Scaffolding in the Classroom

Abstract

“Scaffolding” in the classroom refers to a support system that a teacher develops so that students can continue to learn many subjects and apply their knowledge across different subject areas. This term applies broadly to the curriculum, meaning that students should not advance in one subject while falling behind in others. It also applies to specific subjects, ensuring that students have a grasp of theory, application, and technique in each skill. Gradually, teachers should be able to remove the scaffolding so that students can begin to support themselves.

Overview

Scaffolding occurs in many different ways and at each level of a student’s development. Parents often provide scaffolding, teaching children how to complete new tasks until the child is ready to walk, eat, and speak on their own. Similarly, teachers are tasked with introducing and supporting new techniques to their students. They must explain why each new skill is important and then provide a system that encourages students to become successful at that new skill. For some students, scaffolding is a helpful, but not always necessary structure to the classroom. However, for students with gaps in their knowledge, who have fallen behind in a subject, or who have a learning disability, scaffolding is a critical method to ensure the best possible learning outcomes. Using scaffolding, teachers are able to ensure that students firmly grasp a skill or concept, as well as understand why that skill or concept is necessary.

The theory of scaffolding in the classroom is very old. In many educational traditions, teachers work to differentiate between skills that a student has and skills that need to be learned. Then they ensure that new skills are introduced in a way that makes them achievable, understandable, and part of developing a sense of learning and success. This is particularly important for young students who might become overwhelmed if they are taught a new skill too quickly, or if critical steps in a set of skills are skipped. Many researchers have focused on the use of scaffolding in the education of young children. This focus makes sense as this is the time when nearly every skill is new. This research is also often applied to older and adult students who wish to learn a new skill, be it academic, musical, or related to a technology.

Two of the best known modern advocates of scaffolding in the classroom are Maria Montessori and Lev Vygotsky. Montessori worked in child development and studied the ways that students learn in different age groups. She argued that students need to be provided with information, examples, and resources, but in the end, students are responsible for their own education. Her work provided the foundation for the Montessori school movement and has been combined with the work of other educators such as Vygotsky. Working in the Soviet Union, Vygotsky argued that children learn best when working in groups and when learning from elders.

One of Vygotsky’s best known contributions to the field is the “zone of proximal development.” Within this zone are the skills that a student cannot yet do on their own, but can do with the support of someone else. For example, a child learning to ride a bike probably cannot balance at first and ride alone, but can have a successful ride if they are supported by someone helping to keep the bike balanced. When representing the zone of proximal development, teachers often draw a diagram of three concentric circles. The outermost circle represents skills that a student cannot do at all, the innermost circle the skills a student can already do independently; between is the zone of proximal development in which are the skills that the student can do with assistance. A teacher’s goal is to grow the inner circle, so that the student is gradually able to do more and more skills independently. Some scholars and teachers like the Vygotsky method because it helps students to track their learning and helps instructors to visualize the ways that new skills can be introduced and mastered.

Following the work of Montessori and Vygotsky, scaffolding was incorporated into many kinds of classrooms. Van de Pol, Volman, Oort, and Beishuizen examined how thirty social studies teachers in the European Union provided scaffolding in their classroom. These researchers found the level of scaffolding support required differs depending on the task assigned the students and the length of time required to complete that task. For quickly completed tasks, students were successful with low contingent support—meaning that they were not provided detailed oversight. However, for longer tasks, students were most successful with high contingent support, meaning that they were provided with more detailed oversight. In another study, this time of American students in a math course, it was apparent that when instructors use the same scaffolding approach over a long period of time, students will begin to pick up the scaffold and will apply it themselves, resulting in even greater learning success.

The term “scaffolding” was coined by Jerome Bruner, who argued that when learning a new skill students need support from teachers or others with more skill than themselves. This support was metaphorically similar to the structure that is constructed around a building during the construction process and then removed once the building process is completed. Similarly, classroom scaffolding is a support structure put into place while a skill is being taught or mastered, and then removed once the skill has been obtained.

Applications

Incorporating scaffolding into the classroom requires a good deal of knowledge about each student’s preexisting skills and goals for learning. For some teachers the assessment of this knowledge base is easy, as they already know the student. For others, this can be accomplished through observations, and sometimes through pre-tests or other exams designed to help the instructor to know what information the students are beginning the class with.

After determining the student’s level of knowledge, the instructor needs to develop a baseline for the group and begin to set targets of what is to be learned by a specific deadline. Knowing both the starting point and the endpoint for the development of a skill will allow the instructor to map out the entire scaffolding process. Using scaffolding will also allow the instructor to show students how and in what ways they have improved.

