Scaffolding Children's Learning

Administration for Children and Families (ACF)

15 Jul 201502:54

Summary

TLDRThis module introduces scaffolding in children's learning, emphasizing its role in providing tailored support to help children succeed. Scaffolding is part of the teaching practices essential for school readiness, as outlined by the National Center on Quality Teaching and Learning's framework. The video explores three methods for effective scaffolding: offering hints, providing a range of possible answers, and encouraging the use of additional resources like books or visual aids. Teachers are encouraged to carefully observe students and offer individualized support to foster ongoing learning. The module also offers helpful resources to implement these strategies.

Takeaways

😀 The purpose of scaffolding is to provide children with the right level of support to enhance their learning success.
📚 Scaffolding is a key part of the National Center on Quality Teaching and Learning's House Framework, which focuses on critical teaching practices for school readiness.
🎓 Research shows that classroom interactions are crucial for children's social and academic development.
🤝 Teachers scaffold learning by providing varying levels of support and feedback based on individual needs.
🧩 One method of scaffolding is providing hints, which offer just enough extra information for children to arrive at a correct response or action.
📊 Another scaffolding method is offering a range of possible answers when a child is struggling to find the correct response.
📖 Teachers can encourage children to use additional resources like books, visual aids, or other children to help with learning concepts.
🔍 Effective scaffolding involves careful observation and adjusting support based on the specific needs of each child.
💡 Scaffolding can be applied throughout the school day in various activities to teach children new knowledge and skills.
📋 Teachers should explore additional resources, tips, and tools to effectively apply scaffolding strategies in their classrooms.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of scaffolding in children's learning?
-The main purpose of scaffolding is to provide children with the right level of support so they can be more successful than they would be without assistance.
How does scaffolding fit into the National Center on Quality Teaching and Learning's house framework?
-Scaffolding fits into the foundation of the house framework, which is a way to think about critical teaching practices that support school readiness for all children.
Why are interactions in the classroom important according to the video?
-Interactions are important because they are critical classroom processes that support children's social and academic development.
What are instructional interactions, and how do they relate to scaffolding?
-Instructional interactions are specific methods teachers use to help children learn. Scaffolding is one such method where teachers provide different levels of support and feedback based on individual needs.
What is one way that teachers can scaffold children's learning?
-One way to scaffold is by providing hints, which offer just a little more information to help the child arrive at a more accurate response or action.
What is another method teachers can use to scaffold learning besides providing hints?
-Teachers can offer a range of possible answers when a child is struggling, giving two or three options from which the child can choose.
How can teachers use additional resources to scaffold children's learning?
-Teachers can encourage children to use resources like books, visual reminders, or other children to help them understand concepts better.
Can you provide an example of using additional resources in scaffolding?
-Yes, if a teacher does not have a picture of a dolphin, they might suggest finding one in a book or using another child’s knowledge as a resource.
What should teachers be mindful of when using scaffolding techniques?
-Teachers should be careful observers and provide individualized support tailored to each child's needs to keep them progressing in their learning.
What are the three main methods of scaffolding described in the video?
-The three main methods are providing hints, offering a range of possible answers, and suggesting the use of additional resources.

Outlines

00:00

🔧 Introduction to Scaffolding Children's Learning

This paragraph introduces the concept of scaffolding in children's learning. It explains that the main goal of scaffolding is to provide children with the right level of support to enhance their success beyond what they could achieve independently. The concept is integrated within the national framework for quality teaching, which emphasizes the importance of classroom interactions in promoting children's social and academic development.

📚 Scaffolding in the House Framework

This section connects scaffolding to the national Center on Quality Teaching and Learning’s house framework. The house framework highlights teaching practices essential for children's school readiness, and scaffolding is presented as a key method to support children's learning. Research underscores that interactions in the classroom, including instructional support like scaffolding, are vital for children's academic and social growth.

🛠️ Methods of Scaffolding

Here, three methods of scaffolding are introduced. Teachers can provide support through hints, offering choices, and encouraging the use of additional resources. Each of these techniques is designed to meet the child’s unique needs by giving them just the right level of support to succeed.

💡 Providing Hints to Support Learning

This part discusses using hints as a scaffolding method. Hints involve giving small pieces of additional information to guide children toward the correct answer or action. Hints can be verbal, visual, or through gestures, helping children progress in their learning process by providing subtle cues without giving the full answer.

🔍 Offering Multiple Choices to Assist Decision Making

Another scaffolding technique is offering children a range of possible answers when they are struggling. By giving children two or three options, the teacher helps the child narrow down the correct response, which supports their learning without overwhelming them with too many choices.

📖 Encouraging the Use of Additional Resources

This section focuses on encouraging children to use additional resources such as books, visual reminders, or peers to help them understand new concepts. Teachers guide children to seek out information from various sources, promoting independent learning and exploration.

