What scaffolding strategy is a teacher modeling when she uses "think-alouds" during a chapter preview?

When a teacher uses "think-alouds" during a chapter preview, she is engaging students in metacognitive thinking. This strategy involves the teacher verbalizing her thought process as she navigates through the material, which helps students to understand how to approach reading and comprehension tasks effectively. By modeling her thinking, the teacher demonstrates how to make predictions, ask questions, and connect prior knowledge to the new content, thereby encouraging students to reflect on their own thinking processes.

Metacognitive thinking is crucial for learners because it empowers them to become aware of their cognitive strategies, enabling them to monitor and control their understanding of the text. This practice can lead to improved comprehension and a more meaningful engagement with the material, as students learn to apply similar strategies in their own reading.

The other options, while also valuable instructional strategies, do not specifically capture the essence of “think-alouds.” Direct instruction typically involves explicit teaching of concepts without the same level of student self-reflection. Collaborative learning focuses more on students working together rather than on a teacher modeling individual thought processes. Concept mapping is a visual representation of knowledge that does not necessarily involve verbalizing thought processes in real-time as think-alouds do.