Learning processes in general, and inquiry processes in particular, may be complex and intimidating. Scaffolds (supportive tools) help learners plan, carry out, and manage their own learning, while also reducing concerns regarding the effort required. Scaffolds are defined as temporary support structures provided by people (such as teachers or parents) to promote learning in the context of solving complex problems. These support structures can take various forms and may be human, textual, or technological. For example, scaffolds may include task decomposition or feedback on progress. At times, support is also required for sub-tasks that emerge during learning, such as difficulties associated with reading an article required for an inquiry. In such cases, guiding learners through the article or showing them how to approach it can help with the current task and in similar tasks in the future.
Teaching and learning processes that involve peer teaching, including inquiry processes, may be complex and challenging. Scaffolds that support both those who teach and those who learn in planning instructional and learning processes can foster independent learning. Examples of supportive tools include documentation and sharing tools (such as reports for presenting data and journals for documenting work processes), dividing tasks into smaller units or emergent sub-tasks during learning, support for diverse social interactions (such as working in pairs or groups), and process-oriented reflection.
In school-based citizen science, various types of scaffolds are commonly employed. For example, in the “In the footprints of small mammals” project, students engage in reading an adapted ecological article (on the topic of anemones) accompanied by related tasks designed to practice conceptual understanding and scientific thinking in an ecological research context. In this activity, students read segments of the adapted article, respond to questions and tasks, and progress gradually toward understanding scientific concepts and modes of scientific thinking in preparation for participation in the project.
Deepening and Expansion ▼
What is scaffolding?
In their article, Broza and Ben-David Kolikant (2017), drawing on Vygotsky (1980), note that with appropriate adult support, children are able to progress within the “zone of proximal development.” The support provided by adults in this process is referred to as scaffolding: a process that enables learners to solve problems, perform tasks, or achieve goals that they could not accomplish independently without such support. Scaffolds are resources whose use enables learners to perform tasks or solve problems in ways that would not otherwise be possible. The term, which originally referred to adult support, has been expanded over time to include support provided by technological tools as well.
Key components of scaffolding for learning design
Wood, Bruner, and Ross (1976) identified six central components of scaffolding in adult–learner interactions: (a) recruitment: engaging learners’ interest and commitment to the task; (b) reduction of degrees of freedom: simplifying the task and providing corrective feedback; (c) direction maintenance: keeping learners oriented toward the goal through verbal encouragement and correction; (d) marking critical features: highlighting discrepancies and interpreting them; (e) frustration control: responding to learners’ emotional states; and (f) demonstration: modeling solutions to tasks or similar tasks (Anghileri, 2006).
The concept of scaffolding has been increasingly employed in educational design to enable learners to (a) receive support in task performance and (b) learn from experience in order to improve performance in future tasks. Scaffolding can reduce cognitive load, facilitate task management, and improve performance (Rienties et al., 2012).
Scaffolding is a key strategy in cognitive apprenticeship, in which learners gradually assume greater responsibility and ownership over their roles in solving complex problems. Numerous approaches to scaffolding have emerged from design-based research on interactive learning environments, encompassing a variety of guidelines and principles. Nevertheless, it is essential to explicate how specific tools benefit learners (Reiser, 2018).
References ▼
Anghileri, J. (2006). Scaffolding practices that enhance mathematics learning. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 9(1), 33-52.
Kali, Y., (2006). Collaborative knowledge-building using the Design Principles Database. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 1(2), 187-201.
Linn, M. C., Davis, E. A., & Eylon, B. S. (2013). The scaffolded knowledge integration framework for instruction. In Internet environments for science education (pp. 75-100). Routledge.
Rienties, Bart; Giesbers, Bas; Tempelaar, Dirk; Lygo-Baker, Simon; Segers, Mien; Gijselaers, Wim. "The role of scaffolding and motivation in CSCL", Computers & Education; Nov2012, Vol. 59 Issue 3, p893-906.
Reiser, B. J. (2018). Scaffolding complex learning: The mechanisms of structuring and problematizing student work. In The Journal of the Learning sciences (pp. 273-304). Psychology Press.
Wood, D., Bruner, J. S., & Ross, G. (1976). The role of tutoring in problem solving. Child Psychology & Psychiatry & Allied Disciplines