Scaffolding reading Comprehension
Scaffolding comprehension differs in significant ways from many other comprehension strategies offered to students in primary schools. It is an approach designed to scaffold students in reading comprehension, challenging age appropriate texts and to make knowledge about text explicit. It supports reading and comprehending of text and aims to enable all learners to read, think, and comprehend at levels appropriate to their age. Importantly, scaffolding can be used both as part of classroom practices and also to provide additional support for students with critical comprehension problems.
Scaffolding comprehension approach involves a sequence of activities that focus on the structure, language and meaning of
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Teachers, according to Tompkins (1998), scaffold students’ reading to enable them to develop and use reading skills and strategies in guided reading. In particular, in scaffolding students’ reading comprehension, according to Palloway and Patton (1997), the teacher thinks aloud or talks through the steps he or she follows to reach a specific conclusion. They added that as the students begin to understand the process, they gradually take over the talking through procedure and the teacher acts only as a guide providing prompts when needed. The teacher, they add, models the scaffolding steps. In comprehension, they continue, the teacher helps students sort out the important concepts and ideas of the …show more content…
Another challenge is that the teacher may misjudge the zone of proximal development whereby identifying the area that is just beyond but not too far beyond students’ abilities. Inadequately modeling the desired behaviors, strategies or activities because the teacher has not fully considered the individual student’s needs, weakness, interests, and abilities may prove to be another challenge by teachers as they try to implement scaffolding in a reading comprehension lesson. Full benefits may not be seen unless the teacher is properly trained and requires the teacher to give up control as fading
5. Gibbons, Pauline. Scaffolding language, scaffolding learning: teaching second language learners in the mainstream classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2002. Print.
Cloran (n.d.) suggest teachers need to have a broad understanding of giftedness and learning disabilities, a variety of identification measures and the ability to modify the curriculum and implement differentiated teaching strategies to meet the unique needs of all students. A graduate teacher recognises that students learn in their own way and should understand and be able to identify a number of teaching strategies to differentiate and meet the learning needs of all students. They may create groups based on previous assessment results and set clear or modified instructions for each group based on ability or learning styles. To address the specific learning needs of all student abilities, multi-sensory strategies using charts, diagrams, outside lessons and videos, as well as posters around the room or information on the desk could be used. Tomlinson (1999) suggests that differentiated instruction aims to build on student’s strengths and maximize their learning by adjusting instructional tasks to suit their individual needs. Ensuring teaching and instructions are clear, revising and prompting students during lessons and providing templates and assisting student in breaking down tasks into achievable, systematic chunks are some additional examples. Lucas, (2008) suggests highlighting key vocabulary within the text to focus students on the central concepts within the text. Quick finishing students should be provided with the opportunity to extend themselves with extension tasks that have a specific purpose and
I asked Student A eight comprehension questions about the text once she was finished reading. She did not have a problem with any of the questions. For example, one of the questions was “How old is Jessie now?” she responded right away with the correct answer “thirteen.” She did not even have to look back to the story to find the sentence; “Now that she is thirteen, Jessie competes with adults.” Student A was able to answer the “right there” questions with ease. Being able to remember key details from a text is crucial to developing the ability to comprehend what she is reading. She is already at a great stage when it comes to text comprehension and this will only help with further development. She had a purpose when she read and was reading for the details as opposed to reading to finish the text. She understood what was happening and if she continues to do this in the future, she will be able to understand more difficult texts by putting all of the key details together. Since Student A is able to recall key information from text, it will allow her to summarize and retell a text with ease. This strength will help Student A as she continues to develop as a reader because as the readings increase in difficulty she will remember the basic key details that she read and recount the story based on the main
Scaffolding is a term that appears frequently in the field of psychology. It is a term that is used to describe a form of teaching. According to Firestone, it is a technique in which teachers show their students how to find a solution to a problem. The teacher then “steps back” and allows for the student to try it on their own. This process is done to teach independence in problem solving onto the students (Firestone n.d.). Through the use of scaffolding, students are able to work on problems on their own, without having to necessarily “hold hands” with their instructor or teacher. Scaffolding is worth examining in the field of psychology because it is useful to see the development in the growth and knowledge of a child. The results of scaffolding are worth examining as well in order to see what the most effective ways of teaching are. There are many different ways in which teachers or instructors can inform their students how to solve a problem. In other words, there are many different scaffolding techniques. Because of this, the question of “what is the most frequently used scaffolding technique?” arises.
