How to Learn Scaffolding
A new teacher needs to learn to use many teaching techniques. One of those teaching strategies is scaffolding. Scaffolding teaches students new information by building on what a student already knows. The teacher models what is expected and how to perform the new skill. Gradually, the student is able to use the technique or strategy or solve the problem on her own without teacher assistance. The best way for a teacher to learn the teaching technique of scaffolding is to learn the parts involved.
Instructions
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Show the students how to perform the new task. The teacher will build on what a student already knows when introducing a new skill. For example, when teaching sentence diagramming, a teacher will build on the fact that students understand the parts of speech.
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Show the students how to perform the new strategy or technique or problem. A teacher will model how to perform the task. Using our example of teaching how to diagram a sentence. The teacher would write a sample sentence. Then the teacher will draw the diagram, explaining each step of diagramming the sentence.
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Place students in groups or pairs to practice the new skill together. By working in pairs, a lower functioning student can learn from a higher functioning student. They can then practice the new skill together, such as diagramming a sample sentence. One student might understand the strategy and then be able to explain it to other students in the group. After working in pairs, a teacher will check work of each group and correct errors as needed while always giving appropriate praise
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Separate the groups and allow students to practice the new skill on their own. Students then will have responsibility for knowing how to diagram a sentence by themselves. They can practice on their own. At this point, they may still need assistance from a teacher to practice the skill. The teacher will work with students who still do not understand the strategy. This is the final step in learning the scaffolding technique.
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