Presented by Deborah Schlacks WAC Coordinator November 5, 2012
a temporary or movable platform for workers (as bricklayers, painters, or miners) to stand or sit on when working at a height above the floor or ground a supporting framework In WAC, it is a practice that facilitates the climb from one complex phase to the next slightly more complex phase of a project (“Scaffolding”)
It breaks up a complex cognitive task into more manageable chunks It allows you as the instructor to intervene as needed because you can tell where misunderstandings or other difficulties are arising It promotes global revision (“Scaffolding”)
Novices do not know the field. They have not learned what is understood as common knowledge, what is unknown, and how information and ideas are typically presented in the field. They do not know the forms of discourse of the field: what a piece of writing in the field typically looks like, how it is organized, what counts as evidence, etc. They do not know much about their readers. The instructor is the only audience they know of, and thus they are writing for an audience they perceive of as knowing more than they do—a very difficult scenario. (D’Errico)
List the cognitive skills required to complete the assignment. List what content knowledge is needed. Work smaller assignments into the course that will prepare students to do the assignment—more specifically, that will ◦ Help them to think in the way the assignment requires ◦ Give them or reinforce the knowledge they need (“Scaffolding”)
_taxonomy.htmhttp://ww2.odu.edu/educ/roverbau/Bloom/blooms _taxonomy.htm
Reflective journals Responses to structured or unstructured questions Freewriting Double-entry journal on readings Small-group discussions (“Ideas”)
Modeling: provide samples of the type of writing you want to see in response to an assignment. Discuss with them the features of writing that work and don’t work in the sample and why. (“Ideas”) Provide (with the assignment sheet) a set of criteria or rubric that helps reveal what is valued in the discourse you are asking the students to produce
Project proposal: Have students first submit a proposal explaining the scope of the project, the question they will pursue, and their plan for how to proceed Thesis workshop (“Ideas”) Have one-on-one or small-group conferences with students early in the process (Bean ) Rough-draft workshop: Set up peer review groups (in class or online) and provide guidelines for response.
Have student submit papers to you at the draft stage; give feedback on the drafts (“Ideas”) Encourage students to visit the Writing Center with their drafts (or at earlier stages); give the Center your assignment sheet for reference (Bean ) Cover letters: Have students submit copies of their drafts with their final work as well as a cover letter discussing the process of their research, writing, and revision. (“Ideas”)
Consider online, out-of-class options for some steps in the process. Decide which steps or measures are the most important to dwell on for a given project. (Use backward design to help you do so.) Remember that if you get better papers in the end, your grading task at that point will go much faster.
Bean, John C. Engaging Ideas: The Professor’s Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom. 2 nd ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Print. D’Errico, John. “Better Student Essays through Staging and Scaffolding.” Teaching Concerns. University of Virginia Teaching Research Center. Spring Web. “Ideas for Scaffolding High-Stakes Assignments.” Lehman College Writing Fellows, Web. “Scaffolding Formal Assignments.” Colorado School of Mines Campus Writing Program, Web.