Facilitation and Scaffolding
Behind the Curtain - Making Thinking Visible
Description of preparation of students and the environment
The first thing that has the biggest impact in the classroom environment will be how the room is set up. Based on the activity for the day, the chairs might be set up to facilitate a discussion, group work, or quick teacher delivery. The atmosphere and expectation of student participation is changed due to how the students are facing each other and using the room. For example, on the first day, students will be completing a discussion. The goal of the discussion is to have everyone listen to each other and to have peer feedback. The chairs will be organized in a circular fashion to encourage the students to look and listen to each other. No student gets to hide because everyone has face to face contact.
The classroom is also where students receive cues for their content and project expectations. The board is a home place for reminders, expectations, and housekeeping. The driving question will be posted on the board throughout the unit to have students continually refer to it. Having it posted in a consistent place will anchor students back to their original goal. It is an easy thing for a teacher to refer to, and students will be trained to self-refer to the board as a reminder. Other information that will be found on the board are the daily objectives we refer to in the timeline. The teacher will write the objective of the day for the board. For example, “By the end of the day, you should know how many nanometers are in one meter,” is a content objective. Once the project begins rolling, project checkpoints will also help students keep on track. For example, “By the end of this week, you should have contacted an outside expert.” This transparency in the teacher’s goals will help students build their project self regulation.
Plan with examples of facilitation and questioning strategies
One strategy is for every question a student asks the teacher, the teacher responds with another question. At first, this might seem tedious and frustrating, but the student should come to the realization that the teacher doesn't hold the wealth of all knowledge. However, the cultural change that a student is in charge of finding the needed information himself is an essential shift in a PBL classroom. Students should begin to learn that any question they might have can be sought out independently with the appropriate resources. The goal is to get students to the point where they gain the initiative to seek out the answer to their initial question. The ability to find the appropriate resources to use might not be initially easy to the students. One of the responsibilities of the teacher during the group work time is to consistently remind students to think about how their source is credible.
Another strategy utilized is training the students to think of questions the teacher will potentially ask. During the introduction of the PBL unit, the teacher will write a list of common questions on the board. The teacher and students will have a dialogue about why these questions are important towards completing their project and how they can answer them themselves. Then, while the project is in motion, the teacher can refer back to this list and say, “Which guiding question best leads you to answering that question yourself?” Then, when a student maybe asks the teacher for advice, the first response can be, “refer to the board first, then come ask again for my help.” Finally, students should begin to move towards thinking these self regulating questions on their own without being told to do so. Examples of questions the teacher might find helpful to facilitating her PBL unit are:
Collaboration with students and offering assistance
Depending on the class objectives for each day, the classroom will be set up in a manner that each small group will have easy access to the teacher for any needed assistance. Any assistance from the teacher will only consist of reflecting questions back to the student or group in an effort to guide students in the direction that will allow students to discover the answers they are looking for on their own. In addition to reflecting questions, the teacher will assess the progress of each group and redirect any groups that may be on a tangential path away from the desired outcome by asking open-ended questions that will stimulate alternative ideas from their current ways of thinking. Finally, if the teacher feels that the students are getting particularly off course, the teacher can then go and restate the driving question. Frequent reiteration of the driving question should focus the student towards their end goal. The driving question will be permanently posted for the class to refer to.
Description of how students will be grouped and ensure participation
There will be four main classroom layouts depending on the activity or the day. These three layouts will be for Class Discussion, Small Group Collaboration, and Gallery Walk.
For class discussions the room will be oriented into a square ring shape, with one group occupying each corner of the square, one group composing one side, and the teacher’s desk located across from the group on a side. All desks will be facing inward so that the students and teacher are all able to see each other. The teacher will be able to lead the discussion from seated at the desk or standing in the center of the square ring.
For small group discussion, desks for each group will be clustered into blocks of four around the outside edges of the room. The teacher’s desk will be located at the center of the room. From this position, the teacher will have easy access to each group from the teacher’s desk and will also have plenty of space to navigate around the room while moving from group to group.
For gallery walks, the desks will be set up into five stations. Each station will contain a display board of some type (whiteboard, chalkboard, large Post-it pad, etc.). The desks at each station will be positioned into two rows angle outward from the display board toward the center of the room. This will provide the groups sufficient access to the display board while also allowing for plenty of space for other classmates to view the display during the gallery walk. The teacher’s desk will, once again, be located at the center of the room so the teacher is able to easily observe each gallery station.
