The Acceleration and Scaffolding Tango Advances Student Performance for Struggling Learners
Cindy Riedl
Aug 16, 2010
How do Acceleration and Scaffolding work together to help struggling learners?
Coupling Acceleration and Scaffolding practices and strategies is how general education teachers and support teachers have the greatest impact on guaranteeing access to grade level instruction for struggling learners. Among other things, Acceleration provides direct instruction that prepares struggling students for what will occur in the classroom before it happens. It is a major scaffold that builds background knowledge, previews vocabulary and organizes upcoming learning with advance organizers, while it also reviews or re-teaches missing pre-requisite skills and concepts. The goal is simply to stay ahead of what will happen in the classroom so that these students have a greater chance for success with their grade level peers at the same time. They enter the instructional situation better prepared - armed with knowledge and skill s that will increase confidence and commitment.
In addition to Acceleration, it is up to the general classroom teacher to adjust instruction and lesson activities using scaffolding strategies in order to meet the needs of these students while maintaining high standards and high expectations for all learners. Scaffolding is comprised of specific strategies and practices that general education teachers use to help struggling, at-risk and special education students to learn grade level concepts and skills. As students become independently successful at a task or skill, supports are gradually removed.
Struggling students may require differentiated assignments, text materials modified, the use of alternative materials, graphic organizers with built in support, or note-taking techniques that are more suitable for their learning style/writing ability. The following are examples of scaffolding instructional materials:
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Modifying Existing Text - add graphics or change font size by putting the text section into a Word document. Use the Auto-summarizer tool to summarize or identify key concepts, main idea and supporting details. Also, add notes and text effects in order to aid text readability.
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Use Alternative Materials - locate different abridged versions of the same story or information that is on different reading levels. Use the internet to search for alternatives.
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Use Modified Graphic Organizers - provide pages where information can be located, start with a partially completed organizer, include an information or word bank, add visuals, or restructure or reduce the number of responses required.
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Teach Note-taking Strategies - create note-taking forms that utilize hints and cues for students to record important information from texts and other written sources. Use adapted Cornell note formats with a ‘Cloze' format where students fill in only key vocabulary and concepts.
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Differentiate Assignments - use tiered assignments where the basic task has more supports built into it for struggling learners and more challenge build in for those students who are much more able.
Example: How do I use visualization to understand what I read?
Tier 1: Explain to a younger student how visualizing can help him understand what he reads. Choose a picture book that would appeal to a younger student. Plan where you will stop and do a think aloud describing what you visualize. Put a sticky note at each place with notes about what you will say!
Tier 2: Write an article for our class newsletter describing how visualization helps us as readers. Be sure to give examples from your own experiences.
Tier 3: Write a response to someone who says that visualization is not an important skill for readers. Be sure to use specific examples to support your position that visualizing is very important. R.A.F.T. (Role, Audience, Format, Task) assignments allow choice for students to demonstrate what they know.
- Role: Who is the writer? What role does he/she play?
- Audience: To whom is student writing?
- Format: What form will the writing take?
- Topic: What topic will student be writing about?
