Bright Ideas Conference

On April 12th, I attended the Bright Ideas Conference in East Lansing, Michigan. My favorite session was a morning presentation, in which the presenter discussed the idea of going more in depth in an English classroom, and the use of scaffolding in the classroom. Scaffolding means providing support for students, instead of merely expecting them to complete a task all on their own. The presenter talked about the Zone of Proximity, which is basically finding the point at which students can accomplish a task with the help of another, and how when teachers provide this type of help, students are able to achieve more. The presenter also discussed some alternative assessment strategies used in Europe, such as asking students questions using multiple prompts or modeling a task for students before asking them to complete it themselves.

The presenter also discussed in some depth a senior project that was conducted in her school. The senior project was a requirement for graduation, and an entire class was dedicated to its completion. The students were given an exhaustive checklist, which required some tasks, such as “getting the signatures of 30 adults,” geared to help students in the research process.

I also found one interesting technique a useful tool for the classroom. The instructor gives students “provocative prompts” which help students think more deeply about the content. The presenter also recommended that instructors spend more time on depth, rather than breadth, when it comes to concepts. She argued that spending a unit on one Shakespeare play will give students the tools they when they are required to study Shakespeare in the future. The presenter said that when students spend more in-depth time on a concept, they are no longer afraid of approaching something that seems scary. Instead, they already have the tools they need in order to complete a task, which in effect, can help better prepare students for college.