It is almost as if they are building a bridge from their preconceptions to a deeper, wiser, more astute view of whatever truth matters for the question or issue at hand. Students are adding on, extending, refining and elaborating. Traditional school research placed too much emphasis upon collection, while scaffolding requires continuous sorting and sifting as part of a "puzzling" process - the combining of new information with previous understandings to construct new ones. Each time they act, it is in service to the thought process, the discovery of meaning and the development of insight. Their work remains purposeful and planful. They are not caught up in mindless activity traps. They do not lapse into simple collecting or gathering. They are told why the problem, issue or decision is important and they are urged to care about it. "We are looking at this question because it is central to being human." Built around essential questions, the scaffolding helps to keep the "big picture" central and in focus. Rather than offering up one more empty school ritual like the state report, the scaffolded lesson aspires to meaning and worth. Scaffolding keeps purpose and motivation in the forefront. We don't want our students wandering about like prospectors on the desert. The operating concept here is the "teflon lesson," a learning experience that has been well tested in advance so that anything that might go wrong is considered in advance and eliminated if possible. Instructional designers try to anticipate any problems or uncertainties, writing user-friendly directions in ways that minimize confusion, place a premium on clarity and speed students toward productive learning. Web based research units offer step-by-step directions to explain just what students must do in order to meet the expectations for the learning activity. There are at least eight characteristics of scaffolding: 1) Scaffolding provides clear directions Characteristics of Educational Scaffolding The most important work is done by the student. Even though we may offer clarity and structure, the students must still conduct the research and fashion new insights. The workers cleaning the face of the Washington Monument do not confuse the scaffolding with the monument itself. The dilemma? How do we provide sufficient structure to keep students productive without confining them to straight jackets that destroy initiative, motivation and resourcefulness? Without clear structure and precisely stated expectations, many students are vulnerable to a kind of educational "wanderlust" that pulls them far afield. We tend to think of structures thrown up alongside of buildings to support workers in their skyward efforts. The term is relatively new for educators, even though the concept has been around for a long time under other names. There is no appropriate (educational) definition in a dictionary. What do we mean by scaffolding in the context of student research in school? In this chapter, the focus is upon the scaffolding techniques that have proven especially worthwhile in an electronic context. We should have learned by now that exploration by students progresses most effectively when those students have been well equipped, well prepared and well guided along the path. Young ones were sent off on expeditions with little in the way of structure or guidance. The least successful efforts assumed too much about student skills, organizational abilities and commitment. The best of all of these efforts always made significant use of scaffolding to organize and support the student investigation or inquiry, to keep students from straying too far off the path while seeking "the truth" about whatever issue, problem or question was driving the project. The history of such efforts extends back prior to the efforts of John Dewey and more recent leaders such as Hilda Taba and John Fenton. Some (but not all) schools and teachers have been trying for decades to engage students in challenging research projects. ( click to learn more) Chapter 19 - Scaffolding for Success This article is an excerpt from Jamie McKenzie's new book,Īnd the Information Literate School Communityĭue in January.