Michael Rosenbrock

In learning science, students frequently apply their knowledge and skills to tasks that require multiple steps – such as solving a problem, forming an argument, or undertaking an analysis. Providing appropriate scaffolding can be a valuable way to support students to develop and extend their knowledge and skills. One way to do this is by using worked examples. A worked example is a completed task that includes clearly and adequately explained details of the process and the outcome.

Are you busier than ever? Is your to-do list growing? Are you constantly adding 'just one more thing'? Schools and educators are increasingly finding themselves operating beyond capacity and simply adding more 'good things' won't fix this. Like a web browser with way too many tabs open, we are overloaded, and this state of constant overload isn't just unsustainable – it actively works against the improvements we're trying to achieve. The reason? We're caught in an additive trap.

So far in a 3-part series on teacher planning, educational leader Michael Rosenbrock has looked at how teachers can pro-actively plan to tackle student misconceptions in STEM, and planning to support students to build and use their vocabulary in science and mathematics. In this final article, he explores how teachers can best plan to make effective use of manipulatives and representations to help students build understanding.