Examples and Strategies to Scaffold Instruction or Activities

Small Teaching Activities:

SCC's Teaching and Learning Coordinator and English Faculty member, Angela Rasmussen discusses strategies listed from Flower's book Small Teaching Online. Thanks for the great break down Angela! Angela's TLC's Professional Development Course is a great Canvas resource if you haven't joined it. 

 

More examples:

Here are more examples that could work when scaffolding in an online class. 

  • Discussion Boards. Use discussion boards as a way for students to explore topics before their larger assessments. Students can co-construct knowledge together as they struggle with the concepts. 

  • Modeling Behaviors. Give students an example of a strong discussion post and a weak response. Point out what criteria was either met or missed. TILT framework is great for this. 

  • Self Reflection. Require students to write a self-reflection on their learning and progress in the course after a unit or midterm.

  • Creating opportunities for peer-to-peer learning and collaboration. Ask students to complete a group writing activity using Wikis Links to an external site. or Google Docs.

  • Chunking. Break the activity into smaller actionable steps that provide opportunities for feedback. Essays/presentations/projects can be broken into separate smaller steps. This also can reduce cheating as students are less likely to cheat on smaller assignments. 

Look for ways to break down complex tasks so that students make timely progress and receive feedback on their work while there is still time to adjust their approach if needed.

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Resources:

Cho, M. H., & Cho, Y. (2016). Online instructors’ use of scaffolding strategies to promote interactions: A scale development study. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 17(6), 108-120. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v17i6.2816 Links to an external site.

Sardo, C., & Sindelar, A. (2019, March 27). Scaffolding Online Student Success: Faculty Focus. Retrieved October 01, 2020, from https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/scaffolding-online-student-success/