Wrapped in a SCARF

Image of a Scarf

When I hear scarf, I immediately go to pop culture, the house scarves in Harry Potter, mainly because I saw so many students wearing them, and Tom Baker's Dr. Who. In the case of Harry Potter, the scarves were part of their house identity on campus. It aligned them with other housemates immediately.

David Rock created the SCARF model for collaboration in 2008, and it is a fundamental part of coaching. In some ways, this model can work as the Harry Potter model: using SCARF, you can understand the causes of a barrier to collaboration, reduce the problem, and then align so that the group is harmonious. You can read the article here that shows the brain-based thinking behind the science and an in-depth description of each piece of the scarf.

You can also watch him talk about it here:

For this post, I wanted to look at the elements of SCARF and talk about how we can identify them quickly and reduce the barriers in the way of learning. I also want to key into which of Schlechty's Design Qualities address the components and some of the tools possible that can help.

S - Status
Description: According to Rock, status is about "relative importance, 'pecking order.' and seniority"
Threat to status: A threat to status means a reduction in potential or importance to the person, and Rock writes that it can "generate a strong threat response." Once this has happened, the person may shut down. This can happen through a well-meaning suggestion or
Ways to reduce threat: Let people give feedback on themselves (self reflection)
                                    Provide some opportunities for formative assessment that is not tied to a grade and that the student can use autonomously (but that you can have access to)
                                    Make available all summative assessment tools (rubrics, etc.) so that the student knows all the time how s/he is being assessed and what mastery  needs to be shown
                                    Communicate often - show students where they are, what they have learned, and that we have noticed their growth
Design Qualities: Protection from Adverse Consequences, Affiliation, and Clear and Compelling Standards
Tools: Google Drive can provide a way for students to collaborate, reflect, and revise easily. Spaces such as Padlet can create a single space for students to share ideas in a non-threatening, non-graded way. Tools like Padlet or Lino can be a safe place for students to play with ideas before committing to a larger focus or product. Announcements in the course that can show visually a public acknowledgement of an accomplishment will go a long way as well.

C - Certainty
Description: According to Rock, certainty structuring work so that the brain  can "know the pattern occurring moment-to-moment." This allows the brain to predict, and this lets the brain focus on other things.
Threats to certainty: Unclear expectations, unexpected obstacles in the completion of a task, implementation of big changes without clear guidance
Ways to reduce threat: Break large ideas or products into smaller, attainable steps
                                    Celebrate early successes
                                    Recognize and reward growth
                                    Help guide large ideas and visions into a plan with action steps
Design Qualities: Clear and Compelling Standards, Organization, Choice, Authenticity
Tools: Introducing students to organizational options at the beginning of the course will help them start organized and (hopefully) stay that way. Encourage them to choose the method that works best for them, and offer some examples of products such as Popplet, Evernote, Google docs, and many more will help students find the right tool for their thinking and working styles. Further, providing multiple pathways to engage with and present content helps provide certainty. For more on this, consult Universal Design for Learning and see the breakdown here. Growth can be rewarded using badges, either internally if the LMS offers it or externally through something like Mozilla. Badges can be given at certain expected achievements and given at unexpected moments when the student does something remarkable.

A - Autonomy
Description: Rock calls autonomy "the perception of exerting control over one's environment" and the perception of choice. This is the opposite of being micromanaged.
Threats to autonomy: lack of control, excessive management, being forced to collaborate, no choice in collaborators or roles in group work
Ways to reduce threat: Provide flexibility when possible
                                    Allow room for choice in an authentic way (not overly limited choice with no read meaning)
                                    Spend time with class building so students feel more connected
                                    Provide opportunities for student goal-setting, norm creation, and product planning within set boundaries that will enable success and learning
Design Qualities: Choice, Authenticity, Protection from Adverse Consequences
Tools: Providing authenticity means providing students to work on things that matter to them. Finding compelling questions and allowing students to choose how they want to answer them gives them the authenticity they want and increases autonomy because they have contributed to the design and process of their learning. Sites like Tricider help students weigh in on anything from controversial questions to class norms and processes. Building lists together in places like Pinterest or Learnist let students add their unique voice and have it recognized. With sites like Wiggio, students can work alone or in groups and set the times to collaborate when it is good for them.

R - Relatedness
Description: According to Rock, relatedness is a sense of belonging and feeling a part of the group. The opposite of this is feeling lonely. Relatedness is also connected to feelings of trust.
Threats to relatedness: always seeing the others as a competitor, lack of communication, lack of opportunities to connect to classmates, the teacher, or the learning
Ways to reduce threat: Provide opportunities for class building, especially early in the course, that is not tied to a grade and clearly intended to begin a feeling of relatedness
                                    Encourage social connections by sharing stories, photos, etc.
                                    In large group settings, form smaller groups or teams to build more connections
Design Qualities:  Affiliation, Affirmation, Protection from Adverse Consequences
Tools: Building connections in any class helps with the feeling of relatedness. Creating spaces on places like Padlet, Mural.ly, or within the LMS to share ideas, place images that are important to them, and share their work with the people inside the course and outside the course who matter can help students feel connected. Connecting students with the outside world when appropriate during the course of their learning will also help.

F - Fairness
Description: Rock describes fairness as a sense of reciprocity or evenness. If an exchange does not seem fair, people are less likely to experience empathy or relatedness.
Threats to fairness: feeling that rules are being applied differently for some, feeling that top-down directives are being applied unilaterally regardless of context, feeling that another does not act in accordance with stated values or beliefs
Ways to reduce threat:  According to Rock, these actions help - Increase levels of transparency
                                     Increase communication
                                     Establish clear expectations in all situations
                                     Provide students with a clear voice in procedures and norms of class
Design Qualities: Clear and Compelling Product Standards, Product Focus, Authenticity, Affiliation
Tools:  Creating more transparency in a class helps all students. This can be done with open access to materials, notes and other resources. This can also be done with clear explanation of the objectives to cover, an available rubric to show how the work will be assessed, a suggested pacing guide to show how much time to allot for the work at hand, and regular feedback about progress and expectations. Most of these products would reside within the system at hand, but communication can happen in a variety of ways in addition to within the course. Use of tools such as Twitter, Remind 101, and others can help keep the students prepared.