To deal with the ever-present issue of equal student work, the students have assigned roles. Each role has assigned responsibilities during the project. The students choose within their group who will get which role. The roles are referenced on the "Facilitation of Unit" in the "Planning" tab. These responsibilities ensure students are more equally delegating the work in the project. Students also have the opportunity to reflect about how the group dynamics are every time there is a checkpoint due. These reflections are viewed by the teacher and can be used to address any adversity the group is having. Granted, the teacher should still be aware of how the groups are acting during work time to facilitate the work being done.
The first thing that has the biggest impact in the classroom environment will be how the room is set up. Based on the activity for the day, the chairs might be set up to facilitate a discussion, group work, or quick teacher delivery. The atmosphere and expectation of student participation is changed due to how the students are facing each other and using the room. For example, on the first day, students will be completing a discussion. The goal of the discussion is to have everyone listen to each other and to have peer feedback. The chairs will be organized in a circular fashion to encourage the students to look and listen to each other. No student gets to hide because everyone has face to face contact.
The classroom is also where students receive cues for their content and project expectations. The board is a home place for reminders, expectations, and housekeeping. The driving question will be posted on the board throughout the unit to have students continually refer to it. Having it posted in a consistent place will anchor students back to their original goal. It is an easy thing for a teacher to refer to, and students will be trained to self-refer to the board as a reminder. Other information that will be found on the board are the daily objectives we refer to in the timeline. The teacher will write the objective of the day for the board. For example, “By the end of the day, you should know how many nanometers are in one meter,” is a content objective. Once the project begins rolling, project checkpoints will also help students keep on track. For example, “By the end of this week, you should have contacted an outside expert.” This transparency in the teacher’s goals will help students build their project self regulation.
Plan with examples of facilitation and questioning strategies
One strategy is for every question a student asks the teacher, the teacher responds with another question. At first, this might seem tedious and frustrating, but the student should come to the realization that the teacher doesn't hold the wealth of all knowledge. However, the cultural change that a student is in charge of finding the needed information himself is an essential shift in a PBL classroom. Students should begin to learn that any question they might have can be sought out independently with the appropriate resources. The goal is to get students to the point where they gain the initiative to seek out the answer to their initial question. The ability to find the appropriate resources to use might not be initially easy to the students. One of the responsibilities of the teacher during the group work time is to consistently remind students to think about how their source is credible.
Another strategy utilized is training the students to think of questions the teacher will potentially ask. During the introduction of the PBL unit, the teacher will write a list of common questions on the board. The teacher and students will have a dialogue about why these questions are important towards completing their project and how they can answer them themselves. Then, while the project is in motion, the teacher can refer back to this list and say, “Which guiding question best leads you to answering that question yourself?” Then, when a student maybe asks the teacher for advice, the first response can be, “refer to the board first, then come ask again for my help.” Finally, students should begin to move towards thinking these self regulating questions on their own without being told to do so. Examples of questions the teacher might find helpful to facilitating her PBL unit are:
- “What do we still not know?”
- “How can we apply nano-properties to this concept?”
- “Why hasn’t this been done before?”
- “Is there current research on this subject?”
- “What questions does this make you have after reading it? How can you answer those questions?”
- “Is this a credible source? How could it be better?
- “How could I incorporate this source into my project?”
- “Does any of this relate to what I’ve already learned in biology?”
- “Does this direction help me get to the end goal of the driving question?”
Collaboration with students and offering assistance
Depending on the class objectives for each day, the classroom will be set up in a manner that each small group will have easy access to the teacher for any needed assistance. Any assistance from the teacher will only consist of reflecting questions back to the student or group in an effort to guide students in the direction that will allow students to discover the answers they are looking for on their own. In addition to reflecting questions, the teacher will assess the progress of each group and redirect any groups that may be on a tangential path away from the desired outcome by asking open-ended questions that will stimulate alternative ideas from their current ways of thinking. Finally, if the teacher feels that the students are getting particularly off course, the teacher can then go and restate the driving question. Frequent reiteration of the driving question should focus the student towards their end goal. The driving question will be permanently posted for the class to refer to.
Description of how students will be grouped and ensure participation
There will be four main classroom layouts depending on the activity or the day. These three layouts will be for Class Discussion, Small Group Collaboration, and Gallery Walk.