🎯 Opportunities for Scaffolding Throughout the Day

The paragraph emphasizes that scaffolding can be applied throughout the school day in various activities and contexts. Teachers need to observe closely to provide the right support at the right moment to ensure children continue learning effectively.

📋 Summary of Scaffolding Techniques

This final section recaps the main scaffolding strategies teachers can use: providing hints, offering a range of answers, and suggesting additional resources. It also encourages teachers to review the accompanying tips and tools for practical application of scaffolding techniques.

🙏 Conclusion and Resources

The conclusion thanks the audience for listening and encourages them to explore the tips, tools, and additional resources provided to support their implementation of scaffolding in the classroom.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Scaffolding

Scaffolding is the central concept in the video, referring to the educational strategy where teachers provide varying levels of support to help children succeed. In the context of the video, it highlights how teachers can adjust their support based on individual needs, gradually reducing assistance as children become more competent. Examples include offering hints, providing options, or guiding children to additional resources.

💡Support

Support in the video refers to the help or guidance that teachers give to children to enhance their learning. The video emphasizes that support should be tailored to the child’s specific needs and can be given in various ways, such as verbal prompts, gestures, or providing access to learning resources. This ensures that children can achieve more than they could independently.

💡Hints

Hints are a form of scaffolding where teachers offer subtle clues to help children arrive at a correct answer or perform a desired action. The video illustrates this by showing how a teacher might say, 'I see two wings,' to guide a child in assembling a toy airplane. Hints provide minimal help while encouraging the child to figure out most of the solution on their own.

💡Feedback

Feedback in the context of the video refers to the responses teachers give to children to reinforce learning or correct mistakes. Effective feedback helps children understand what they did right or wrong and how they can improve. It is a crucial part of scaffolding, as it helps children process their learning experiences and make adjustments as needed.

💡School Readiness

School readiness refers to preparing children for success in a school environment, both socially and academically. The video connects scaffolding to this goal by emphasizing how scaffolding practices help build the foundation for critical thinking, problem-solving, and independent learning, all of which are essential for school readiness.

💡Instructional Interactions

Instructional interactions are specific moments of teaching that are designed to help children understand new concepts or develop skills. The video explains that scaffolding is one form of instructional interaction, as it involves deliberate actions by the teacher to support learning, such as offering choices or encouraging the use of resources.

💡Classroom Processes

Classroom processes in the video refer to the day-to-day activities, interactions, and routines within a classroom that contribute to children’s learning and development. Scaffolding is positioned as a key process within this framework, ensuring that children are engaged in meaningful learning experiences through supportive teacher interactions.

💡Resources

Resources in the video refer to materials or tools that help children understand a concept. Teachers are encouraged to guide children to use resources like books or visual aids when they need extra support. An example from the video is when a teacher suggests looking in a book for a picture of a dolphin, helping the child engage with additional learning materials.

💡Tailored Support

Tailored support means adjusting the level and type of assistance based on each child's needs. The video stresses the importance of recognizing when a child needs more help and when they are ready for less, ensuring the support provided aligns with the child's current learning level. This individualized approach is key to successful scaffolding.

💡Range of Possible Answers

The range of possible answers refers to a scaffolding method where the teacher offers several options for the child to choose from, helping them focus and guiding them towards the correct answer. An example from the video is when a teacher asks, 'Is that plastic or paper?' to help a child decide which bin to use. This method reduces frustration while supporting decision-making skills.

Highlights

Scaffolding provides children with the right level of support to help them succeed more than they would without assistance.

Scaffolding fits into the foundation of the national Center on Quality Teaching and Learning's 'house framework,' which is important for school readiness.

Research shows that classroom interactions are essential for children's social and academic development.

Scaffolding is a critical instructional interaction that helps children learn through differentiated support.

Teachers scaffold learning by providing varying levels of support and feedback to meet individual needs.

One method of scaffolding is providing hints, which offer just enough information to guide the child toward the correct response.

Hints can be verbal, visual (like pictures), or even gestures to assist children in learning.

Another scaffolding method is offering a range of possible answers to help a struggling child choose the correct one.

Teachers can encourage children to use additional resources, such as books, visual aids, or peers, to understand new concepts.

Teachers should carefully observe each child and offer appropriate support tailored to their needs.

Scaffolding can be used throughout the school day in various activities and subjects.

The goal of scaffolding is to help children build new knowledge and skills progressively.

Teachers can suggest additional resources like classroom materials or other children to aid in the learning process.

This method allows teachers to help children independently find solutions and build confidence.

The presentation emphasizes the importance of hints, offering choices, and utilizing external resources in scaffolding.