In chapter four of her 2023 book, Karin Hess makes the case for the use of strategic scaffolding to support rigor in the classroom.“Keeping the focus of learning on deeper understanding for all students means that teachers must be willing to shift their role as the person who delivers direct instruction to being more of a strategic learning coach” (p.74). Strategically, Hess describes four areas where scaffolding activities could occur: with teachers and peers, content, task, and materials. Given that the goal of scaffolding is to reduce the stress put on a student’s working memory, Hess guides instructors to consider a key question when planning: “How can scaffolding help students show what they know by making content more accessible or by supporting the processing of content?” (p.72). One way to scaffold materials is to embed visual cues, like color-coding, hyperlinks, exemplars with notes, or visual icons. Teachers who want more support in utilizing color-coding with their materials should start by reading Allyson Caudill’s article,
Color-Coding: The Differentiation Strategy You Never Knew You Needed.
Though Hess was careful to distinguish scaffolding from differentiation, Allyson’s Caudill’s article supports Hess’s notion of the use of scaffolds in the classroom. Like Hess, Caudill writes that color-coding can lesson the cognitive load placed on students by drawing their attention to critical information with the strategic use of color. Where Hess had mentioned visual cues, Caudill details specific ways that teachers could embed color in the classroom, with examples of how to:
- Distinguish between new ideas and concepts
- Selective highlighting
- Color-coded graphic organizers
- Supporting student discourse
Further, in her article about color-coding, Allyson Caudill cautions that the goal is for color-coding to be effective, not confusing or over-complicated. Teachers should be mindful that they are consistent with their color coding (for example, once a color is assigned for a topic - like highlighting in yellow for comparison - that you should stick to that color for the rest of the year, rather than having students reassign or re-learn a different color).
In both sources, the authors work to explain how, by strategically choosing scaffolding strategies, teachers can help guide their students to being able to engage more deeply with material.
Caudill, Allyson (2018).
Color-coding: The differentiation strategy you never knew you needed.
https://www.weareteachers.com/color-coding-classroom/Hess, K. (2023).
Rigor by design, not chance: Deeper thinking through actionable instruction and assessment. ASCD.
Kathryn,
ReplyDeleteI resonate with your post and the idea of scaffolding using visual cues. This technique can be used in all grades, and it can even carry over grades. Personally, I use color coding in writing with first graders when learning to write informative paragraphs. Our colors coordinate with the steps it takes (Green/go: topic sentence, Yellow/slow down: details, Red/stop: conclusion). This visual cue that remains up for students when writing is a tool they can reference throughout the year.
Kathryn,
ReplyDeleteI appreciated how you included specific examples of how teachers can use color-coding in the classroom. Color-coding is a great way to support students as they develop their ability to cognitively organize information. This is a great strategy to use and to teach to students so that they can understand the meaning behind it and so that they can use it independently as well as they complete assignments and take notes.