For class discussions the room will be oriented into a square ring shape, with one group occupying each corner of the square, one group composing one side, and the teacher’s desk located across from the group on a side. All desks will be facing inward so that the students and teacher are all able to see each other. The teacher will be able to lead the discussion from seated at the desk or standing in the center of the square ring.
For small group discussion, desks for each group will be clustered into blocks of four around the outside edges of the room. The teacher’s desk will be located at the center of the room. From this position, the teacher will have easy access to each group from the teacher’s desk and will also have plenty of space to navigate around the room while moving from group to group.
For gallery walks, the desks will be set up into five stations. Each station will contain a display board of some type (whiteboard, chalkboard, large Post-it pad, etc.). The desks at each station will be positioned into two rows angle outward from the display board toward the center of the room. This will provide the groups sufficient access to the display board while also allowing for plenty of space for other classmates to view the display during the gallery walk. The teacher’s desk will, once again, be located at the center of the room so the teacher is able to easily observe each gallery station.
To deal with the ever-present issue of equal student work, the students have assigned roles. Each role has assigned responsibilities during the project. The students choose within their group who will get which role. The roles are referenced on the "Facilitation of Unit" in the "Planning" tab. These responsibilities ensure students are more equally delegating the work in the project. Students also have the opportunity to reflect about how the group dynamics are every time there is a checkpoint due. These reflections are viewed by the teacher and can be used to address any adversity the group is having. Granted, the teacher should still be aware of how the groups are acting during work time to facilitate the work being done.
Classroom Layouts
Description of how to facilitate student self-questioning
In order to get students to feel comfortable asking questions, it is important to facilitate a culture of learning and questioning in the classroom. Students come in with a preconception that asking questions reflects poorly on their intelligence. However, this is the opposite intention. The goal is to get students to feel empowered with their questions: asking questions leads to more knowledge in our young students.
The culture of asking questions in the classroom has to be reinforced from the beginning of the year, regardless of if the class uses a PBL unit. One way to develop student lead questioning is to facilitate a Socratic Discussion. In a Socratic Discussion, students are given a topic, situation, or question which in itself has no “right” answer. The class is set up as a discussion and the students share their opinions, thoughts, and learn how to speak appropriately and constructively. One of the conclusions students should have from this activity is all opinions are valid and more questions need to be added in order to continue the conversation and develop a stronger understanding of the topic. Tips on how to develop a good Socratic Discussion can be found here.
Lastly, students are very keen on their perception of what the teacher thinks of them. Students quickly come to develop an attitude in class that is facilitated by how they feel in class. When a teacher consistently shuts down a question or uses a tone which doesn’t support the notion of reinforcing the sharing of ideas, students will stop participating in class and asking questions. Teachers in general, but specifically during a PBL unit like this, should be aware of how their responses to students’ questions make students feel about their contribution. Instead of immediately shutting down a response, teachers should develop a response to a question (or statement) that reinforces the student to feel confident to share in the future.
Description of how students will be prepared to take on responsibility
Students will have access to the “student access” page where they can always check back to the resources and activities presented by the teacher. Students will walk through with the teacher how to access this page and where to go if they need extra copies. After this has been completed once with the whole class, the teacher can then direct students to this access page and they should be able to figure out where to go.
To encourage students to think about how they are progressing in the project, project checkpoints are assigned throughout the timeline. These checkpoints are placed along the timeline to ensure students are breaking apart the project into practical pieces and aren’t leaving everything to the last minute. The students have the opportunity to update the parts due at the checkpoints so the final project reflects revision, but the checkpoints provide structure to a long term project that the students might not even realize they need.
Another scaffolded practice the teacher in the PBL unit will use is the reference of the final project rubric. At the introduction of the unit, the teacher will go through the rubric with the class to demonstrate the goals and expectations of the final unit. Instead of the teacher just reading the rubric in the front of the class, the students will jigsaw explaining the categories in groups. The students will dissect what it means to have an exemplary example of the category versus a poor example. Recent discussions have stated students spend little time getting to know the rubric or understanding how to develop a product that reflects the categories. By spending time understanding the rubric, the teacher can then refer to it and have faith that the students will gain the necessary information they have questions on.
