Scaffolding intentions and means in PBL makerspace
Description
This study explored the use of scaffolding within a middle school classroom using PBL as part of the learning experience. The following questions were explored: • What types of scaffolding are used by instructors with regard to means and intentions? o To what extent are there relationships between the different means and intentions? In order to frame our analysis, we coded instances of teacher scaffolding for hard and soft scaffolds (Saye & Brush, 2002) as well as for the scaffolding means and intentions. Instances of scaffolding were also coded for means (Feedback, Hints, Instructing, Explaining, Modeling and Questioning) and intentions (Direction Maintenance, Cognitive Structuring, Reduction Of Degrees Of Freedom, Recruitment, and Contingency Management) according to van de Pol, Volman and Beishuizen's (2010) framework. For each instance of scaffolding the researchers noted the day of instruction, the teacher being observed, the assigned code for the video, as well as start and end times for the section of video in which the scaffolding event took place. In addition to these, researchers noted quotes and observations from the section of video. For each scaffolding event, codes were inserted to denote the speaker, scaffolding means, scaffolding intentions, hard or soft scaffolding, and the researcher. If the researcher made note of anything remarkable or curious, these memos could also be included in the template. Once each researcher finished coding their assigned days, they met to compare their codes and resolve any discrepancies to 100 percent agreement. During regular discussions with the group, the codebook was continually adapted and updated to ensure all researchers were interpreting the codes similarly. Together, they created a single, unified data spreadsheet for the days they were assigned. The spreadsheet was then prepared for quantitative analysis, which was conducted using SPSS. One member of the research team took notes on the videos containing the teacher interviews, transcribing sections specifically related to the research questions as a means of qualitative analysis. References Saye, J. W., & Brush, T. (2002). Scaffolding critical reasoning about history and social issues in multimedia-supported learning environments. Educational Technology Research and Development, 50(3), 77-96. van de Pol, J., Volman, M., & Beishuizen, J. (2010). Scaffolding in teacher-student interaction: A decade of research. Educational Psychology Review, 22(3), 271-296.