To: Evan Ruiz, 301 Student Writer
From: Amina Moustaqim-Barrette, 301 Student Reviewer
Date: October 5th, 2020
Subject: Peer review of Your Assignment 1.3 – Definition of Scaffolding
Hello Evan,
I have reviewed the first draft of your Assignment 1.3. I had no prior knowledge of the term ‘scaffolding’ in this context and found your assignment extremely well-organised and informative. I have included a few observations and suggestions that you may want to think of incorporating in the next draft:
Term defined:
Scaffolding
Initial impressions:
This assignment provided a succinct definition of scaffolding. Referencing the common usage of the word and relating this to how it is used in the field of psychology was extremely helpful. Since scaffolding is mentioned as being an umbrella term, the assignment could be strengthened with the provision of more real-life examples of scaffolding and how it might be used in different contexts. This could be done by referencing the visual, which would benefit from some further description.
Organisation:
This assignment is well laid-out and easy to follow. The headings and highlighting used made it clear for the reader to follow the thought process. The language used throughout the assignment was straightforward, making it accessible to individuals of all backgrounds. There were some small typos and sentence structures that could be improved, which are detailed in the ‘Suggestions’ section below.
Suggestions:
Situation: While the stated situation made sense in the context of the term, it would be helpful to more explicitly state the audience. As stated, the situation is ‘elementary school referencing psychologist on alternative teaching style and techniques’. It would perhaps help to say ‘An elementary school teacher referencing a psychologist during their lesson about alternative teaching styles and techniques to grade-aged children’.
Parenthetical Definition: The parenthetical definition provides a great introduction to the meaning of the term ‘scaffolding’. This definition could be strengthened by rearranging the sentence; instead of saying ‘By scaffolding (adjusted support) the teachers were able to effectively help the students.’, it would flow better to say ‘The teachers were able to help their students effectively through the technique of scaffolding (adjusted support).’
Sentence Definition: In the sentence definition, it is unclear how a ‘socio-cultural technique’ should be understood, and it would perhaps be better to expand the definition of ‘socio-cultural’ or else just say that it is a ‘technique’. The comma in the sentence is contained in the word “learners” and should be put after the quotation marks. The definition otherwise provides great context for the assignment.
Expanded Definition: The expanded definition, as it should, provided the greatest depth and level of understanding for the term scaffolding. It would perhaps benefit the reader to know more about Piaget and their role in the field of children’s psychology. As mentioned previously, it is not clear how the reader should understand the rather technical term ‘socio-cultural technique’.
History: This was a very interesting section. The expanded definition would benefit from beginning with this section, as this is where Vygotsky is first introduced. The ‘Zone of Proximal Development’ is written out in the first sentence, but an acronym is used in the second sentence. In the first sentence, you should add the acronym after the term (Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)) so that the reader recognizes the acronym when it appears. Finally, the citation should include a publishing date within the parentheses.
Negation: This section offered very useful context. It would flow better and help with the reader’s comprehension if the second sentence read ‘In reality, scaffolding is an umbrella term that refers to varying levels and methods of providing assistance based upon the support needed to achieve a task’. It would also perhaps help to mention whether this support is always individualised, or whether scaffolding is done for groups of people with similar needs. Finally, the citation should include a publishing date within the parentheses.
Examples: The examples section is very helpful to understanding the context of the word ‘scaffolding’ within the field of psychology compared to its more common usage. The examples section could be expanded to include specific examples of scaffolding methods used by teachers or instructors, perhaps drawing on the visual to develop these. Finally, the citation should include a publishing date within the parentheses.
Visual: The visual is very helpful as it conveys different examples of the scaffolding technique. This section would benefit from some further explanation in the text, perhaps pointing to some of these examples in the ‘Examples’ section.
Concluding thoughts:
Overall, this assignment was extremely well done and easy to follow, and I certainly felt that I came away from reading it having learned something new. I hope my recommendations will be useful to you as your go through and prepare your assignment for resubmission. Do not hesitate to contact me on the blog or by email at aminamoustaqim377@gmail.com if you have any questions or need clarifications.
Amina Moustaqim-Barrette
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