Plan for when scaffolds will be used and how they will be removed
The proposed plans of scaffolding use a lot of “I do, we do, you do” interactions. First,the teacher shows the student the expectations. When the student has further questions, the teacher works alongside the student. Lastly, if the student has future questions, the teacher can refer to the resource so the student can find the information by himself. Obviously, this scaffolded approach becomes more student driven as the teacher sees fit. The teacher must use their discretion with a student or group to decide how or when the approach and response is implemented.
The first example of scaffolding executed in the unit is when students place items along the metric scale in the "How Big Is It?" activity. First, students try to place various items along the scale on their own. After a few minutes, students can work in teams to complete the task together. And finally after some additional time, the groups are able to use outside resources to fine tune the assignment. This addition of increasing resources is supposed to iterate how working together can provide better information.
Other examples of how and when scaffolds are implemented are shown above on this page through student misconceptions and difficulties. Methods of scaffolding are explained if/when students show potential difficulties in concepts or continue to display misconceptions.
In order to get students to feel comfortable asking questions, it is important to facilitate a culture of learning and questioning in the classroom. Students come in with a preconception that asking questions reflects poorly on their intelligence. However, this is the opposite intention. The goal is to get students to feel empowered with their questions: asking questions leads to more knowledge in our young students.
The culture of asking questions in the classroom has to be reinforced from the beginning of the year, regardless of if the class uses a PBL unit. One way to develop student lead questioning is to facilitate a Socratic Discussion. In a Socratic Discussion, students are given a topic, situation, or question which in itself has no “right” answer. The class is set up as a discussion and the students share their opinions, thoughts, and learn how to speak appropriately and constructively. One of the conclusions students should have from this activity is all opinions are valid and more questions need to be added in order to continue the conversation and develop a stronger understanding of the topic. Tips on how to develop a good Socratic Discussion can be found here.
Lastly, students are very keen on their perception of what the teacher thinks of them. Students quickly come to develop an attitude in class that is facilitated by how they feel in class. When a teacher consistently shuts down a question or uses a tone which doesn’t support the notion of reinforcing the sharing of ideas, students will stop participating in class and asking questions. Teachers in general, but specifically during a PBL unit like this, should be aware of how their responses to students’ questions make students feel about their contribution. Instead of immediately shutting down a response, teachers should develop a response to a question (or statement) that reinforces the student to feel confident to share in the future.
Description of how students will be prepared to take on responsibility
Students will have access to the “student access” page where they can always check back to the resources and activities presented by the teacher. Students will walk through with the teacher how to access this page and where to go if they need extra copies. After this has been completed once with the whole class, the teacher can then direct students to this access page and they should be able to figure out where to go.
To encourage students to think about how they are progressing in the project, project checkpoints are assigned throughout the timeline. These checkpoints are placed along the timeline to ensure students are breaking apart the project into practical pieces and aren’t leaving everything to the last minute. The students have the opportunity to update the parts due at the checkpoints so the final project reflects revision, but the checkpoints provide structure to a long term project that the students might not even realize they need.
Another scaffolded practice the teacher in the PBL unit will use is the reference of the final project rubric. At the introduction of the unit, the teacher will go through the rubric with the class to demonstrate the goals and expectations of the final unit. Instead of the teacher just reading the rubric in the front of the class, the students will jigsaw explaining the categories in groups. The students will dissect what it means to have an exemplary example of the category versus a poor example. Recent discussions have stated students spend little time getting to know the rubric or understanding how to develop a product that reflects the categories. By spending time understanding the rubric, the teacher can then refer to it and have faith that the students will gain the necessary information they have questions on.
Plan for when scaffolds will be used and how they will be removed
The proposed plans of scaffolding use a lot of “I do, we do, you do” interactions. First,the teacher shows the student the expectations. When the student has further questions, the teacher works alongside the student. Lastly, if the student has future questions, the teacher can refer to the resource so the student can find the information by himself. Obviously, this scaffolded approach becomes more student driven as the teacher sees fit. The teacher must use their discretion with a student or group to decide how or when the approach and response is implemented.
The first example of scaffolding executed in the unit is when students place items along the metric scale in the "How Big Is It?" activity. First, students try to place various items along the scale on their own. After a few minutes, students can work in teams to complete the task together. And finally after some additional time, the groups are able to use outside resources to fine tune the assignment. This addition of increasing resources is supposed to iterate how working together can provide better information.
Other examples of how and when scaffolds are implemented are shown above on this page through student misconceptions and difficulties. Methods of scaffolding are explained if/when students show potential difficulties in concepts or continue to display misconceptions.