Scaffolding a Research Project

There are few assignments more predictably included in high school curriculum and few that strike more fear into the hearts of our neurodiverse students than the Research Assignment.

Really, I don’t know if “fear” is the right word; perhaps resignation is better. The sense that “I am always asked to do this, rarely supported in a way that is helpful and have never really understood or been successful but that is just the way it is, I guess.”

Almost every course a highschooler takes will be riddled with ¨choose a topic, find out about, then summarize¨. You must know that this -seemingly simple- task is ripe with land mines for our exceptional learners, for most learners I would argue. How many of you breezed through your university classes only to panic and freeze when it came time to write 10,000 words summarizing your findings for the semester, often to the tune of 80% of your term grade.

Please teach and assign these types of assessments, but also please be aware of what it is you are asking and how to make the tasks accessible to all your students. Equity is fairness, not sameness. To do this really well takes LOTS of time. In the absence of time (we are all short on time) you can also support students by making sure the task is carefully scaffolded.

First some background information: executive functioning. Executive functioning is a blanket term which is much argued in research with many definitions, but the general gist is the always same. Executive functioning includes learning skills such as: inhibition control, working memory and flexibility of thought. It can also include organization or focus. Needless to say these skills are fundamental tools for learning, at least in the average sit-down-and-listen-to-what-you-are -told-or-understand-what-you-read-then-write-it-down-and-repeat-later-in-a-new-way classrooms. These skills can be taught and are not finished developing in young people. Never assume that students should “just know how to do that” by the time they reach you. Executive functioning skills are particularly difficult for students with any learning differences.

Let’s take this task from a Grade 11 Environmental Science classroom. Take a moment to read and review it quickly; you will find it is pretty standard.

Task: Conduct research about a biodiversity hotspot and create an overview by constructing an infographic.

Your infographic should clearly communicate information about the hotspot through images, charts, and some text. When deciding which information to include, select only the information that you consider essential for a clear understanding about the hotspot. Include references for all information used.

Content

1. Your infographic may include any of the following background information:

• locations

• socio-economic context

• endemic species and impacts of alien species

• major threats (indirect and direct)

• impacts of climate change

• impacts on the Aboriginal population (e.g., how has it impacted species used as food or medicine)

2. Propose a solution that would help manage a threat to the hotspot. Explain challenges (e.g., economic, social, or technological limitations) that could prohibit its implementation or effectiveness and suggest how to overcome these challenges (e.g., if the technology does not exist, describe what innovations are needed). Submit all research and references with your infographic.

Rubric is attached

It has a clear prompt, the research question is broken down into subcategories, the final product is named and somewhat familiar and there is a rubric attached. Pretty good right?

Correct – for a student who has been able consistently follow the in class teaching, learned to organize, prioritize, self-regulate and concentrate, for a student who knows how to limit known distractions and has a strong literacy level and for a student who can scan and process large amounts of text from a screen then make critical choices while also summarizing and transferring knowledge to a new context this is a very straightforward task…….. Wait!

-consistently follow the in class teaching

-organize

-prioritize

-self-regulate

-concentrate

-limit known distractions

-strong literacy

-scan and process

-critical thinking

-summarizing

-transfer of knowledge

Written like that the list just got quite a bit longer.

So let’s look at the task in terms of what hidden skills are needed to complete the different steps.

