Teaching ninth grade is challenging for any teacher. The social-emotional needs of students in this age range are daunting. When you add to that the challenge of instructing the students in the areas of reading, writing and arithmetic, the challenge sometimes seems unsurmountable. Brooke is a ninth grade ELA teacher. She has two problems that cost her much time in contemplation as well as time in the classroom reteaching concepts of which she felt her students had a firm grasp. The two issues are how to best present a required research paper unit and how to help students perform better on their state assessments. She recognizes that her research paper unit was not properly planned, but is somewhat perplexed as to why the state assessment results …show more content…
As a first year teacher, she struggled with this due to a lack of proper understanding and planning. She assumed that students learned and retained information that was taught to them as freshman. She was the one who taught them the year before so she was quite familiar with the concepts presented to them as freshman as well as their apparent grasp of the information. Because of this assumption, she did not properly scaffold learning. The outcomes were rough drafts that were haphazardly thrown together with quotes, no citations and non-existent introductions. She recognized her mistake and adjusted due dates and instruction to foster the creation of more solid research papers. The second problem Brooke is facing has to do with state assessments. Her students did not quite meet her own expectations. She feels that her students know the information that pertains to a specific instruction, but seem to misunderstand the question or select a wrong answer because the wording draws them away from the correct answer. This situation is especially true when students are asked to choose the “best” …show more content…
An important component of this step in the process is to allow time for immediate and purposeful feedback from the teacher to the student. Once the teacher and the student are confident in choices, students then begin the process of writing each section of their paper. It is imperative that the teacher give immediate and purposeful feedback on each section of the paper in such a way that the student has the opportunity to ask questions and acquire clarification so that the student is able to have ownership over the writing while fine tuning their writing skills under the masterful watch of the teacher (Eroglu, “Constructivist Approach to Developing”, p. 13). In Vygotsky’s words, “Verbal communication with adults thus becomes a powerful factor in the development of the child’s concepts (as cited by Fosnot, 1996, p. 24). Writing in this presumably piecemeal way may seem counterproductive; the initial process may be haphazard. However, the students may find comfort in focusing on a small piece at a time as opposed to an entirely blank page that needs to be filled. This scaffolding technique is a tool typically used in constructivism. Students can go back later and add the details that will bring the paper together. They can also pore over the paper for linguistic issues at a later time so that the actual writing process is not hindered by those