LE8

Welcome to Learning Event 8 🎯

Scaffolding Student Engagement 🌟

Learning Event 8 focuses on scaffolding learners as they engage with course content in digital spaces, ensuring that they feel supported and empowered to succeed in online learning environments.

Why It Matters

As online education expands, student diversity in terms of background, experience, and learning preferences grows. While online learning offers flexibility and opportunities, it also presents challenges, such as feelings of isolation or overwhelm.

Educators must intentionally scaffold learning experiences to:

• Address individual student needs.
• Differentiate instruction and assessment.
• Guide students toward greater independence and mastery.

Focus

Instructional Scaffolding refers to tailored support provided to help students achieve understanding and competence. This approach is grounded in Vygotsky’s (1978) concept of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD):

1. What the learner cannot do.
2. What the learner can do with assistance.
3. What the learner can do independently.

In online environments, scaffolding involves:

• Procedural scaffolding: Helping students use available tools effectively.
• Conceptual scaffolding: Guiding students to prioritize key concepts.
• Strategic scaffolding: Teaching alternative approaches to solve problems.
• Metacognitive scaffolding: Encouraging self-reflection and self-assessment.

READ 📖

1. How to Keep the Human Element in Online Classes – Michelle Pacansky-Brock
   “The instructor-student relationship is just as vital online as it is in offline classes.”

2. Scaffolding Online Student Success – Cassandra Sardo & Anthony Sindelar
   “Scaffolding draws from Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development to guide students toward independent learning.”

3. Devotedly Digital: Why I Love Teaching Online – Laura Gibbs
   “Online learning provides time and space to connect with every student and personalize their learning path.”

WATCH 🎥

1. The Growth of Knowledge: Crash Course Psychology (9:49)
2. Zone of Proximal Development (5:20)
3. Michelle Pacansky-Brock on Humanizing Online Learning (44:40)

DISCUSS 💬

How can you scaffold learners as they engage with content in your courses?

DO ✍️

Humanize Instruction

Support students by scaffolding their learning journey, gradually guiding them toward independence and mastery.

Self-Check:

1. Begin where the learners are:
   Assess students' starting points and design supports accordingly.

2. Adapt scaffolding to suit learners:
   Tailor support to the reflective and learning needs of your students.

3. Encourage multimodal reflection:
   Allow learners to experiment with different ways to reflect and demonstrate understanding (e.g., writing, video, audio).

Explore Michelle Pacansky-Brock’s resource on humanizing online learning as a practical guide to scaffold success.

Share Your Work!

We’d love to hear how you implemented this Learning Event in your courses. Email us at hello@digitallyliterate.net to share your experiences!