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Desirae Barboza

LS 2000/3000

Fall 2017

Reflective Essay #1

Learning How to Learn

In reflecting upon the article Linking Formative Assessment to Scaffolding, written by

Dr. Lorrie A. Shepard the dean of the School of Education, University of Colorado at Boulder. I

am inspired by the idea that learning creates building blocks that continue to form one subject

and these components also can build on too many other subjects. It is a simple, yet critical idea

that knowledge builds off of previous knowledge. For example knowing the basics of addition

and subtraction in mathematics leads to a better understanding of multiplication and division, not

only are students able to perform multiplication, but they are also able to explain why 2 x 2 = 4

based on their previous knowledge of arithmetic, though the process of eliciting prior

knowledge.

A math instructor shared with me, the background of his teaching style. He explained that

you refresh students with what they have already mastered before introducing them into foreign

concepts to create a stable structure. He explained that if students feel confident in what they

previously have masted they are more likely to make a connection between the old material and

the new material. This event was extremely eye opening to me because I saw how this idea could

be used in math as well as in other disciplines. For example in English / Language arts, from

learning all the parts of a paragraph in third grade to mastering the structure of an essay in fifth

grade and so on.

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Continuing with the idea of eliciting previous knowledge, I am in firm agreeance with the

example stated by Shepard (2005) “In classrooms, teachers help students with their research

before sending them to the library on their own. When a student is stuck because he or she can’t

find information on a given topic, the teacher may suggest a new search term… but in the end,

the student completes the research process on his or her own.” Attending a Project Based

Learning high school the idea that the teacher is a guide was the driving force, this enabled the

students to learn how to learn, by thinking back on previous knowledge and creating the skills to

combine multiple subjects into one idea and having the ability look at issues and ideas from

multiple perspectives. The author (Shepard, 2005) stated that “they (teachers) should foster a

classroom culture that challenges students to make connections and apply what they have learned

to a broad range of problems.” This quote identifies with many of the ideas behind project based

learning. One is to encourage that learning not only is necessary for school but also has uses in

other aspects of life. And vice versa from the example the author (Shepard, 2005) states of using

relatable examples from real life in school, like the student a teacher, saw outside of school

selling mexican candy, and that teacher using that example to facilitate a lesson using candy as a

theme. I think this way of facilitating learning also encourages students to move forward and find

internal motivation rather than having information just being regurgitated for an exam and

forgetting it moments after.

This article is not connected to project based learning, however making that connection to

something I am knowledgeable about and am passionate about helps me to create this type of

environment in my future classrooms. In thinking about this article, I am anxious to see how the

concepts in this article will be implemented in classrooms that I observe. I am wondering how

these ideas might work for younger grades, kindergarten and first grade in particular, where I
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would think structure is essential, and working in a group environment would be a challenging

task.

During my fieldwork, I am interested in seeing how the teacher will give feedback and

how the feedback will positively or negatively affect student work. As far as feedback goes, I

plan to provide immediate feedback to the students I am working with during field work. I plan

to not direct my feedback toward the insignificant errors, but to guide feedback toward the whole

of the assignment. Prior to reading the article and learning about proper feedback techniques,

personally, when I receive feedback it is taken much better when there is a positive beginning

and ending with a feedback suggestion. An example of this would be, “Great summary of the

idea, try relating some of the ideas mentioned to your life.” This type of feedback encourages the

student to move forward yet still leaves the student in control of the material enabling the

intrinsic motivation. This article brought many ideas to light, and I am looking forward to

learning how to incorporate these new ideas into the classroom through upcoming field work.

References

Shepard, L. A. (2005). Linking Formative Assessment to Scaffolding. Educational Leadership,

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63(3), 66-70.