PROJECT SCAFFOLDING PLAN

For this design task, I chose to identify a large writing project that students might need to complete in a typical course and then create a plan for scaffolding that experience for them. I needed to identify different learning activities and project benchmarks that would support student progress towards the larger project and consider how the information I would provide to students to complete the project could be communicated as small, “digestible chunks” of information. 

For this project, I chose to work with my Accessible Multimodal Composition in Two Genres assignment and use this opportunity to break the assignment down into its separate parts and map them out for use in future classes. The final page of the below assignment sheet reflects my attempt to map out the learning activities for this assignment onto a project calendar that students can reference as they complete each step of the assignment.

I first identified the individual components of the assignment that students would turn in: a proposal, a draft of their first genre along with a Statement of Goals and Choices (SOGC), a draft of their second (accessible) genre along with a SOGC, and the final version of their project. I mapped these onto the timeline and then thought about what readings and activities students would need at that time to support that work: readings, a discussion board post, class activities for identifying and describing genres, class activities for composing in accessible genres, and finally peer review workshops. I placed these activities in the timeline at the moments where students would need them: for example, the accessible composing activities take place after students have submitted their proposals and thought a bit about which genres they will be employing, thus giving them practice composing in the accessible genres required for this assignment. In addition, they will be receiving feedback from both myself and their peers at different moments over the course of the assignment: I have peer review workshops built into the process twice, and students will also receive feedback from me at the beginning (their proposal), in the middle (on their drafts), and at the end (on their final product).

The end-product meets audience needs in several ways: the assignment sheet provides a complete description of the project, including what it must include and what would make it successful, and it includes a project timeline that details what work students must complete before class, what they’re turning in, and what activities we will be doing in class to support their work. I also included hyperlinks within the timeline so students can easily access the materials they need for each step. In total, then, I’ve created a plan both for the teacher and for the students to successfully complete this large assignment by breaking it up into pieces and providing multiple checkpoints for understanding and feedback.

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