Scaffolding

Scaffolding is an extremely important concept in terms of the classroom.  Teachers are able to aid their students by providing them with additional help if it is noticeable that they are struggling.  Once the teacher begins to aid the student, they will continue to help until the student feels competent in the task and is able to complete the task on their own.  Scaffolding is a type of help that the teacher can use to help to guide the child away from frustration while also providing a helping hand which many times is needed when children are trying to figure out higher-task problems.  In classrooms throughout my experience in the field, I have seen a lot of teaching strategies that are similar to scaffolding as well as seeing scaffolding taking place.  Such instances include in math centers, watching the teacher point to each object being counted, therefore making sure the children don't count a marble twice.  Once the student started to understand what was going on, the student was able to sort the objects so she did not count the objects twice.  Not only is scaffolding seen in math lessons, but it is also used to enhance literacy.  According to Tompkins, "Through active involvement with literacy materials, young children construct their understanding of reading and writing." This active involvement can be the teacher scaffolding for the student.  Other teaching strategies such as modeling have been implemented in my classrooms.  I have seen modeling occur in literacy lessons, where the teacher models how to hold a book, turn the pages from right to left and read the words off the page.  This modeling is how students learn to hold a book upright, turn the pages the correct way, etc.... Other teaching strategies can help us to teach children just like scaffolding can and it is important to recognize these other strategies as well.

In Michigan State classes, I have noticed some strategies that professors utilize in the classroom to attain maximum retention rates in their students.  It is obviously harder to see due to the shear class size and the little professor to student interaction, but strategies such as repeating information over and over again to make sure the students remember it, having office hours for the students so that they can come for help, and hopefully leave the office feeling reassured and able to finish the assignment on their own, etc... are strategies that we see in college classes.