Today's classroom

I visited a classroom in an elementary school. There were charts around the room that appeared to be developed with student contributions. How did I know that? When the teacher wrote an entry on the chart, he also noted the student's name who made the contribution. Now why do we care if this occurs? What we know is that students are much smarter than we give them credit for and we know that if we plumb their thinking and then record it on the chart they have much more ownership over the process and the chart. But how do we want them to use the chart? Let's say it is one about how to choose a book for extra reading. If this is the case then we want students to understand the process...to independently understand the process... and the chart can help scaffold them through the process.*
Now think of the last time you visited your child's classroom. What was on the walls? Were there charts that reflected the thinking of the students? If so, were student's names also on the charts? Or might there have been laminated and commercially prepared materials? Think about it. Which one makes the most sense if we want students to understand in deep ways how and why they are learning what they are learning?
For more information on scaffolding look into Vygotsky or Google the word scaffold and you will find some references for it. In my next posting I will discuss scaffolding so you can then be alert to it in your classroom visitations.