Course Guides: Reception Scaffolds

Bernie Dodge developed the idea for reception scaffolds to help learners deal with information. They include tools such as

• Anticipation Guides
• Glossaries
• Graphical Guides
• Project Guides
• Reading and Research Guides
• Reference Resources
• Study Guides
• Thinking Strategy Guides
• Tutorial Guides
• Vocabulary Guides
• Writing Guides

Glossaries

Glossaries are a great example of a reception scaffold. You may provide the basic structure and ask students to complete the glossary as they move through the course. Or, you may provide a completed glossary. Either way, encourage students to expand and enhance the glossary through adding their own visuals, examples, audio samples, or other resources.

Explore examples of online course glossaries:

• Blog Lingo
• Shaping Outcomes Glossary
• Religious Architecture Glossary
• ZFIN Glossary

Online Resources

It's not always necessary to build these scaffolds yourself. You may be able to link to an existing resource or adapt an idea you find. If you adapt a resource developed by someone else, be sure to give credit to the original developer.

For instance, you could link to the Mathwords: Terms and Formulas page or the PRIME Mathematics Encyclopedia or Chinese Study Materials.

If you're teaching an art course, you might use the Artcyclopedia, an online index and search engine for art information.

Read Virtual Information Inquiry: Wiggling for more ideas.

To learn more about reception scaffolds, use the following external links:

• Reception Scaffolds from San Diego Schools
• Reception Scaffolds from San Diego State University

Reminders!
Reception scaffolds help learners handle course information.

Apply It!
Design a reception scaffold for your course such as an anticipation guide or glossary.

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