Recently, my 13-year-old son, Joseph, began playing a video game called Minecraft (thanks to a Mike Dettman recommendation). In reality, the game has been around for awhile, but it is still one of the most popular games out there, which initially struck me as ironic, as the graphics are really pretty primitive and "blocky" compared to the newer video games out there (see the link to Minecraft https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MmB9b5njVbAof for a one minute clip if you are curious).

         At first I couldn't figure out why Joseph would like to play a game with such poor graphics when he had so many games with seemingly "real" graphics. Only after inroducing Joseph to another recommended option called "Toondoo" (thanks James Block), where one is able to mix and match existing graphics to make an online comic strip, did I begin to understand why Joseph and so many other kids like him, not to mention adults like Mr. Dettman, like Minecraft so much. He has a deep inate desire to "Create."

          In 1956 Benjamin Bloom and some other educational psychologists identified "Evaluation" as the highest level of intellectual functioning. However, "Creating" is now the most accepted top level. This is by no means a new discover. In his 1943 paper, "A Theory of Human Motivation," psychologist Abraham Maslow promoted a similar idea. Maslow believed that for a person to reach his highest potential and fulfillment, "self-actualization," he must be allowed to, among other things, create. So as you use our lesson planning tool remember what we know about our students: more than ever, especially with all the new technologies available out there, our students love to create.

         How have you used Maslow's ideas in your classroom this year to promote students "creating?"

Scaffolds: Building, Supporting, Growing, Innovating

(Thank you Mandy for sharing this quote!)

 HAPPY NEW YEAR!

This is the first blog entry after our return from a well deserved break.  As you may recall Dr. Mausbach visited our building on the the 19^th of December.  This blog is the result of that visit.  It includes some food for instructional thought and a question to reflect upon in the comment box.  Please make sure you've also read Dr. Mausbach’s entry. 

Your work and dedication hasn't gone unnoticed. Each and every one of you are rising to the occasion and have shown tremendous growth over the course of the half year.  WHAT A TEAM!

What are Scaffolds in the classroom?    

Similar to the scaffolding used in construction to support workers as they work on a specific task, instructional scaffolds are temporary support structures you put in place to assist students accomplish new tasks and concepts they could not typically achieve on their own. As students begin to demonstrate task mastery, the assistance or support is decreased gradually in order to shift the responsibility for learning from the [instructor] to the student.  This is a common understanding and one which will be the catapult to higher levels of achievement for your students.  One of the main benefits of scaffolded instruction is that it provide for a supportive learning environment.   Instructors are caring and interested in helping students learn. Students are free to ask questions, provide feedback and support their peers in learning new material.  Instructors who use instructional scaffolding become more of a mentor and facilitator of knowledge than the dominant content expert. This teaching style provides the incentive for students to take a more active role in their own learning. Students share the responsibility of teaching and learning through scaffolds that require them to move beyond their current skill and knowledge levels. Through this interaction, students are able to take ownership of the learning event.

     The need to implement a scaffold will occur when you realize a student is not progressing on some aspect of a task or unable to understand a particular concept. Although scaffolding is often carried out between the instructor and one student, scaffolds can successfully be used for an entire class. The four points below provide a simple structure of scaffolded instruction:  (This will look incredibly familiar to you! Think Fisher and Frey)

First, the instructor does it.

In other words, the instructor models how to perform a new or difficult task, such as how to use a graphic organizer. For example, the instructor may have a partially completed graphic organizer on an overhead transparency and "think aloud" as he or she describes how the graphic organizer illustrates the relationships among the information contained on it.

Second, the class does it. 

The instructor and students work together to perform the task. For example, the students may suggest information to be added to the graphic organizer. As the instructor writes the suggestions on the white board, students fill in their own copies of the organizer.

Third, the group does it.

Students work with a partner or a small cooperative group to complete a graphic organizer (i.e., either a partially completed or a blank one).

Fourth, the individual does it.

This is the independent practice stage where individual students can demonstrate their task mastery (e.g., successfully completing a graphic organizer to demonstrate appropriate relationships among information) and receive the necessary practice to help them to perform the task automatically and quickly” (Ellis and Larkin (1998), as cited in Larkin (2003)).

Vygotsky’s pictoral model:  

(Remember him from your Ed. Psych. Class?) ZPG (Zone of Proximal Development)

Where can we see examples of strong scaffolding at Wilson?

Student work Displays as scaffolds: 

Sawicki's 6th grade Language Arts Classroom (Room 415)

This student work display demonstrates a scaffold of process.  When interviewed a student in the classroom said when asked about how this display helps her, "This is so great.  I have to be gone for a bit and when I return I can just look at this and know what to do." She added, "I don't have to ask the teacher, I can help myself."  

• Student work shows that student has taken responsibility to assess their own comprehension/understanding (math, literacy, social studies or science).
• Student work display in classroom or hallway includes rubrics and feedback from teacher/student
• Student uses display to help self-regulate or as a tool to help in their learning

Stark's 8th Grade Science Classroom (Room 315). 

 This display is an example of how two curriculum can merge and create a rigorous and inviting task that will allow students to inquire and apply learning.  This photo shows a clear example of the look for under Rigor: Students can communicate in meaningful ways that incorporate critical thinking skills with the process and product in a variety of groupings. Mandy has developed and inquiry based task that asked students to develop a persuasive essay based on what they had learned in Carrie Nepple's language arts classroom. Mandy became the facilitator of knowledge with students taking ownership of their own learning.

Questioning as a scaffold: Look For [Student engagement can be measured by their response, active or passive, to the instruction given.(literal, visual, or verbal)]

Sometimes the best lesson is one which doesn't go exactly perfect.  Recently I observed a literature discussion group in which the students were needing the teacher to prompt and redirect back to the topic. They needed frequent reminders of the instructional prompt and rules of protocol within the group.  Afterward the teacher said to me, "I wish you could have seen the group from 3/4.  It was fabulous.  Every students seemed to be on."  "It was so terrific I took out my phone and recorded it."  I replied that I wished that I had recorded the one I just observed.  It reflected that the teacher was focused on the learning and guided the students through prompting or questioning. 

 Here are a few examples of how you could use this method to scaffold your student learning:  A physical or verbal cue to remind—to aid in recall of prior or assumed knowledge. statements and questions such as “Go,” “Stop,” “It’s right there,” “Tell me now,”  “What toolbar menu item would you press to insert an image?”, “ Tell me why the character acted that way.”  Incomplete sentences which students complete: Encourages deep thinking by using higher order “What if” questions. 

Prompt for reflection in the comment box:

What is a scaffold that you've found to be most effective?  

How did you know?