According to McArthur, Konold, Glutting and Alamprese (2010), many adults in the United States have difficulties with basic literacy. A solution to this situation has been the founding of adult basic education (ABE) programs by the U.S Department of Education which helps and serves more than 2 million adults annually (U.S Department of Education, Division of Adult Education and Literacy, 2002, 2006). Mellard and Patterson (2008) found that ABE students differ in skill from zero or minimal reading skills to reading simple stories, books and descriptions on familiar subjects so new vocabulary can be determined by context. According to Mellard and Pattersen (2008) ABE literacy program is divided in to four levels which range from “beginners” to “high intermediate”. Scaffolding theory provides a promising method of providing support to students with learning challenges, e.g. dyslexia and short term memory deficit. As stated by Larkin (2001) the main purpose of scaffolding is to support students and slowly reduce help until they are able to apply the new skills and strategies independently. Students receive support to complete particular task and eventually demonstrate task mastery.
Van Der Stuyf. R.R. (2010). Scaffolding as a Teaching Strategy. Adolescent Learning and Development. Section 0500A, November, 2010. Retrieved from http://www.sandi.net/20451072011455933/lib/20451072011455933/RTI/Scaffolding%20as%20a%20Teaching%20Strategy.pdf
...ents to make a good reader. Therefore, without a certain piece of reading students skills the scaffolding is unstable. Due to a student’s faulty scaffolding, reading does not work cohesive to make the end product a successfully understood story. This concerns me. If I feel like they are falling behind on these skills and their other teachers, my colleagues, are not teaching them these skills, I will and do my best at making it appropriate for my class. Without reading skills, they will be faced with horrible ramifications from their problems to comprehend and understand the vocabulary words they see in their textbooks.
In a social constructivist view on learning the brain is a complex, flexible, ever changing organism that reshapes itself in response to challenge (Abbott & Ryan, 2001). Constructivism view is that knowledge is obtained and understood through a student’s mental framework (Abbott & Ryan, 2001). Learning is not a passive process but it is a deliberate and progressive process that deepens meaning (Abbott & Ryan, 2001). The student does not only reply on a teachers lectures but also on their interactions with the environment around them (Abbott & Ryan, 2001). In this view it is important that the teacher sees the student as the centre of teaching endeavours, by assisting them to obtain information they can integrate into their already known knowledge. There are many ways that a teacher can assist their students, one example is Scaffolding. Scaffolding is where a teacher provides students with just enough help in order to complete the tasks themselves, then over time decreasing the amount of help so that a student can master this themselves.
Scaffolding is metaphorical term which refers to the process through which teachers facilitate children’s learning by enabling them achieve a level of ability beyond the child’s current capacity. Through scaffolding, teachers play an active role by interacting with children to support their development by providing structures that support them to stretch their understanding or me...
Scaffolding is the process of support given to students during their learning process to help them achieve their goals. Using
Van Der Stuyf, R. R. (2002). Scaffolding as a Teaching Strategy. Adolescent Learning and Development, Retrieved from: http://www.sandi.net/20451072011455933/lib/20451072011455933/RTI/Scaffolding%20as%20a%20Teaching%20Strategy.pdf.
comprehension instruction: A comparison of instruction for strategies and content approaches ―[Electronic version]. Reading Research Quarterly, 44(3), 218–253.
Children in grades 3 through 5 are moving from "learning to read" to "reading to learn" and from "learning to write" to "writing to communicate". Students learn to work independently. They learn to read words and make mental pictures. Third through fifth graders also learn to write paragraphs, short essays and stories that make a point. The curriculum becomes more integrated. "Reading to learn" helps third through fifth graders better understand the scientific method and how to test hypotheses about the physical world. Additionally, "reading to learn" aids students in graphing and calculating scientific observations and then writing up their conclusions. Third grade science class will open new worlds of wonder and invite curious mind to explore (Williams, 2012).
...r understand the importance of scaffolding which allows educators to be able to diagnose children’s learning needs and development of teaching techniques to meet them. To conclude although Vygotsky’s theory isn’t as complete as other theories, his theory is one that is important for educators to adopt.
Puntambekar, S. & Hubscher. R. (2005). Tools for scaffolding students in a complex learning environment: What have we gained and what have we missed? Educational Psychologist, 40, 1-12.