Scaffolding
The metaphor of scaffolding, first associated with Vygotsky (1978) is often used in education to describe the process of offering supportive structures to students. As students gain competency and independence, the needed supports are gradually reduced. Strategies for scaffolding writing assignments include:
- Providing examples and using the analytical processes of SFL and related techniques.
- Breaking down assignments into smaller pieces with interim due dates. This is paired with providing formative feedback which students can use to revise their earlier work as they build it into the larger assignment.
Scaffolding to Support Academic Integrity
Academic integrity, particularly in the context of written assignments, is one component of broader academic literacies development. In Western academic cultures, discussions about plagiarism are placed within the framework of academic integrity and cheating. In the journey to developing academic literacies, many well-intentioned students use writing practices that are considered plagiarism, perhaps unknowingly, on their journey to understanding and applying academic conventions related to using knowledge from other sources.
Unintentional plagiarism occurs when students borrow words and ideas from other sources, without correctly using the citation and referencing conventions of their discipline. It is helpful to distinguish these instances of plagiarism, which may be committed by otherwise strong students who are making an effort to write well, from academic dishonesty with intent (Pecorari, 2010).
Why does unintentional plagiarism happen?
- Cultural differences in the use of language and text. Alastair Pennycook notes that current Western conventions about plagiarism and information use are a recent innovation. The idea that ideas can be owned by an author, and therefore stolen by another, is both recent and culturally specific (Pennycook, 1996).
- Placing high value on the words of the original text. Pennycook (1996) highlights several examples where students strongly preferred to retain the words from the original source, in one case noting that a student felt it dishonest to retain an idea while changing the words. In other cases, students may lack confidence in their own academic writing skills, believing that their text will be less powerful if they use their own voice.
- Limited grasp of academic vocabulary. Because of the complexity of academic vocabulary, students require a longer time to gain proficiency in high level academic language, generally 5-7 years or more (Roessingh & Douglas, 2012). Therefore, even students who seem fluent in English may struggle with limited linguistic resources to paraphrase complex ideas, and may resort to retaining the words of the original text. When this is a factor for students, it may be helpful to emphasize that clarity of expression, rather than complexity, supports effective academic writing.
- Limited familiarity with academic writing conventions and/or limited ability to apply their knowledge. Many students enter the Canadian university system without having previous experience with research-based academic writing. Even though these students may attend introductory tutorials, and in fact demonstrate some mastery of this content, they may still struggle as they learn to apply these writing conventions (Pecorari, 2010). Consider systematically increasing expectations for students’ use of citation conventions throughout the course, allowing time for formative feedback and development.
Using information from sources effectively requires knowledge beyond citation mechanics. Scaffolding practices related to research, reading, notetaking, paraphrasing, and incorporating material from sources is a part of academic integrity development.
Attribution Statement: This section is extracted from Page, C. (2021). Supporting Multilingual Writers. In C. Page (Ed.) Inclusive teaching. Kwantlen Polytechnic University. https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/inclusivepedagogies/ Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
Scaffolding Across Multiple Courses
Within the context of a broader program, it is also valuable to consider how skills are scaffolded developmentally across a program, and how expectations develop and increase for students throughout their educational journey. Consider how expectations for research and citation might develop over several courses.
- First year course (often taken by students in their first semester):
- Students cite information from course materials, supported by models of correct forms.
- Student paraphrases reflect attempts to use original words and sentence structures; occasional minor “accidental plagiarism” may be present and is responded to with formative feedback.
- Students are able to find citation/reference information from library databases.
- Citations and references approximate correct forms (i.e., students are not penalized for minor errors).
- Second year course
- Students complete assignments integrating information from multiple sources.
- Student paraphrases consistently use vocabulary and sentence structure different from the original source.
- Citations are consistently used when needed.
- Citations and references consistently use correct forms, with only minor errors (e.g., incorrect capitalization).
Scaffolding across courses encourages collaboration, as teaching teams discuss how to work together to build upon students’ previously learned skills.
Partnering with Learning Centre Supports
While it is always a good practice to position the primary student writing support within the context of the course (i.e., by devoting class time or structured online lessons to this development), Learning Centre supports can also assist students in their developmental journey.
KPU Peer Tutors provide support to student writers in all courses both face to face (on Surrey, Langley, and Richmond campuses), and using an online tutoring platform. Peer tutors receive accredited training before beginning their work, which includes a focus in maintaining ethical tutoring practices. Peer tutors do not edit or proofread student work. Rather, they focus on developing the student writer by identifying strengths, identifying areas for improvement, and guiding tutees through the process of improving their skills as writers. Peer tutors can be booked at tlc.kpu.ca (Students should select Writing/Academic Writing as the subject rather than the course name).
KPU Tutors have access to two asynchronous online tutoring services, both with the same quality assurance standards. The Learning Centres provide an in-house service called Write Up, which students access at tlc.kpu.ca.
KPU students also have access to services from the WriteAway consortium, which is staffed by tutors from postsecondary institutions across the province. Students access this service at writeaway.ca
Students should normally expect a 2-3 day turnaround time for feedback from these services.
Students with more complex writing issues, or students in need with more comprehensive support may benefit from a referral to a Learning Strategist. Learning Strategists help students identify and develop the skills that will best support them in meeting their academic goals. Learning Strategists can assist with more complex writing challenges. Faculty writing tutors also support students. Both Learning Strategists and faculty tutors can be booked at tlc.kpu.ca.
The Learning Centres regular offer student writing workshops that support students in skills such as developing confidence as writers, generating ideas, paraphrasing, and editing. The current semester’s workshop schedule can be found at: https://www.kpu.ca/learningcentres/workshops.
These workshops are not meant to be a student’s primary source of writing instruction, but can support and complement instruction offered in the classroom.