Chapter 4

 Karin Hess's book "Rigor by Design, Not Chance" covers the idea of strategic scaffolding in education in Chapter 4. In this chapter, Hess sheds light on the value of scaffolding as a teaching method to facilitate students' access to and engagement with difficult material. She describes scaffolding as short-term aids to help pupils complete assignments or understand new ideas. Providing temporary assistance, supporting the learner's zone of proximal development (ZPD), and progressively fading the scaffolding as the student advances are three crucial concepts of strategic scaffolding that are underlined.

Scaffolding has been extensively discussed in the literature and is a crucial teaching approach compatible with many modern educational ideas. A noteworthy article is "Scaffolding and supporting use of information for ambitious learning practices" by Glazewski and Hmelo-Silver (2019), which was published in the journal "Information and Learning Sciences." This study explores the function of scaffolding in fostering ambitious learning behaviors and offers insights into how to utilize knowledge effectively in the classroom.

In Chapter 4 of Hess's book, scaffolding is highlighted as crucial, especially in allowing all students—including those who may be struggling or have learning disabilities—to access and interact with difficult material. Temporary support, ZPD alignment, and progressive fading of scaffolding are the three important aspects Hess stressed as being crucial for successful instructional design. These three elements also match the main idea of Glazewski and Hmelo-Silver's (2019) research. They explore the idea of scaffolding in a larger sense, notably in the context of ambitious learning practices and information utilization. Their research demonstrates how scaffolding is a multidimensional notion encompassing both the social and cognitive aspects of learning. They emphasize that scaffolding includes encouraging learners to build self-regulation abilities and offering external help. As it promotes students to become autonomous learners, this viewpoint is consistent with Hess's focus on giving temporary help and progressively diminishing it as students advance.

In their 2019 study, Glazewski and Hmelo-Silver stress the importance of scaffolding in assisting learners in successfully handling complicated activities and information. This supports Hess's claim that scaffolding encourages pupils to organize their ideas, break difficult activities into manageable parts, and provide challenging inquiries that encourage deeper thought. It becomes clear that the principles covered in Chapter 4 of "Rigor by Design, Not Chance" support the concepts put out in the Glazewski and Hmelo-Silver (2019) study. Both emphasize the need to provide pupils with short-term aids to help them master difficult material.

 Furthermore, the ZPD's importance is emphasized by both books. According to Hess' theory, successful assistance depends on scaffolding that aligns with a student's ZPD. According to Glazewski, scaffolding should be created to meet the learner's existing capabilities while encouraging them to expand their skills and knowledge. This junction draws attention to the same focus on ZPD in both pieces. The scaffolding's slow fading, stated in Chapter 4 of "Rigor by Design, Not Chance," is also covered in the work by Glazewski and Hmelo-Silver (2019). They talk about how crucial it is to help learners go from reliance on outside assistance to better self-control. Fading scaffolding is consistent with the overarching educational objective of developing autonomous and self-directed learners.

 In conclusion, the ideas covered in Glazewski and Hmelo-Silver's (2019) study on scaffolding and supporting ambitious learning practices largely fit with the concepts and tenets offered in Chapter 4 of Karin Hess' "Rigor by Design, Not Chance." With an emphasis on ZPD alignment and the eventual removal of external help as students advance in their abilities, both works highlight the need for scaffolding as a temporary support system for students to acquire tough subjects. These two publications are connected by the same themes of scaffolding and support in education, highlighting the crucial role scaffolding plays in successful instructional design and ambitious learning practices.

 

 

 

                                                     References

Hess, K. (2023). Rigor by Design, Not Chance: Deeper Thinking Through Actionable Instruction and Assessment. ASCD.

Glazewski, K. D., & Hmelo-Silver, C. E. (2019). Scaffolding and supporting use of information for ambitious learning practices. Information and Learning Sciences, 120(1/2), 39-58.