Field Journal Question #2

I really love how Vygotksy supported the ideas of scaffolding and modeling. I am a very strong believer in modeling assignments for my students. I try to always give a writing sample or essay response to accompany the homework I give. I think there is no better way to give students direction and get them excited about an assignment than a really fun example. This helps the kids know what I expect and where to start. Recently I set up an assignment for the substitute who was taking my last two weeks of teaching as I began summer school. The goal was to teach students about advertising with a focus on audience and reliability. The final project was creating an ad that accomplished very specific goals. My handout was extremely clear and put the tasks into very small steps with very specific requirements, but I failed to make a sample ad. When I got the projects in for grading I was disappointed with the end results. I am sure the reason they under-performed was because I didn’t model or scaffold the advertisement. I’m disappointed the substitute didn’t transmit the vision while going through the instructions. Whatever his approach was, it didn’t translate into student work. It really is essential to give a model for students, especially junior high students, if you want them to reach specific goals.