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How Scaffolding Works

A Playbook for Supporting and Releasing Responsibility to Students

By: Nancy Frey, Douglas Fisher, John Taylor Almarode

Scaffolding—keep it in place too long and learners coast but never fly. Don’t provide enough and they bottom out with frustration. In How Scaffolding Works, you will learn how to get it just right.

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Product Details

Grade Level: PreK-12
ISBN: 9781071904152
Published By: Corwin
Year: 2023
Page Count: 184
Publication date: February 14, 2023

Price: $39.95

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Description

Provide the perfect structure and support to develop student independence.

Effective scaffolding leads to learner autonomy—but too many educators have been airlifting students to right answers, perpetuating a generation who don’t know how to learn. Yes, we know the sweet spot for learning involves giving our students the right blend of productive failure and productive success, but how to do it is cloaked in misconceptions.

How Scaffolding Works unveils the essential moves and methods. Ten interactive modules help every K-12 educator structure support in new ways, including knowing how to:

Gradually release responsibility to students through intentional and purposeful scaffolding
Design lessons and experiences that attend to the affective, metacognitive, and cognitive aspects of learning
Collect data before, during, and after learning, so we can place, move, and take away scaffolds with greater intention
Promote independence with front-end scaffolds, distributed scaffolds, back-end scaffolds, peer scaffolds, and fading scaffolds
Use a blend of demonstration, modeling, coaching, explaining, questioning and choice
Promote purposeful practice—in which learners knows where they’re going and how to get there

Perhaps we rush in to rescue learners because the world seems fraught; we want to help our students reach the safety of academic success. Our intentions are good, but it’s time to step back, gradually and purposefully, and let them pilot their own learning.

Author(s)

Nancy Frey

Nancy Frey is professor of educational leadership at San Diego State University and a leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. Previously, Nancy was a teacher, academic coach, and central office resource coordinator in Florida. She is a credentialed special educator, reading specialist, and administrator in California. She is a member of the International Literacy Association’s Literacy Research Panel. She has published widely on literacy, quality instruction, and assessment, as well as books such as The Artificial Intelligences Playbook, How Scaffolding Works, How Teams Work, and The Vocabulary Playbook.

Douglas Fisher

Douglas Fisher is professor and chair of educational leadership at San Diego State University and a leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. Previously, Doug was an early intervention teacher and elementary school educator. He is a credentialed teacher and leader in California. In 2022, he was inducted into the Reading Hall of Fame by the Literacy Research Association. He has published widely on literacy, quality instruction, and assessment, as well as books such as Welcome to Teaching, PLC+, Teaching Students to Drive their Learning, and Student Assessment: Better Evidence, Better Decisions, Better Learning.

John Taylor Almarode

Dr. John Almarode is a bestselling author and an Associate Professor of Education at James Madison University. He was awarded the inaugural Sarah Miller Luck Endowed Professorship in 2015 and received an Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia in 2021. Before his academic career, John started as a mathematics and science teacher in Augusta County, Virginia. As an author, John has written multiple educational books focusing on science and mathematics, and he has co-created a new framework for developing, implementing, and sustaining professional learning communities called PLC+. Dr. Almarode's work has been presented to the US Congress, the Virginia Senate, and the US Department of Education. One of his recent projects includes developing the Distance Learning Playbook for College and University Instruction in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Continuing his collaborative work with colleagues on what works best in teaching and learning, How Tutoring Works, Visible Learning in Early Childhood, and How Learning Works, all with Corwin Press, were released in 2021.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Module 1: The Foundations of Scaffolding

Module 2: The Origins of Scaffolding

Module 3: A Model for How Scaffolding Works

Module 4: Mental Models

Module 5: Goal Setting

Module 6: Deliberate Practice

Module 7: Front-end Scaffolds

Module 8: Distributed Scaffolds

Module 9: Back-end Scaffolds

Module 10: Peer Scaffolding

Module 11: Fading Scaffolds

Conclusion: So, How Does Scaffolding Work?

Reviews

“Almarode, Fisher, and Frey have expertly created an insightful, timely, practical playbook for teachers and school leaders who want to learn more ways to ensure that all students gain skills using supportive structures called scaffolds. Most of all, educators will enjoy the techniques for using ongoing formative assessment and spiraling curriculum.”

Virginia E. Kelsen, PhD
Lead Human Resources Administrator, El Rancho Unified School District

“At a time when every educator and transformational leader are strategizing on how to eliminate inequities and achievement gaps among their scholars, this book is a valuable, timely resource. The authors have masterfully defined the characteristics of effective scaffolding to make instruction and learning both accessible and relevant for all learners, regardless of the level they begin. I view this 'playbook' as an absolute necessity—for its clarity and focus on the steps educators can take to help all scholars reach their highest academic potential.”

Dana Trevethan
Superintendent, Turlock Unified School District

“How Scaffolding Works is a highly-engaging and thought-provoking resource for school administrators, instructional coaches, and teachers to collaboratively learn about scaffolding. Each module includes real-life examples, opportunities for peer discussion and an easy-to-use framework for deliberately planning scaffolds for ALL learners throughout the learning process. This playbook is a must read for anyone wanting to learn how to use high-effect size strategies to scaffold learning.”

Alisa Barret
Director of Instruction, Greenfield Exempted Village Schools