Scaffolding in the Classroom

In terms of today's readings, I found the assigned Gibbons portions to be particularly thought-provoking; for example, I was impressed with Gibbon's illustration of the importance of purposefully utilizing information gaps as a way to propel students into meaningful discussion. Student centered discussions have been a large part of my college career, whether it be in my education, english, or james madison classes. My teachers would typically introduce the topic of the day and then open the floor for us to comment and/or question the material. However, the discussion would often lose its vigor in the middle or before the end of class, mainly because no one had explicit responsibility to talk on a specific portion of the topic. So perhaps it would have been better if we had the expert and home groups that Gibbons refers to, as that would have forced everyone to actively engage with the material. 

I also have not been placed in the field yet, but I think that all of the suggestions in Tompkins and Gibbons would be excellent methods for student scaffolding. I particularly like the suggestions where students basically train themselves or work with fellow peers, such as Tompkins' idea of utilizing portfolios as self assessments and Gibbons' suggestions of group and pair activities in the classroom. I think every student will obviously need a tailored version of scaffolding but I do believe that Gibbons' concept of teacher-guided reporting is an excellent overall approach on how to guide students to their maximum growth. The main question that I had wondered as I was reading Gibbons and Tompkins was with what age groups/grade levels I would use their respective strategies; however, I do feel that teacher-guided reporting can be considered a scaffolding strategy for all learners.