Saturday, September 9, 2017

Key to Closing Achievement Gap: Scaffold Instruction While Maintaining the Rigor

 
Often teachers solely focus on teaching prerequisite skills as a means of closely achievement gaps. This practice typically comes from a good intentions with feelings of doing what's right by the child, essentially providing the child with the instruction they need rather than the instruction the on-level curriculum demands. However, the consequence of this approach is a cycle of deficit for groups of students who are never offered the opportunity access grade level curriculum. 

The key to closing, rather than perpetuating achhievment gaps? Scaffold institution in real time within the lesson of the on-level learning standard. In other words, teach every child the required content, scaffolding up and down during the lesson, but never abandoning the Rigor of the original learning target. This practice creates equity in access to the same curriculum proving every student with the opportunity to master the required learning standards. 

Kendra Strange, Ed.D. 
Kendrastrangeconsulting.com