Instructional Scaffolding: A Definitive

Guide
By Andrianes Pinantoan
Sourced from the internet

March 20th, 2013 9 Comments

Definition of Scaffolding
Educational (or Instructional) Scaffolding is a teaching method that enables a student to
solve a problem, carry out a task, or achieve a goal through a gradual shedding of outside
assistance. It was first coined by researchers David Wood (Nottingham), Jerome S. Bruner
(Oxford), and Gail Ross (Harvard) in their 1976 report, “The Role of Tutoring in Problem
Solving.”

According to its original definition, scaffolding enlists the instructor as an “activator” whose
role is to facilitate the student’s incremental mastery of a concept. “Fading” is the process of
gradually removing the scaffolding that was put into place for the student until he
internalizes the information and becomes a self-regulated, independent learner.

TTwo years after their initial report, in 1978, the researchers revisited the work of famed
psychologist Lev Vygotsky and found reason to revise their definition. Vygotsky writes in
“Mind and Society” (Harvard University Press) that there are two levels of learning that need
to be recognized as distinct: 1) the actual developmental level, “that is, the level of
development of a child’s mental functions that has been established as a result of certain
already completed developmental cycles”; and 2) the potential development level “as
determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more
capable peers.” The difference between these two levels is called the student’s “proximal
zone of development.”

Since 1978, scholars have come to agree that, in order for educational scaffolding to
succeed, instructors needed to target each student’s proximal zone of development. And,
because a student’s proximal zone of development continually changes as she gains
knowledge, educational scaffolding must continue to be individualized accordingly.
 The 1980s
In the 1980s, University of Albany-SUNY professors Arthur Applebee and Judith Langer
expanded the theoretical practice of scaffolding to include the following five features:

 Intentionality: The learning task is fueled by a clear overall purpose; any auxiliary
activities contribute to this purpose.
 Appropriateness: The learning tasks pose problems that require outside assistance
but can eventually be mastered by the student alone.
 Structure: Modeling and questioning activities engage a natural sequence of thought
and language.
 Collaboration: The instructor’s response to student work recasts and expands upon
the student’s efforts without rejecting what she has accomplished on her own. The
instructor’s primary role remains collaborative rather than evaluative.
 Internalization: External scaffolding for the learning task is gradually withdrawn as the
student internalizes conceptual patterns.
Applebee and Langer took the theory formed by Wood et al. and Vygotsky and embedded it
in a general framework of language-learning. Reading and writing, they claim in “Reading
and Writing Instruction: Toward a Theory of Teaching and Learning,” are extensions and
reformulations of earlier language-learning processes: “One does not simply learn to read
and write: one learns to read and write about particular things in particular ways.” In
comparing the language-learning scenario between an adult and a child to the task-learning
scenario between an instructor and a student, Applebee and Langer make a case for
discourse acquisition as a vital part of educational scaffolding, and vice versa.

The 1990s
With the next decade came a tighter focus on application theory. Five methods of
Educational Scaffolding based on the work of Hogan and Presley (1997) were presented as
follows:

 modeling of desired behaviors

 offering explanations
 inviting students to participate
 verifying and clarifying student understandings
 inviting students to contribute clues
 In 1999, Zhao and Orey argued that educational scaffolding could be analyzed for
application through six general elements:

 sharing a specific goal

 whole task approach
 immediate availability of help
 intention assisting
 optimal level of help
 conveying an expert model
Sharing a Specific Goal
Although it is the instructor’s responsibility to establish a shared goal, the learner’s interests
should be considered and catered to as much as possible throughout the lesson. Zhao and
Orey suggest achieving this through intersubjectivity, or the sharing of intentions,
perceptions, feelings and conceptions; assessing the goal in terms of the student’s prior
knowledge; being aware of some of the unique, unusual, and often ineffective problem-
solving techniques that students use; and allowing input from the student in order to
enhance intrinsic motivation.

Whole Task Approach

The Whole Task Approach spotlights the overall goal to be attained through the learning
task. The task is conceptualized as a whole instead of defined by the elements that make it
up. This does not mean that the elements are ignored or rendered irrelevant; rather, each
feature of the lesson is presented as it relates to the whole. This approach demands less
cognitive effort than its alternative, since the overall concept is reinforced with every feature
instead of grasped as a final conclusion. The approach is not effective, however, if the
material strays too far beyond the student’s proximal zone of development.

Immediate Availability of Help

If a student is unable to carry out a task on her own, how is she supposed to remain
motivated or interested if she doesn’t receive assistance in an efficient manner? Students
experience far less discouragement and frustration if someone is there to help them
proceed with the learning process. Any success of an instructor is a success of a student,
and enhances her drive to learn more (and more independently).

