Scaffolding in PBL
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Project Based Learning presents many unique challenges in teaching. When using PBL, ensuring that students stay on task and reach the learning goals of the curriculum is not as straight forward as in the traditional classroom setting. Scaffolding is important in order for a PBL to be successful because it will provide structure and organization to the students' work. According to an article titled Scaffolding in PBL,
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Clearly stated expectations will help to guide and keep students on track and heading toward the final goal of the PBL. Without establishing a set of clear expectations, students will wander and lose sight of their task. One way that I like to do this is to always provide rubrics prior to the start of a project and encourage students to refer to them frequently in order to help them stay focused. If expectations are clearly stated students will be able to guide themselves and do most of the work independently, with the teacher acting as a consultant and adviser. It's a difficult task to let go of some of the control and find a balance between enough structure to assure learning goals are met and enough freedom to allow students to be creative and learn through doing. Scaffolding will help teachers to find that learning/teaching balance.
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According to Scaffolding in PBL, the eight characteristics of educational scaffolding are:
- Provides clear directions
- Clarifies purpose
- Keeps students on task
- Offers assessment to clarify expectations
- Points students to worthy sources
- Reduces uncertainty, surprise and disappointment
- Delivers efficiency
- Creates momentum
Scaffolding is important with PBL because there are no textbooks or workbooks to guide the teachers and students. Traditional educational environments that teachers are accustomed to, which include teaching through textbooks and scripted readings, practicing, and then testing to assess learning, will not be used when students are involved in a PBL. Student learning will be judged based on the understanding that is gained through "real-world" exploration and experiences. Scaffolding will provide students with a clear path to follow, keeping them focused and on task. Formative assessments throughout the project, such as journals, will demonstrate the level of understanding of individual students and provide teachers with the opportunity to redirect students who are not meeting the expectations of the project. Unlike final tests, formative assessments, which are done throughout the PBL, keep students and teachers informed on how they are doing, allowing for intervention immediately and not after it's too late and the unit is over. Students are given the opportunity to be successful.
In my project, Backyard Nature, students' journals, blog entries, team participation, and project progress will be monitored daily. This will allow me to discover problem areas, with students or my design of the project, right away. The sooner I am able to address a learning or design issue, the quicker I will be able to get the students back on task and headed toward the PBL goal.
The main concern that teachers in public schools will experience is, "How will the students perform on the mandated standardized tests?" It's a shame that even though teachers familiar with the benefits of using PBL with their students agree that this style of learning works best for deep understanding, teachers' hands are still tied by the constraints of government mandated standardized tests. Like students, teachers also fear failure...failure in the eyes of administration, parents, the community, and the government. Public schools are not judged on the ability off students to be creative, independent, successful explorers, designers, and learners. They are publicly judged, ranked and rated on how well they perform on "the tests". Using scaffolding, formative assessments, and summative assessments, to align the PBL to standards and curricular goals will help to ensure that students will be prepared to "pass the tests", while still attaining a deeper level of knowledge.
Work Cited
- Taken From: Scaffolding in PBL
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