Using sociocultural and cognitive lenses the nature of reading scaffolding provided by an experienced district literacy coach during an upper elementary small group reading intervention

Abstract

No Child Left Behind (NCLB, 2002) and the reauthorization of Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA, 2004) asserted the need for American children to receive scientifically research-based instruction and interventions. A variety of quantitative studies have determined components of effective reading interventions (Edmonds et al., 2009; Simmons et al., 2007; Wanzek, Wexler, Vaughn, & Ciullo, 2009; Vellutino, Scanlon, Small, & Fanuele, 2006 ). Few studies have described instructional strategies teachers provide during scientifically research-based reading interventions. Using sociocultural and cognitive perspectives, I conducted this study with the intent of describing an instructional strategy, scaffolding, provided by an experienced district literacy coach. A constructivist paradigm informed this study's methodology. One experienced district literacy coach and five fourth-grade students participated in this descriptive case study (Merriam, 2009). The coach was observed during the course of the intervention interacting with the students. Informal and semi-structured interviews were conducted weekly as a way to co-construct the district literacy coach's reality of the nature of scaffolding. Artifacts were gathered to triangulate the data. Three key findings emerged about the nature of reading scaffolding: possessing in-depth knowledge of qualities of proficient reading, diagnosing students' needs and strengths, and providing lower-level to higher-level scaffolding.