Intention-assisting
Inherent in the scaffolding process is the act of understanding a student’s present focus
(another way to view their zone of proximal development). In order to provide an optimally
productive learning environment, educators must relate and confer information according to
the student’s own current intentions.

Sometimes it becomes necessary to redirect the intentions of the learner if she does not
have an effective strategy for completing the task. If her current strategy is effective,
however, the instructor should not try to change it. It is the essence of scaffolding to help
the learner proceed with the least amount of assistance possible.

Optimal Level of Help

The learner should be given just enough guidance to overcome her current obstacle; the
level of assistance should not deter the learner from contributing and participating in the
learning process. In other words, the instructor should only offer guidance through the areas
of a task that the student cannot accomplish on her own. No intervention should be made if
the current task is within the learner’s grasp.

Conveying an Expert Model

A task can be demonstrated with an expert model, either explicitly or implicitly. In an explicit
demonstration, the expert model clearly conveys how to accomplish the task. In an implicit
demonstration, the information is outlined around (or implied by) the expert model.

The 2000s
Several methods of educational scaffolding were introduced in the 2000s.

Based on the work of Hogan and Presley, educational strategist Verna Leigh Lange stated
in her 2002 article on Instructional Scaffolding that there are two major steps involved in the
process: (1) “development of instructional plans to lead the students from what they already
know to a deep understanding of new material,” and (2) “execution of the plans, wherein the
instructor provides support to the students at every step of the learning process.”

Larkin (2002) suggested that teachers could employ the following effective techniques in
scaffolding:

First, boost your students’ confidence. To improve self-efficacy, begin by introducing

students to tasks they can perform with little or no assistance. Provide enough assistance to
 allow students to achieve success quickly. This will help lower frustration levels and ensure
that students remain motivated to advance to the next step. This will also help guard against
students giving up due to repeated failures.

Second, help students “fit in.” Students may actually work harder if they feel as if they
resemble their peers. Avoid boredom. Once a skill is learned, don’t overwork it. Look for
clues that the learner is mastering the task. Scaffolding should be removed gradually and
then removed completely when mastery of the task is demonstrated.

Application
General
Facilitative tools:

 Break the task into smaller more, manageable parts.

 Use ‘think alouds’, or verbalizing thinking processes, when completing a task.
 Use cooperative learning, which promotes teamwork and dialogue among peers.
 Use concrete prompts, questioning, coaching, cue cards, or modeling.
 Other tools might include activating background knowledge and offering tips, strategies,
cues, and procedures.
(The following example scenarios have been adapted from “Scaffolding” by Lipscomb,
Swanson, and West of the University of Georgia.)
Pre-school
Morelock, Brown, and Morrissey (2003) noted in their study that mothers adapt their
instruction to the perceived abilities of their children. By modeling or prompting the typical
behaviors of their children (or behaviors slightly more mature than typical), mothers
“scaffold” their guidance in an effort to engage them.

For instance, a very young child is playing with blocks by stacking them on top of each
other. The mother attracts the child’s attention and models how to “build” a wall or bridge by
stacking them in a different way and using a toy person or truck to climb the wall or ride
over the bridge. She then watches and assists as needed until the child appropriates the
skill or loses interest and moves on to something else. She will try again the next time the
child is playing with the blocks or try another construction which she feels will be more
attractive to the child.
The study further suggests that the mother will adapt her scaffolding behavior to the needs
of her child. If she sees that the child is imaginative and creative, she will then scaffold
beyond the apparent skill level exhibited. Conversely, if she perceives that the child is less
attentive or exhibits behaviors which are not easy to decipher, she will then demonstrate
new skills instead of extensions to the skills already present. The authors suggest that this
could be a possible early indicator for giftedness.

Pre-K-5th
An elementary math teacher is introducing the addition of two digit numbers. She first
solicits the students’ interest by using a “hook” such as an interesting story or situation.
Then she reduces the number of steps for initial success by modeling, verbally talking
through the steps as she works and allowing the students to work with her on the sample
problems.

An overhead projector is a great tool for this activity because the teacher is able to face the
class while she works the problems. She can then pick up non-verbal cues from the class
as she works. The students’ interest is held by asking them to supply two digit numbers for
addition, playing “Stump the Teacher.” She takes this opportunity for further modeling of the
skills and verbally presenting the process as she works through these problems.

