Scaffolding Instruction with Student Work Displays

Student Work displays have gone through a series of definitions and formations throughout the years. While we have not yet discussed student work displays in our PLC's or Professional Development, I am already seeing some great examples of my belief in Best Practice for displays. 

I will highlight some of those things below, as well as my vision and purpose for student work.

We will focus more on these displays later in the school year as our work progresses;

To me, I believe the only things worth my time as a teacher, are those things that are supporting the learning of my students, and the environment of my classroom. For that reason, I have never been one to decorate bulletin boards with holiday creations, or hang a piece of work from every student in the class, just to have something on the wall, if it did not have a purpose. 

Student work displays should be current, relevant, and purposeful. Because of this, my work displays never appeared to be complete, because we built them as we worked our way through a unit. (I will use the term "unit" to describe the content covered from one district assessment to the next.) And the minute we were on to the next thing, the displays started over again. Always reflecting the current objectives, and scaffolding student learning as we went. 

Every unit I would start out by just posting the standard and "I can" statements. This allowed the students to know where we were going, and what was going to be expected of them by the end of our unit work. 

As we began our work, I added graphic organizers, anchors, and PROFICIENT student work with specific feedback, that matched each of these items. If I ever had a student confused or miss a class, they were first sent to the wall to see the work that had been taught by the teacher and completed by a student. They were then to go to the student with the proficient work displayed to ask their questions. 

Elmarouani had student work with specific feedback about their writing, displayed in the hallway.

Students were aware of who's work was displayed, and knew only the proficient students made the wall, so it was used as a motivator to boost confidence and work ethic. (I of course went out of my way to look for proficient work from those that might not always have it.)

Deb Carlson used the author study unit to highlight student's proficient writing. 

Kocina helped her class make real world connections to their math unit. If students feel connected to the work, they will be more likely stay engaged in the learning and feel a strong connection to the classroom environment and culture. 

How can you as a teacher display student work? How will this work scaffold student learning? How will it be relevant to their learning? 

We will dive deeper into this discussion as the year progresses and our learning continues.

Thank you for all the work you do for our students.