Reverse Scaffolding
What do you think of reverse scaffolding as a learning / retention tool?
What I mean is, instead of giving the students a temporary structured outline of an important government policy paper, have them create an outline of their own - then compare their scaffolds in class to see if everyone agrees on the most critical issues in the paper.
I have tried this technique with some success by having students create an outline (sometimes on a PPT slide) of the national security strategy, or a speech by the Secretary of Homeland Security. I find it much more effective for them to decide on the key points and then defend their decisions to their peers.
A further step is to have them convert their outlines into an information paper or executive summary of the document "for their boss."
Many former students tell me this is an excellent approach to teaching them how to cut through masses of government documents with a highlighter.
In this case the scaffolding is not really temporary. Rather it produces a permanent record of the most important learning points. And for some uses the scaffolding may have more utility than the longer basic document itself.
David,
Your use of and expansion on scaffolding is a great way to help your students to become critical thinkers. They need to be able to build on foundational principles and then move outward from there. This method allows them to do just that. I like your method of having them defend their decisions because one of the aspects of problem solving is to be able to defend the proposed solution and relate the value of that solution to the situation. Personally, I want your students to be able to do problem solving at a number of levels since they are dealing with Homeland Security and that affects me directly. I like being safe! Thanks.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
