The checklist for keywords is a sample of visual prompts that could evolve via scaffolding. The rationale, the how-to, the relationship between options, is acted out and verbalized prior to a written prompt. This can empower their inquiries due to personalization and self-involvement. One educator uses the angel and the devil technique in her own research as well as in her 'think-aloud' patter, having one on each shoulder advising her on the pros and cons of pursuing an idea. Replicating this for students works well, for it is already in the form of a conversation.
Educators can set the stage for students to self-confer during student conferences.
They keep the initial conversation on the process rather than on the draft, listening and waiting for further rumination from the student rather than inserting constant prompts. The values of modeling are twofold. It can deal with higher-level thinking skills by laying bare the inner anatomy of a concept. It can peel away confusing lingo, bring to the surface submerged essentials, and expand and explain directions, assumptions, gaps. Secondly, both modeling and models, when accompanied by a clear, descriptive, written assessment tool, minimize the guesswork of linking student performance to a grade or to a developmental level.