffolding process?

Independent practice should only begin once guided practice indicates that all students have achieved a high success rate with the material and are ready to work independently.

How are scaffolds designed to be temporary in nature?

Scaffolds are designed to be temporary because they are meant to support the development of cognitive processes. As students gain confidence and competence, the scaffolding is gradually removed, much like stabilizers on a bike.

What is the connection between scaffolding and cognitive apprenticeship?

Scaffolding is an essential component of the cognitive apprenticeship model, where the teacher demonstrates expert thinking by breaking down problems and building solutions, making the problem-solving process visible to the students.

How can thinking aloud be used as a form of scaffolding?

Thinking aloud involves the teacher verbalizing their thought process while solving a problem. This allows students to observe expert thinking that is usually hidden from them, making problem-solving strategies more accessible.

What are some other common forms of scaffolding in education?

Other common forms of scaffolding include using tools like writing frames, paragraph builders, and prompts. Analyzing exemplars of student work or teacher-generated examples also helps students understand how to approach tasks effectively.

Why is comparing student work to exemplars a useful scaffolding technique?

Comparing student work to exemplars helps students understand the expectations and see what successful work looks like. This method is often more effective than trying to interpret dense written success criteria, as it provides concrete examples.