Scaffolding Instruction for ELs

Brooke AhrensEDTE 162Summer 2008

Interaction

• To learn a new language and be successful you need interaction with others

• Many of you indicated that you learned another language, only to loose it when you stopped using it OR that it was hard to acquire because you couldn’t practice

ZPD and Vygostky

• All of this will be revisited in your foundations classes

• If you feel fuzzy on it, that is okay for right now!

• The biggest focus is on the idea of scaffolding in the developmental area where a student is ready to learn…

• MATH.

ZPD and Vygostky

• Learning precedes development– Introduce concepts as you are

coming into the ability to know them

• Language is a vehicle of thought– We are always running internal

dialogues with ourselves– Learning occurs in a dialogue with

ourselves or others

ZPD and Vygostky

• Mediation is central to learning– Language is a tool we use for

learning

• Social interaction and Internalization– The basis for all learning– Initially things are “outside” the

child (riding a bike)- society’s tool– Become internalize and “inside”

the child- Becomes the child’s tool to use

ZPD and scaffolding

• The Zone of Proximal Development – what you can do without help vs what you can do with help.

• A child follows the example of the adult until they are able to do the task on their own– Dressing a young child is a

good example

Scaffolding

• Contingent- dependant on the needs of the student at the moment

• Collaborative- Working together toward an end goal

• Interactive- not a script that the teacher uses but a dialogue. Everyone participates

Scaffolding and ZPD

• It is meant to be fluid and flexible. Removed when it appears the student doesn’t need it anymore

• It can be rebuilt and may need to be!

3 levels of scaffolding

• Level 1-classroom procedures- How we enter the classroom or are called on.

• Level 2-instruction of a lesson- how we will divide fractions

• Level 3- In the moment interaction- How I will help you solve THAT particular math problem

Features of Scaffolding

1. Continuity- repeated practice of a task

2. Contextual support- exploration is ok- coming to the answer in different ways

3. Intersubjectivity- the teacher and learner are working together

Features of Scaffolding

4. Contingency- we change the scaffolding or dialogue as needed

5. Handover/Takeover- as the learner is ready they do more and more of the task while the teacher monitors

6. Flow- we are not at frustration level- skill and challenges are in balance.

Scaffolding “Talk”

• Instead of looking for correct or right answer we are in discussion with the student

• We are leading the student toward the answer by means of conversation

• It is not an oral quiz like IRF

Doesn’t have to be a teacher• Researchers have found that

students of varying ability will scaffold for each other

• Hard to talk to all 30 students all the time

• Easier to all them to collaborate

• It isn’t cheating! It is problem solving.

Way of providing scaffolding

1. Teacher as expert scaffolds

2. Collaboration with other learners (all in ZPD)

3. Student teaches another student

4. Student teaches self

Might be a progression…

How to use scaffolding with ELs

• Spiral- revisit the same concept within different tasks– How can you spiral in your

subject area??

• Help them be meta-cognitive “This is going to be hard because it is new” or “This should be getting more familiar to you”

Scaffolding with EL students

• Remind them of the scaffolds that have fallen away- give them a sense of accomplishment!

• Repeat, repeat, repeat- but not always in the same way

Modeling

• Give students clear examples– EL students need them – Do your native speakers?

• Model the use of academic language “when I fill in the Venn Diagram- I am comparing and contrasting these ideas- what is the same and what is different?”

Bridging

• (Oh! Loved the bookmark!)• Use prior knowledge from life

and from class. Connections!• LINK (remember that?) is an

example of anticipation guide• Cultivate and honor what is

already known- they are pretty savvy…

Contextualization

• The INTO– Introduce the unit before you

teach it– Give background, context

and more information than you think is needed

– You have been around the block a few more times

– Beowulf….

Contextualization

• Build on what they know• Harry Potter…..

Schema building

• Again- you will see this in your foundations classes

• Introduce the through and go over it before you teach it

• Lower their fears – how many times have you taken a class and thought “I can’t do this” only to find you could?

Text Re-Presentation

• Also called “Recreation” as I learned it….

• Getting the students to revisit and come to own the text as their own

• Making plays from short stories…. a waste of time? Not really….

Metacognitive Development• As educated adults we are

able to do this automatically OR after asking for help…(the boxes)

• Kids have to be told to do it and reminded and told again

1. Give them strategies and explain their purpose

We are using a Venn diagram….

Metacognitive Development2. Choose the most effective

strategy- I am not a file cabinet person. Is this the best outline for this task? What else might work?

3. How did that work for me? Should I use it again? How could it work? When will I not use it again?

Scaffolding Conclusion

• You can basically learn anything if someone scaffolds it for you….

• A funny story about our toilet….

Chapter 5 of our SIOP book• Lots of familiar-ish stuff- I

hope….Feature 13• Metacognitive Strategies• Cognitive Strategies-

creating context for themselves

• Social/Affective strategies- interaction with others while learning

Feature 14-Scaffolding

• Love think-alouds… feel totally insane while doing them. It cracks older kids up.

• Contextual definitions- vocab asides in the book

• Repeating back the correct pronunciation- do it carefully

Feature 15- Questioning

• Blooms Taxonomy is great fun for kids

• Write/create quizzes• Quiz each other• Dice rolling game…