Helping students master grade level content, while not dumbing it down, is critical to getting students level-up their learning. Our over-scaffolding is often a well-intended attempt to do this.  But true access to grade level content comes because the students are building skills to process more quickly, so they are able to move through content effectively.  They’re also able to fill in their learning gaps at an accelerated pace, while engaging in grade level content. 

Achieving this delicate balance requires us to “water up” the learn-how-to-learn coaching — rather than fall back on over-scaffolding. 

Just how do we do that?  Well, all of Module 5 is about the various parts we need to coordinate into an algorithm or process.  At the core of the algorithm are our coaching conversations, or what I frequently call “instructional conversations” that help students become meta-cognitive and meta-strategic about their learning moves.

Supporting students to reflect, identify errors and misconceptions, and practice making corrections, is an essential role of the teacher as an ally within a learning partnership. The learning partnership and instructional conversation go hand-in-hand.