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Scaffolding is the act of a More Knowledgeable Other to provide providing support for learners to move beyond their current, or actual, knowledge , to help them maximize their learning potential.
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- Break complex ideas into sub-tasks
- Modeling thinking or a process for students (e.g., I do, you do, we do)
- Activating students' prior knowledge - using ideas that are already known to students in order to help them make meaning of new ideas
- Provide graphic organizers or ways to help students organize their thinking as they process concepts.
- Provide guiding questions for a discussion.
- Provide a list of vocabulary that students should use during a discussion to help deepen their knowledge and incorporate new concepts into their working vocabulary.
Just as in In construction, once the building is complete the scaffolding is removed. Similarly, when learners have mastered a concept, the supports that were in place can be removed. As the ZPD moves higher, scaffolding can be removed from what is now known and applied to the new and more challenging material. Knowing when to add and remove scaffolding is part of the art of teaching, especially when students in the class learn at varying paces. But if good assessments are in place, then you will have good data in hand to help inform your scaffolding choices.