Next, the instructor can begin encouraging learning. Oftentimes this learning is best done in a group in which students can learn from one another while increasing their chances of success in completing the end project. When working in a group, it is critical that the instructor pay attention to ensure that all students are participating. If it seems that one student is doing more work than others or that one student is not participating at all, it might be necessary for the instructor to step in and change the assignment or reconsider the goals of the assignment. This type of intervention from the instructor will increase the chance of success for the entire group, and it helps ensure that students will not feel left out or unsuccessful in the assignment.

As they observe group work, teachers might feel encouraged to step in, working or speaking alongside a group, but it is critical that they do not offer too much help. Scaffolding is designed to ensure that students are learning, and sometimes that learning takes a while to begin or settle in. Teachers need to be patient as their students are completing group work. Oftentimes a teacher will overhear a group of students struggling, and the teacher will be tempted to quickly speak with the group and resolve their confusion or problem. While the teacher certainly should step in when necessary, the purpose of scaffolding is to both allow and encourage students to solve problems on their own. Among the skills developed with scaffolding are knowing when and how to ask a teacher for assistance to resolve confusion about a project, and when to work together to resolve the confusion on their own, for example, by re-reading the instructions. Teachers need to trust students during this process and remember that as students struggle they are also learning.

Unresolved student struggles indicate that more scaffolding might be necessary. Often the students understand what they are to do and just need to determine how to complete their task. It may take students a long time to figure out how to complete their assignment, and they might make several false starts before finding the solution. The instructor who is using scaffolding must allow for these types of delays and ensure that there is enough time during the course session to ensure that the students will eventually make progress. If it seems, however, that students have been struggling for too long and are not getting anywhere, the instructor can participate and help the group to move along. When doing so, the instructor should provide helpful comments and support student efforts.

For example, an instructor might ask questions that lead the student to the correct answer—this is preferable to giving the student an answer or telling them how to complete a project. Instead, by providing guiding questions the instructor is able to teach students an additional skill—that of how to look at a problem in a new way, consider their options, and move closer to a successful conclusion of the project. One way to do this is to ask the student to think through what they have done so far. This helps the student to review the necessary steps for a project, and sometimes leads to an “aha!” moment, in which students are able to see for themselves what they have done wrong or what steps they have missed.

One tool that a teacher may use at the end of a scaffolded exercise is a self and/or peer assessment. In each of these assessments, students report back about the work they have done, what has been learned, and what still needs to be done. In the self-assessment, the student is only reflecting on their own work. In the peer assessment students reflect on the work of their groups, including their own successes and failures. This type of reflection is often a critical part of a scaffolded activity. When reviewing the student’s successes and failures, the instructor can look back on the ways the assignment was introduced, what kinds of questions were asked, and what problems the students later identified. With this information the instructor will now be ready to revise and perfect the activity for use in future.

Viewpoints

As many courses move online, educators are working to find ways to encourage scaffolding into their online classrooms. It is sometimes difficult for teachers to scaffold their online classes as there are not always the same nonverbal cues from students, especially those that are struggling. In a face-to-face classroom, students give many nonverbal signals when are struggling. A student who is normally chatty or eager to answer questions might go quiet. Or a student who frequently completes work early and then helps classmates might suddenly begin taking much longer on their work. Other students might disappear completely, leaving the instructor with few clues as to their absence. When designing a class online, teachers are looking for ways to ensure student success through scaffolding. This means ensuring that there are small assignments that can measure and track student progress and catch any small gaps in student learning before they affect the final outcome.

The question of how to use scaffolding for distance and online learners is important for classrooms of all sizes and ability levels. Including teacher training. In their study of teacher training regarding scaffolding, Pehmer, Gröschner, and Seidel found that teachers in training learned well from scaffolded exercises supported by video lessons and feedback, which allowed them to reflect on their own teaching methods. Similarly, Schneider, Zammit, and Armstrong-Roper found that among first year university students, scaffolding could successfully overcome differences in student academic preparation.

For younger students, researchers have been studying the ways that scaffolding is built into electronically assisted learning—for example, how online educational games support scaffolded learning. They are interested in how children are meeting learning goals using electronic games, and whether they are also becoming independent and critical thinkers while engaged in games. For example, in their 2017 study of educational scaffolding for Canadian elementary school students, Nicholas, McKenzie, and Wells found that digital devices could be used to teach phonics and literacy. The scaffolding provided by these games was adaptive, meaning that it considered the student’s last answer or move and then changed the next question in response. This type of adaptive programing functions as a scaffold because it leads the student through a topic, gradually working until they have mastered all of the skills required for that topic. Once all of the skills have been mastered the scaffolding is removed—that is, the student quits the game and moves on to a different, more challenging activity. For older students who are working on digital writing, Nordmark has examined the ways in which scaffolding can be used to ensure that students’ arguments develop sequentially and in a manner which supports both educational goals and successful persuasion. This is a similar type of electronic scaffolding, which if done well draws the student into the activity. Once the skill has been achieved, the student stops utilizing the electronic tool and can be considered to have mastered the skill.

