Discussion Scaffolding
Did the teacher scaffold instruction as appropriate to support student participation in discussion in classes, with evidence for explicit support for multilingual learners? (For example, use sentence stems, debate organizers. etc.)
Why does this matter?
“Meaningful conversation can make learning more personal, immediate, and emotional.During meaningful conversations, students are forced to be accountable for their positions, to listen, to analyze opposing perspectives, and to adapt their thinking on the fly.There are many popular strategies for these kinds of conversations, each with slightly unique rules and applications. Among them are Socrative Discussions, Accountable Talks, Debate, and Literature Circles. Whichever strategy you employ, students need support.It is sometimes argued that these kinds of conversations favor students that are confident expressing themselves verbally, and that’s hard to argue. But consider that academic writing favors gifted writers, traditional tests favor those comfortable with proving what they know, learning through technology favors students with a more diverse history of using technology, and so on. And all can benefit from scaffolding so that students are given different levels of support such as sentence stems–so that they can be successful on some level.” - Terry Heick
English language learners now comprise over twenty percent of the school age population throughout the United States. This number of students who speak a language at home other than English will continue to grow with experts anticipating that by the year 2030 the number will increase to forty percent. To support these students in acquiring language skills while participating in core subject areas requires the use of scaffolds and supports.
What does this look like in a classroom?
Students are provided with sentence stems, graphic organizers, and other note capturing devices to support them in the classroom.
Supports such as google translate are available and utilized by students
Teacher employs discussion protocols to ensure that all voices are heard
Student groups are strategically designed to support ELL students
Students assume the the bulk responsibility of leading the discussion
Teacher models appropriate use of academic language at all times when interacting with the class using appropriate sentence starters etc...
What does this look like in a remote learning context?
Teachers pose discussion questions on a given topic, text, or topic of interest and students share their responses utilizing academic language and respond directly to each other in an online forum.
Students participate in close examination of an image or participate in an experiment and share their observations, findings, and questions.
Students discuss their solution to a math problem and articulate the process they went through using relevant academic vocabulary and sentence starters.
Class discussions are a combination of whole group and paired groups to allow ELL students additional time to whole discussions.
What are special considerations / resources for Multilingual / English Language Learners?
What are special considerations / resources for students with IEPs?
IEP Accommodations During Distant Learning
How is this related to CR-SE? (Culturally Responsive /Sustaining Education)
Within the educational system difference has been traditionally viewed as a deficit. CR-SE marks a shift in philosophy in which student differences will now be viewed as an asset. Differing learning styles, languages and cultural norms of the students should be successfully incorporated into discussions so that students can leverage what they know to learn new material.
How is this related to the Supportive Environment Framework / Social-Emotional Learning?
Creating a positive learning environment is important for supporting the growth of all students. Teachers should strive to establish a sense of community in their classrooms and provide structures such as predictable routines, procedures, and expectations. This can be accomplished in a remote setting through establishing daily routines, utilizing familiar graphic organizers, and discussion protocols. Because beginning ELLs may not initially understand verbal cues, predictable structures are even more significant in order to reduce anxiety, foster feelings of safety and comfort, and orient them to classroom expectations. Classroom patterns and predictable structures also aid language development.