Step needed to complete	Assumed skills or knowledge	Potential land-mines	Simple scaffold
Task: Conduct research about a biodiversity hotspot and create an overview by constructing an infographic.	Know what a “biodiversity hotspot” is. Know what an “infographic” is.	Of course you have taught this. You will have students whose attendance (mental health, home situation) is a barrier. You will have students who struggle with attention and have missed key moments of instruction.	Include a definition and image or symbol (word wall or part of your assignment) Include a sample infographic, clearly displayed on the wall or in your package. Clearly label the parts of the infographic (title, point-form notes, images, etc)
Your infographic should clearly communicate information about the hotspot through images, charts, and some text.	Know what a “hotspot” is. Understand what is meant by “clear communication”. Ability to organize, copy/paste and move formats (images, charts and text).	English language learners will not be familiar with the vernacular. Low level readers and writers as well as students with ASD will struggle to summarize. Students with ADHD will need strategies that allow them to collect information and then organize and prioritize after the fact.	Define or give an example of a “hotspot”. Scaffold and organize the collection of information by giving your students access to a blank chart. Explicitly teach or plan for the transfer of images or charts. Explicitly give permission to rearrange and/or eliminate data collected in the final product.
When deciding which information to include, select only the information that you consider essential for a clear understanding about the hotspot.	Understanding of what is “essential” information. Having enough interest in the topic to have any feelings of importance. Ability to scan, select, summarize from dense and complex texts.	“None of it is essential, this has nothing to do with my life”.	Provide a specific outside audience – “your audience is a community organization, what information do they need in order to decide which hotspot to donate money to support”. Explicitly teach or support internet search skills (more on that later)
Include references for all information used.	Knowledge of referencing. Working memory sufficient to pull abstract information between two different tabs.	Referencing requires -understanding of why it is important. -ability to scan pages and find seemingly irrelevant information hidden on corners of pages. -ability to read and proof-read text which has no real meaning.	Remind students of “why”. Explicitly teach and provide a link to a referencing tool. Explicitly teach and allow practice for finding hidden titles, authors and dates.
Content 1. Your infographic may include any of the following background information: • locations • socio-economic context • endemic species and impacts of alien species • major threats (indirect and direct) • impacts of climate change • impacts on the Aboriginal population (e.g., how has it impacted species used as food or medicine)	Knowledge and retrieval of complex vocabulary. -socio-economic -endemic -alien (in context) -climate change -Aboriginal Knowledge of world geography.	So many things will make starting this task out of reach. But… the supporting scaffolds are simple.	Explicitly define difficult vocabulary – either in a posted word wall or embedded in the assignment. (please DON’T use an attached glossary, or secondary web page, more levels/pages to navigate is a barrier. Include a one line sample or starting sentence for each topic. Model taking notes in point form.
Research on the internet	Hidden/assumed skills -understanding key words and knowing which to choose -scanning and filtering large amounts of information (search page) -skimming and critical thinking -quickly read the search summary -use the web address to make a quick, educated guess of reliability -ability to filter distractions (focus on the information and not the advertisements, read from a screen) -summarize and take notes while reading from a screen -generally doing several things at once ALL of this is hard. Either explicitly teach and then provide time to practice or support. Asking your neurodiverse students to do this at the same rate and efficiency as your neurotypical students is NOT FAIR.
Propose a solution that would help manage a threat to the hotspot.		These are pretty abstract concepts.	Model Exemplar Show Me!
Submit all research and references			Provide a scaffold. Explicitly show how to “turn in” or submit. Provide one sample reference.
Rubric is attached	Rubrics… where do I start?	Do the students understand what the descriptors mean? Do you?	I love writing rubrics with students… this is a long process but pays off in the end.

When you have considered all the issues above, consider cognitive accessibility. The web is full of great articles on the topic (one linked below in the citations), mostly around designing accessible websites to better sell products to a variety of consumers. The same elements help your classroom assignments reach a wider audience, with more independence on the part of your students and less re-explaining by you.

-Avoid the need to move between different sections or pages to find the instructions needed.

-Keep the font and formatting simple

-Clearly mark different sections or steps (and don’t make students return to previous sections where possible) – linear navigation.

All this sounds like a long and rather arduous process but you get into a routine and you get fast at making these calls and adjustments. The pay off in the end is time you will not spend explaining, re-explaining, showing and reshowing how to proceed through the assignment and more time spent with children working through critical thinking questions.

I’ve attached another version of this assignment but using some of the scaffolding strategies talked about above. What you do think? What you would add? Do you see any roadblocks that I’ve missed? Tell me in the comments 🙂

Scaffolded-Assignment Sample Download

Ask an expert: Scaffolding for Executive Function Skills. Kennedy Krieger Institute. (2017, November 18). Retrieved April 1, 2023, from https://www.kennedykrieger.org/stories/linking-research-classrooms-blog/ask-expert-scaffolding-executive-function-skills

Bureau of Internet Accessibility. (n.d.). Why should you choose the Bureau of Internet Accessibility? WCAG Audits, ADA Accessibility Audits & Section 508 Audits. Retrieved April 1, 2023, from https://www.boia.org/about/why-boia

British Colombia Ministry of Education. (n.d.). A framework for classroom assessment – gov. Sample Application for Environmental Science 11. Retrieved April 1, 2023, from https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/sites/curriculum.gov.bc.ca/files/pdf/assessment/a-framework-for-classroom-assessment.pdf

What is executive function? how executive functioning skills affect early development. Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (2020, October 30). Retrieved April 1, 2023, from https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/what-is-executive-function-and-how-does-it-relate-to-child-development/#:~:text=The%20phrase%20%E2%80%9Cexecutive%20function%E2%80%9D%20refers,focused%20despite%20distractions%2C%20among%20others.

Photo by Jackson Allan on Unsplash