Principle #5 Progressive Scaffolding
Instruction fosters ELLs’ autonomy by equipping them with the strategies necessary to comprehend and use language in a variety of academic settings. ELLs must learn to use a broad repertoire of strategies to construct meaning from academic talk and complex text, to participate in academic discussions, and to express themselves in writing across a variety of academic situations. Tasks must be designed to ultimately foster student independence.
What Teachers Do
- Teachers are masterful and intentional about the use of scaffolds (e.g. sheltered instruction), enabling students to work beyond their current ability with appropriate support, for instance: use of anchor models techniques, graphic organizers, visual representations, and structured peer interactions.
- Teachers understand that scaffolds are temporary supports that must be used with students only when needed as they move towards independent levels of performance.
-Students benefit from 'affectively-supportive' climate (e.g. empathy for learning in another language, facilitating collaborative relationships with peers, respect for cultural backgrounds, etc.)
-Students benefit from 'building background´ strategies (e.g. photos, illustrations, demonstrations, videos, brainstorming, anticipatory guides, KWL charts, quick writes, frontloading vocabulary, cultural connections, etc.) -Students benefit from the use of 'comprehensible input' strategies to deliver rigorous content (e.g. paraphrasing, pausing for comprehension checks, clear explanations, visuals, graphic organizers, use of the primary language, and the use of mnemonic devices for language acquisition (e.g. linkwords or words that have the same pronunciation in a known language as the target word and associate them visually or auditorially with the target word, etc.)
-Students benefit from step-by-step modeling with accompanying think aloud protocols of how to accomplish a task with concrete examples of the finished product or expected performance (e.g. examples of writing assignments or projects such as lab reports, math journal entries, Art projects, demonstrations, etc.)
-Students benefit from the use of sheltered instruction strategies for following classroom directions, routines, and expected tasks (e.g. illustrations accompanying all written directions so that students have additional cues for making meaning as in 'rebus' materials, translated directions into the languages of the ELs using translation web sites, the use of use peers who are bilingual but more English proficient to show newcomers or beginners what to do {i.e. linguistic buddies}, if the language is a 'high cognate' language (e.g. words that are similar), tape record information so ELs' can listen to it again using 'chunking' to make meaning, etc.)
-Students benefit from grouping configurations to support verbal interaction to practice the language necessary for demonstrating competency on content and language learning targets
-Students benefit from the use of graphic organizers to make student thinking visible and help learners bridge connections among concepts (e.g. concept maps, comparison charts like a Venn, expanded thinking charts like a PMI, cause/ effect charts like the fishbone, and problem/ solution outlines)
-Students benefit from the use of active and engaging learning experiences (e.g. hands-on activities with manipulatives, discovery learning, role plays, simulations, brain-compatible methods, etc.)
-Students benefit from the use of sheltered instruction strategies to provide access to written texts (e.g. graphics, prepared outlines, rewrites, audiotapes, tabbed sections, highlighted sections, resource guides, table of contents for each
-Students benefit from the use of scaffolding strategies for accessing grade-level content materials and texts by proficiency levels (e.g. translated or rebus materials for absolute beginners, advance organizers for beginners to intermediates, and graphic organizers for intermediates to advanced levels)
-Students benefit from the use of scaffolding strategies for accessing grade-level content assignments by proficiency levels (e.g. text frameworks for absolute beginners, sentence starters for beginners to intermediates, and cues for intermediates to advanced levels)
-Students benefit from the use of scaffolding strategies for accessing grade-level presentation of content by proficiency levels (i.e. bilingual word banks and clozes for absolute beginners, cooperative constructions for beginning to intermediates, and group summaries or pass around writing for intermediates to advanced levels)
-Students benefit from a scaffolding process model which begins with building background knowledge and scaffolding meaning and progressing to extending language (Cummins, 2007)
-Students benefit from a scaffolding strategies aligned with second language acquisition processes (i.e. input-intake-output)
-Students engage in 'productive struggle' on scaffolded tasks that do not diminish their engagement with complex concepts, text or language
Areas of Concern
-Confusion regarding distinctions between sheltered instructional techniques, scaffolding, differentiation, accommodation, and modification strategies
-Thinking that equates sheltered instruction techniques as 'remediation' or watered down expectations or curricula'
-Overgeneralization of sheltered instruction techniques with all EL populations rather than targeting specific sheltered instruction techniques to particular EL populations
-Thinking that equates scaffolding as 'remediation' or watered down expectations or curricula'
-The potential for using the same scaffolds for all English language proficiency levels so that ELs acquire a sense of 'learned helplessness' where they become dependent and not autonomous language and content learners
-The potential for either 'over-scaffolding´ or 'under-scaffolding' rather than 'just-right scaffolding' whereby English learners 'productively struggle with rigorous content'
-Thinking that scaffolds are permanent rather than temporary as ELs move toward full proficiency and independence