Scaffolding Strategies
List of areas of potential difficulty:
· Collaboration. High Schools are not known for having great skills at working in groups; in fact, some of the common pitfalls (students who don’t do anything, students who do too much, etc) are so common now as to become stereotypes of group work. The comments and suggestions in the Kolodner paper, as well as the Oakley, Felder, Brent and Elhajj paper, should help inform the process. Particularly, the use of a team contract is useful. Actually including the small group work into the rubric should make it important enough to the students that they will incorporate that into their plan for how to do the project. The characterizations of "Couch potatoes" and "hitchhikers" from the Oakley paper will be familiar to any teacher who has overseen group work, and the community rituals mentioned in the Kolodner paper are valuable tools for encouraging effective collaboration. Constant monitoring will be necessary to keep students working effectively.
· Content. Some of the coursework included in this project is difficult by its nature. The idea of “carbon conservation,” addressed in the carbon cycle activity, is one example, as is the process of turning biomass into a gasoline-like biofuel. These areas may need more direct instruction and interventions by the teacher. Having plenty of Just-in-time materials (three different links there) ready for the anticipated trouble spots would be helpful, also.
· The debate. In addition to the usual resistance to projects, the fact that formal debate is almost a lost art is sure to provide challenges. The debate packet from nwabr.org is one hard scaffold that should assist the students as they prepare. Showing video examples both good and bad, will also help, since students generally respond well to video, especially humorous ones. Soft scaffolding, in the form of the teacher circulating among groups and asking leading questions, is also recommended.
List of possible misconceptions:
· “Global warming/climate change is a myth/conspiracy/lie.” This is actually a pretty serious and emotional topic. To avoid losing focus, it is preferred to stick to purely factual information about all issues related to climate change, and put the emphasis on carbon conservation, which the students will see demonstrated in an impactful way during the carbon cycle activity.
· “What burns in a candle?” Many students do not realize the fuel source for a candle is not actually the wick. Since the students design the lab, not understanding this might set them back in their understanding. This is, however, a good opportunity for letting students experience temporary failure in order to learn a lesson better. Once they have reached a blind alley, however, some judicious questioning should be enough to steer them back on path.
· Conducting internet research. Many students believe naively that the internet is completely reliable. Providing resources for students to learn this skill is desirable, since this could be one of the most important things they learn in high school.
Picture from: http://www.heatingcentral.com/UserFiles/sun_biomass_boiler_wood_400.jpg
· Collaboration. High Schools are not known for having great skills at working in groups; in fact, some of the common pitfalls (students who don’t do anything, students who do too much, etc) are so common now as to become stereotypes of group work. The comments and suggestions in the Kolodner paper, as well as the Oakley, Felder, Brent and Elhajj paper, should help inform the process. Particularly, the use of a team contract is useful. Actually including the small group work into the rubric should make it important enough to the students that they will incorporate that into their plan for how to do the project. The characterizations of "Couch potatoes" and "hitchhikers" from the Oakley paper will be familiar to any teacher who has overseen group work, and the community rituals mentioned in the Kolodner paper are valuable tools for encouraging effective collaboration. Constant monitoring will be necessary to keep students working effectively.
· Content. Some of the coursework included in this project is difficult by its nature. The idea of “carbon conservation,” addressed in the carbon cycle activity, is one example, as is the process of turning biomass into a gasoline-like biofuel. These areas may need more direct instruction and interventions by the teacher. Having plenty of Just-in-time materials (three different links there) ready for the anticipated trouble spots would be helpful, also.
· The debate. In addition to the usual resistance to projects, the fact that formal debate is almost a lost art is sure to provide challenges. The debate packet from nwabr.org is one hard scaffold that should assist the students as they prepare. Showing video examples both good and bad, will also help, since students generally respond well to video, especially humorous ones. Soft scaffolding, in the form of the teacher circulating among groups and asking leading questions, is also recommended.
List of possible misconceptions:
· “Global warming/climate change is a myth/conspiracy/lie.” This is actually a pretty serious and emotional topic. To avoid losing focus, it is preferred to stick to purely factual information about all issues related to climate change, and put the emphasis on carbon conservation, which the students will see demonstrated in an impactful way during the carbon cycle activity.
· “What burns in a candle?” Many students do not realize the fuel source for a candle is not actually the wick. Since the students design the lab, not understanding this might set them back in their understanding. This is, however, a good opportunity for letting students experience temporary failure in order to learn a lesson better. Once they have reached a blind alley, however, some judicious questioning should be enough to steer them back on path.
· Conducting internet research. Many students believe naively that the internet is completely reliable. Providing resources for students to learn this skill is desirable, since this could be one of the most important things they learn in high school.
Picture from: http://www.heatingcentral.com/UserFiles/sun_biomass_boiler_wood_400.jpg