Scaffolding & Cognitive Learning

Let's take a look at a lesson outline that incorporates some foundational teaching concepts: scaffolding and cognitive learning strategies.  But first, let us define our terms...

To illustrate the concepts of scaffolding & cognitive learning, I will be using the topic of Earth's rotation around the sun, and exploring how that creates seasons.

Students generally get to this lesson within their first few weeks of ninth grade, although they should have already learned the bulk of this material in the sixth grade ("North Carolina Essential Standards: Earth/Environmental Science," 2016; "North Carolina Essential Standards: Science 6-8," 2016). 

My first warm up question starts with trying to pull out any prior knowledge they have retained from middle school, and then building off of that. Starting with prior knowledge and bridging the known to the unknown is a central tenet of scaffolding (West et al., 2019). The second question strikes a slightly different note; it aims to retrieve information that most people know, namely that seasons are reversed in the North and South hemispheres, and that the equator does not have the same type of seasons that we do. This may have been taught in a classroom, but is often supported in contexts outside of school such as learning about other cultures or traveling. Through this question, I hope to introduce another chance for students to find prior knowledge, see relationships, and build meaning for themselves based on their own experiences. 

The next "stage" of scaffolding is to provide supported and guided activities that gradually introduce new knowledge and reduce needed support (Ragupathi, 2014; West et al., 2019). For the next activity, I have combined this strategy with an idea from Vygotsky by encouraging peer learning, presuming that some peers will be able to serve as "more competent others" for their classmates (Hogan 1999). Groups of peers are challenged not to simply recall information, but represent it visually. This ties in learning strategies such as visualization and knowledge representation (Chen & McGrath, 2004).

Next, we pivot to the subject at hand, the seasons. By asking if their drawing would indicate anything about the seasons, I encourage them to build off and connect to what they have just practiced, hopefully helping them to find a relationship between their concept of seasons and the Earth's motion through space. 

This building looks well supported, time to start removing some scaffolding!

At this point I have predicted what students will be thinking- that the seasons are caused by the Earth getting closer to the sun. In my experience, this is a common misconception. To follow the principles of scaffolding and self-guided learning, I choose not to tell them this is wrong immediately, but to help them discover why this is a false assumption. By asking students to test this hypothesis, I hope to provide some tactile memories and associations for this concept. This also uses their prior skill set of working within the scientific method, while gently helping them develop the skill of designing their own experiments.

After this and the next experimental setup, I ask students to reflect on the real world applications of their laboratory observations. Instead of telling them that the seasons are due to axial tilt, I let them observe the tilt and talk with their peers about what this means. Each step in the process is designed to let them own another piece of the learning process, until ultimately I ask them to apply this newly learned concept to a totally different scenario.

I purposefully chose to include several forms of visualization and representation (drawing and laboratory set ups) to help students "see" the phenomenon, which can be difficult to grasp otherwise. I chose to incorporate three aspects of the scientific method that students should be growing in (making predictions, experimental design, and data interpretation) but spread them out over multiple experiments and activities with an ascension in difficulty. Throughout the lesson I ask them to reflect on their prior knowledge and their own experiences to help create meaning and connect the science to their lives. By providing many different cognitive learning strategies (visualization, making connections, evaluating interpretations, reflecting, etc.) I hope that students will find this lesson to be memorable and effective.

Thanks for reading!

References

Chen, P., & McGrath, D. (2004). Visualize, Visualize, Visualize. Learning & Leading with Technology, 32(4). doi:1.800.336.5191

Cognitive Learning Strategies. (2019, October 04). Retrieved August 28, 2020, from https://wit.edu/lit/engage/learning-strategies

Hogan, D. M. (1999). Chapter 2: Implications of Vygotsky's Theory for Peer Learning. In 909883766 716276590 J. R. Tudge (Ed.), Cognitive Perspectives on Peer Learning (pp. 39-65). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Retrieved August 28, 2020, from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/a125/0ae5d4e42ec080b1f915d0e85933cf878068.pdf

Pol, J. V., Volman, M., & Beishuizen, J. (2010). Scaffolding in Teacher–Student Interaction: A Decade of Research. Educational Psychology Review, 22(3), 271-296. doi:10.1007/s10648-010-9127-6

Ragupathi, K. (2014). Virtually Vygotsky: Using Technology to Scaffold Student Learning. Technology in Pedagogy, 20. Retrieved August 28, 2020, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290164622_Virtually_Vygotsky_Using_technology_to_scaffold_student_learning.

Rasouli, R., Alipour, Z., & Ebrahim, T. (2018). Effectiveness of cognitive learning strategies on test anxiety and school performance of students. International Journal of Educational and Psychological Researches, 4(1), 20. doi:10.4103/jepr.jepr_84_16

Rigney, J. W. (1978). Cognitive Learning Strategies and Dualities in Information Processing. In Aptitude, Learning, and Instruction. Cognitive Process Analyses of Aptitude (Vol. 1, pp. 315-344). Arlington, VA: Office of Naval Research. Retrieved August 28, 2020, from https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA099208.pdf#page=330

United States, Department of Public Instruction, North Carolina Board of Education. (2016, April 27). North Carolina Essential Standards: 6-8 Science. Retrieved August 28, 2020, from https://files.nc.gov/dpi/documents/curriculum/science/scos/support-tools/new-standards/science/6-8.pdf

United States, Department of Public Instruction, North Carolina Board of Education. (2016, April 27). North Carolina Essential Standards: Earth/Environmental Science. Retrieved August 28, 2020, from https://files.nc.gov/dpi/documents/curriculum/science/scos/support-tools/new-standards/science/earth-env.pdf

West, A., Swanson, J., & Lipscomb, L. (2019). Chapter 11: Scaffolding. In 909858123 716260725 P. Lombardi (Author), Instructional Methods, Strategies and Technologies to Meet the Needs of All Learners. Granite Press Books. Retrieved August 28, 2020, from https://granite.pressbooks.pub/teachingdiverselearners/