EDUC 416 Blog Post #2

By utilizing scaffolding techniques, I was able to bridge the academic knowledge gap for a particular student within my first period Agriculture Welding class. This particular student has low academic knowledge, but moderate processing abilities.

My first day teaching the Arc Welding unit, I stuck to the notes that my master teacher recommended I utilize. After noticing that the type of notes that we were using to teach were not beneficial and easy to comprehend for all students, I decided to make some changes towards my lecture. The following day, I implemented many real world examples and modeled various concepts up on the board. Connecting the welding notes to the real world and talking about why it is important to the students helped each of them be more attentive and eager to learn.

For the one particular student, who struggles with academia, I made sure to approach him and discuss the content one on one. I modeled how to correctly write out a welding symbol, what the numbers identify on each electrode, and helped him visualize the differences in electrode diameters by showing him six different sizes. Although I did each of these modeling techniques in front of the class, the additional one on one interaction with this particular student allowed them to better understand and comprehend the lesson. At the end of the period, this student came up to me and thanked me for working with them individually, which was a nice feeling. The following day, I gave a quiz and this student missed just one out of eleven questions!

Although it can be challenging to provide one on one time, it is truly beneficial. By simply modeling how to interpret welding symbols and connecting the topic to real life scenarios, I was able to ignite an interest in welding within this student’s mind and helped them to perform well on the quiz. Bridging this academic knowledge gap felt good and I hope I can continue to relay information to this student, and all others, in an easy to comprehend manner.