Terms & Concepts

Extensive Scaffolding: In this method, all information is provided for students—this includes detailed explanations, demonstrations, or other resources. The students are given all of this information in the beginning of the activity.

Knowledge Gap: The information that the student must learn or master to be able to do a skill on their own. Scaffolding must be designed to support student learning as they work to fill a knowledge gap.

Multi-aged Classrooms: Designed to encourage peer teaching, multi-age classrooms work well when scaffolding is in place to ensure that all knowledge levels are met and challenged by the lesson.

Peer Teaching: A method of education recommended by Vygotsky, peer teaching occurs when students of different abilities work together and are able to teach skills to one another.

Self-assessment: Students are asked to reflect on the work they have done, the skills they have gained, and the skills that they still need to learn. This method of assessment provides teachers insight into student success, and in doing so supports future scaffolding efforts.

Zone of Proximal Development: In the Vygotsky method, represents the skills that a student can do with assistance.

Bibliography

Grand Canyon University. (2023). What is scaffolding in education and how is it applied? www.gcu.edu/blog/teaching-school-administration/what-scaffolding-in-education-how-applied.

Lombardi, D., Bailey, J. M., Burrell, S., & Bickel, E. S. (2018). Scaffolding scientific thinking: Students’ evaluations and judgments during Earth science knowledge construction. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 54, 184–198. Retrieved December 1, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=131252970&site=ehost-live

Makar, K., Bakker, A., & Ben-Zvi, D. (2015). Scaffolding norms of argumentation-based inquiry in a primary mathematics classroom. ZDM, 47(7), 1107–1120. Retrieved December 1, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=110951941&site=ehost-live

Nicholas, M., McKenzie, S., & Wells, M. A. (2017). Using digital devices in a first year classroom: A focus on the design and use of phonics software applications. Journal of education and learning, 6(1), 267–282.

Nordmark, M. (2017). Writing roles: A model for understanding students’ digital writing and the positions that they adopt as writers. Computers and Composition, 46, 56–71. Retrieved December 1, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=126535954&site=ehost-live

Panadero, E., Jonsson, A., & Strijbos, J. W. (2016). Scaffolding self-regulated learning through self-assessment and peer assessment: Guidelines for classroom implementation. In Assessment for Learning: Meeting the Challenge of Implementation. (pp. 311–326). Springer, Switzerland: Cham.

Pehmer, A. K., Gröschner, A., & Seidel, T. (2015). Fostering and scaffolding student engagement in productive classroom discourse: Teachers’ practice changes and reflections in light of teacher professional development. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 7, 12–27.

Schneider, B., Zammit, B., & Armstrong-Roper, M. (2017). Scaffolding academic literacy in a diverse first-year higher education classroom: Evaluating the effectiveness of a blended learning model. Journal of Academic Language and Learning, 11(1), A188–A204.

van de Pol, J., Volman, M., Oort, F., & Beishuizen, J. (2015). The effects of scaffolding in the classroom: Support contingency and student independent working time in relation to student achievement, task effort and appreciation of support. Instructional Science, 43(5), 615–641. Retrieved December 1, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=108840761&site=ehost-live

Suggested Reading

Banister, C. (2018). Scaffolding learner puzzling in exploratory practice: Perspectives from the business English classroom. Profile: Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development, 20(2), 17–33. Retrieved December 1, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=130576145&site=ehost-live

Bowles, D., Radford, J., & Bakopoulou, I. (2018). Scaffolding as a key role for teaching assistants: Perceptions of their pedagogical strategies. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 88(3), 499–512. Retrieved December 1, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=131218490&site=ehost-live

Peltola, A. (2018). The classroom as think tank: Small groups, authentic exercises, and instructional scaffolding in an advanced writing course. International Journal of Teaching & Learning in Higher Education, 30(2), 322–333. Retrieved December 1, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=130939892&site=ehost-live

Uthappa, N. R. (2018). The uses of disclosure: Building a rhetorical scaffolding to fight stigma in the writing classroom. Pedagogy, 18(3), 566–572. Retrieved December 1, 2018 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=132350852&site=ehost-live