The students are then allowed to work several problems independently as the teacher
watches and provides assistance where needed. The success rate is increased by
providing these incremental opportunities for success. Some students may require
“manipulatives” to solve the problems and some may require further “talking through” the
procedures. These strategies may be applied individually or in small groups.

More challenging problems can then be added to the lesson. Further explicit modeling and
verbalization will be required. Some students will be able to work independently while some
will require more assistance and scaffolding. The teacher will begin to fade the scaffolding
as soon as she is sure that the students can effectively function alone.

6-12th
Banaszynski (2000) provides another example of instructional scaffolding in his article about
a project in which a group of eighth-grade history students in Wisconsin examined the
Revolutionary War from two points of view—American and British. He began by guiding his
students as they undertook a sequential series of activities in order to thoroughly investigate
the opposing reactions to causes of the war. Then students contributed to a class timeline
which detailed causes, actions and reactions. Banaszynski describes how work continued:
“ After the timeline was completed, the students were arranged in groups, and each group
did a critical analysis of primary-source material, focusing on the efforts each side made to
avoid the war. This started students thinking about what the issues were and how each side
handled them. The next step was to ask a question: Did the colonists have legitimate
reasons for going to war against Great Britain? [I] asked each group to choose either the
Patriot or Loyalist position and spend a day searching the Internet for primary sources and
other materials to support their positions.”

The instructor continued scaffolding by interviewing the groups to probe for misconceptions,
need for redirection, and re-teaching. Students later compared research and wrote essays
that were analyzed and evaluated by fellow students using rubrics; groups then composed
essays that included the strongest arguments from the individual works.

The project, Banaszynski says, was an enormous success; students began the unit working
as individuals reliant upon him for instruction. As work proceeded, the feedback framework
was altered so that students were guiding each other and, in turn, themselves.
Banaszynski’s role in guiding the research and leading the reporting activities faded as the
project continued and requirements became more complicated. As a result, students were
able to appreciate their mastery of both materials and skills.

Adult and Higher Education

Kao, Lehman, & Cennamo (1996) postulated that scaffolds could be embedded in
hypermedia or multimedia software to provide students with support while using the
software. They realized that soft scaffolds are dynamic, situation-specific aids provided by a
teacher or peer while hard scaffolds are static and specific. Thus, hard scaffolds can be
anticipated and planned based on typical student difficulties with a task. With these two
aspects in mind, they developed a piece of software called “Decision Point” and tested it
with a group of students.

They embedded three types of hard scaffolds: conceptual scaffolds, specific strategic
scaffolds, and procedural scaffolds. The conceptual scaffolds assisted the students in
organizing their ideas and connecting them to related information. The specific strategic
scaffolds were included to help the students ask more specific questions and the procedural
scaffolds were useful to clarify specific tasks such as presentations. Examples of these
types of embedded scaffolds include: interactive essays, recommended documents, student
guides, student journal, and storyboard templates.
 This type of software would be very useful in higher education and adult learning because it
is portable, could be used asynchronously, and allows the learners more independence.
One or two initial face-to-face sessions would be required to teach the basics, establish
learning communities and relate the class expectations and timeline. The students could
then proceed at their pace while working within the framework of their group and the class
expectations. The instructor would provide feedback to groups and individuals, be available
for assistance and scaffold specific students at their point of need.

If software with built in scaffolds is not available, then the instructor could provide a similar
environment by having an open classroom in which the students are provided with the
expectations and a timeline at the onset. They may then choose to attend face-to-face
classes, work independently, or work in groups. The more knowledgeable students, as well
as the instructor, could then provide scaffolding in and out of the classroom. The hard
scaffolds could be provided with textbooks and references and links on the class website.
The instructor would still provide feedback on assignments and class work, be available for
assistance, and scaffold specific individuals or groups at their point of need.

Appropriately, more responsibility is placed on the adult learner. Motivation comes from
within and is based on the learner’s goals and objectives such as advanced degrees, career
opportunities, and increased pay. Ultimately, the learner assumes a dual role in that they
are students and peer instructors as they scaffold their classmates.

Challenges and Benefits

As with any other learning theory or strategy, there are challenges and benefits to
educational scaffolding. Understanding and comparing both will assist the educational
professional or trainer in their assessment of the usefulness of the strategies and
techniques as well as allow for comprehensive planning before implementation. The
challenges are real but can be overcome with careful planning and preparation.
Challenges:
 Very time consuming
 Lack of sufficient personnel
 Potential for misjudging the zone of proximal development; success hinges on
identifying the area that is just beyond but not too far beyond students’ abilities
 Inadequately modeling the desired behaviors, strategies or activities because the
teacher has not fully considered the individual student’s needs, predilections, interests,
 and abilities (such as not showing a student how to “double click” on an icon when using
a computer)
 Full benefits not seen unless the instructors are properly trained
 Requires the teacher to give up control as fading occurs
 Lack of specific examples and tips in teacher’s editions of textbooks
When assessing the benefits of scaffolding, it is necessary to consider the context in which
you wish to implement the strategies and techniques. Additionally, you must know the
learners and evaluate their particular needs first.

