David Kaus,Instructional DesignerInstructional Media

SCAFFOLDING INSTRUCTION

A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH

You will need a piece of paper and a pen for this activity. Do not

write until instructed to do so.

Focus your attention on the middle of the screen.

For the following words, count how many syllables are in each word.

Onyx

Millennium

Husband

Light-year

Bronze

Essay

Admiral

Mule

Denim

Toaster

Ankle

Raspberry

Write the words now!

What font was mule?What font was ankle? What font was husband? What word was bolded?What word was in italics?

Was this difficult to recall without knowing what to look for?

Learn about/reinforce theoretical learning principles Forgetting curve Anchoring ideas Chunking Assessment/reflection

*Learn how to apply these principles into instruction

OBJECTIVES

Have you ever been told directions that contain too many details?

Have you ever studied for a test and forgotten the content days later?

THINK BACK…

German psychologist named Herman EbbinghausStudied memory and forgettingCreated and memorized 2300 “nonsense words”

FORGETTING CURVE

Retrieved from: http://www.gov.mb.ca/tce/es/archive/oct05/spaced_review.htm

http://helpingpsychology.hubpages.com/hub/Ebbinghaus-Forgetting-Curve-The-Theory-of-Memory

Repetition – the more you repeat something, the more likely it will be remembered

Practical application Review previously covered material with students at the

beginning of class Revisit challenging concepts with your students throughout

your lecture Create assignments that require students to reexamine

earlier material

FORGETTING CURVE: HOW CAN WE IMPROVE THIS?

Quality of memory representation – create relevant, meaningful connections with new information

Learning is more effective when it is important to you

Practical application When introducing a new concept, explain a situation where

it is used, or has been relevant in the real world Allow students to research articles and newspapers that

relate to the topic (e.g. NCLB in newspapers) Show a news clip dealing with the topic Administer an interest survey at the beginning of the

semester

FORGETTING CURVE: HOW CAN WE IMPROVE THIS?

What materials could you provide to your students that allow them to see the importance of what they are about to learn?

DISCUSSION

Keepers is a strategy of that focuses on reinforcing the crucial parts of an idea or topic.

Repetition assists in memory retention. Frequently revisit earlier, important material with your students.

Find examples of how your topic is applicable to real life.

KEEPERS (WHAT TO TAKE AWAY FROM THIS)

American psychologist David Ausubel Anchoring ideas are content specific ideas already

embedded in one’s cognitive structure (e.g. what a student understands about cell division)

Need to link new material with students prior knowledge

Learning is much more effective when you weave the knowledge you are learning into something you already know

Learning is much more difficult when you have to create an entirely new anchoring idea

ANCHORING IDEAS

Practical application Administer a pre-assessment the first week of class or at

the beginning of each lesson (Clickers or Poll Everywhere) Make a list of what everyone knows

Create a concept map with students while they are learning the new material

Create an outline for students to follow during the lecture

Review information from a previous lesson and explain how it relates to the lesson you are about to teach

ANCHORING IDEAS

Think about ways you could introduce a topic to your students that connects to their prior knowledge.

DISCUSSION

Learning is much more effective when one can build upon or modify their prior knowledge (anchoring ideas)

Before you introduce your topic, find a way to tap into something the students already know and teach from there

KEEPERS

Repetition - frequently revisit earlier, important material with your students.

Quality of memory representation - create relevant, meaningful connections with new information (learning is more effective when it is important to you.)

Link new material with students’ prior knowledge (anchoring ideas).

QUICK REVIEW

CHUNKING

Breaking down large pieces of information into smaller sections

Much easier for the brain to digest the information

Divide your content into related sections

For online modules, break down larger modules into sections (e.g. Immunizations Part I and Immunizations Part II)

For face-to-face courses, take small breaks after about 45 minutes of lecture

Retrieved from: http://theelearningcoach.com/elearning_design/chunking-information/

KEEPERS

Students will have a difficult time retaining information if they are presented with too much material.

Chunk your content into manageable sections.

Formative vs. summative assessment Ability to monitor student progressStudents actively engaged in acquiring knowledge,

instead of passively receiving itReflection provides students with an opportunity to

expand on what they have just learned Allows students to focus on what they already

understand, and what they need to study

ASSESSMENT AND REFLECTION

Practical application Include questions on your topic throughout your

presentation/lecture (can use Clickers or Poll Everywhere) Provide students with opportunities to reflect on what they

have learned (e.g. learning logs). Ask students questions such as:

In what ways do you think you need to improve? What barriers did you encounter during this module? What do you think you need to work on? What part of the lesson are you most comfortable with? How

would you explain this to someone who knows nothing about the topic?

Include Articulate elements in your presentations

ASSESSMENT AND REFLECTION

Can you think of some content-specific assessment or reflection questions you can ask your students during lectures?

DISCUSSION

Include assessment questions throughout your lectures

Provide students opportunities to reflect on their learning

KEEPERS

Repetition - frequently revisit earlier, important material with your students.

Create relevant, meaningful connections with new information (learning is more effective when it is important to you.)

Link new material with students’ prior knowledge (anchoring ideas).

“Chunk” your presentations into manageable sections.

Include questions throughout your presentations.

Provide students with opportunities to reflect on their learning.

OVERALL REVIEW

Open your course presentation and try to incorporate some of the learning strategies we just discussed.

Feel free to share ideas with others!

WORKSHOP TIME!

What did you like about this workshop? Is there anything you will now try differently in your

courses? Is there anything you would like to learn about that

we did not cover today?

Contact David Kaus dkaus@howardcc.edu or Instructional Media IMfacultylab@howardcc.edu for more information

IN CLOSING

http://helpingpsychology.hubpages.com/hub/Ebbinghaus-Forgetting-Curve-The-Theory-of-Memory

http://www.gov.mb.ca/tce/es/archive/oct05/spaced_review.htm http://

theelearningcoach.com/elearning_design/chunking-information http://

www.simplypsychology.org/Zone-of-Proximal-Development.html http://

helpingpsychology.hubpages.com/hub/Ebbinghaus-Forgetting-Curve-The-Theory-of-Memory

http://sidsavara.com/personal-productivity/the-ebbinghaus-curve-of-forgetting

http://www.edutopia.org/assessment-guide-importance http://

www.cmu.edu/teaching/assessment/basics/formative-summative.html

SOURCES/ADDITIONAL RESOURCES