Benefits:
 Possible early identifier of giftedness
 Provides individualized instruction
 Greater assurance of the learner acquiring the desired skill, knowledge or ability
 Provides differentiated instruction
 Delivers efficiency – Since the work is structured, focused, and glitches have been
reduced or eliminated prior to initiation, time on task is increased and efficiency in
completing the activity is increased.
 Creates momentum – Through the structure provided by scaffolding, students spend
less time searching and more time on learning and discovering resulting in quicker
learning
 Engages the learner
 Motivates the learner to learn
 Minimizes the level of frustration for the learner

References
Applebee, A.N., & Langer, J. (1983). Instructional scaffolding: Reading and writing as
natural language activities. Language Arts, 60(2), 168-175.
Banaszynski, J. (2000). Teaching the American Revolution: Scaffolding to success.
retrieved February 10, 2004, from Education World: The Educator’s Best Friend Web
site: https://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr218.shtml.
Benson, B. (1997). Scaffolding (Coming to Terms). English Journal, 86(7), 126-127.
Hogan, K., & Pressley, M. (Eds.). (1997). Scaffolding student learning: Instructional
approaches and issues. Cambridge, MA: Brookline.

Lange, V. L. (2002). Instructional scaffolding. Retrieved on September 25, 2007

from https://condor.admin.ccny.cuny.edu/~group4/Cano/Cano%20Paper.doc
 Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind in Society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Wood, D., Bruner, J.S., & Ross, G. (1976). The role of tutoring in problem solving. Journal
of Psychology and Psychiatry. 17.
Zhao, R., & Orey, M. (1999). The scaffolding process: Concepts, features, and empirical
studies. Unpublished manuscript. University of Georgia.

https://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Scaffolding#Vygotsky.E2.80.99s_Zone_of
_Proximal_Development

9 Responses
1. How Peer Teaching Improves Student Learning and 10 Ways To Encourage It :
InformED says:
June 7 2013 at 1:40 pm

[…] new task on their own. Tutors can help prepare students for independent demonstration
by providing instructional scaffolding, a method by which the tutor gradually reduces her
influence on a tutee’s comprehension. See our […]
Reply
2. Three Scaffolding Techniques to Enhance Common Core Standards | Concordia
University - Portland online says:
November 2 2013 at 7:43 am

[…] making accommodations for individual students even to the point of providing them
different texts. Scaffolding divides learning into steps, sometimes called “chunks.” Students
use the same texts but have […]
Reply
3. A few cool link for educators | Brent's Blog says:
November 21 2013 at 10:15 am

[…] Open Colleges Guide to Scaffolding […]

Reply
4. 35 Psychology Tricks That Will Help You Get Through to Your Students - InformED
: says:
February 7 2014 at 4:51 am

[…] One well-known example of knowledge organization is instructional scaffolding, wherein

guidance is provided to novices until they begin to master the material, at which point […]
Reply
5. Innovation Excellence | 35 Psychological Tricks To Help You Learn Better says:
February 11 2014 at 11:49 pm
 […] One well-known example of knowledge organization is instructional scaffolding, wherein
guidance is provided to novices until they begin to master the material, at which point […]
Reply
6. Who built that scaffolding?! | mrmmy says:
March 25 2014 at 4:29 pm

[…] Instructional scaffolding represents a method of teaching that is held in the highest
regard by many educators, as a pedagogy that allows for supported risks to be taken, but
protects the student from the harm and disengagement of failure. From as far back as the
’70s, this method has gained traction as support to problem solving. […]
Reply
7. How To Make Learning Relevant To Your Students (And Why It's Crucial To Their
Success) - InformED : says:
October 4 2014 at 9:15 am

[…] in his brain, it’s hard for the new information to get into those networks because it has
no scaffolding to cling to. Effective teaching helps students recognise patterns and put new
information in context with the […]
Reply

8. Robert Gill says:

March 25 2019 at 7:31 pm

Great tips This is actually a good and useful piece of information. I definitely try to follow
your tips. Thanks for sharing this information with us.
Reply

o Saga Briggs says:

March 25 2019 at 7:34 pm

Thanks for reading, Robert!

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