Scaffolding Children’s Learning in the Classroom

Scaffolding Children’s Learning in the Classroom

The notion of scaffolding is increasingly being used to describe the support provided for pupils to learn successfully in classrooms. It would seem that the term ‘scaffolding’ grew out of Vygotsky’s work and was developed by the psychologist Jerome Bruner. As far as education is concerned the term ‘scaffolding’ refers to the way teachers provide ongoing assistance in children’s learning and gradually removes their support as children can apply the new taught knowledge, skills or strategies independently (Hogan and Pressley, 1997).

My experience as a trainee teacher lends support to the ‘scaffolding’ approach especially since studies show that its application on children’s learning raises their achievement (Schunk, 2013). Despite that, some challenging factors of the ‘scaffolding’ approach according to Bliss et al (1996) lie in the ability of the teacher. In other words, the teacher must be skilled and have a sensitive awareness of both the pupils’ needs and of the subject matter in hand to determine if the children are making progress.

As Berk and Winsler (1995) point out another potential drawback is that the teacher may need to provide tailored assistance for the children which can be time consuming. Taking into account my school placement experience, meeting everyone’s needs is a challenging task indeed.  On the other hand, drawing on both theory and my school experience, as pupils become increasingly able to complete tasks independently, it becomes apparent that it is crucial for the teacher to know when to gradually withdraw their support from the children’s learning process.

Bruner was influenced by the work of Vygotsky, who shared Bruner's belief that a child's social environment and social interactions are key elements of the learning process that help in extending children’s learning. By contrast, Bruner’s ‘cognitive development theory’ appears to have also been influenced by Piaget who  believed that the child plays an active role in the growth of intelligence and learns by doing (McLeod, 2007).

Although I am taking my first early steps into teaching, the theoretical principles of this teaching method have already proved useful in assisting and furthering children’s learning. Some propositions of this method that I have applied in the classroom include the application of scaffolding strategies such as: tapping into the children’s prior knowledge; modelling and using visual aids; planning activities that stimulate talk as well as essential questioning which suggest inquiry (Pritchard, 2013).

On reflection, these scaffolding approaches have turned out to be areas of strength in my teaching practice. However, considering my teacher-tutor feedback as well as reflecting on my lesson evaluations I have also identified areas of weaknesses and of further improvement. These are also strategies of the ‘scaffolding’ approach and amongst them were not always considering the children’s needs in selecting appropriate tasks and not providing consistent clear directions and instructions to the children (Pritchard 2013).

Scaffolding a lesson may, in fact, take longer to teach, but the end product is of far greater quality in my view and the experience much more rewarding for all involved. In conclusion, the ‘scaffolding’ method comprises of a single theoretical perspective but it is armed with a multidimensional nature of teaching strategies that can maximise opportunities for facilitating and boosting children’s learning.

NB:  This blog contains 536 words.

Scaffolding Learning as a Teaching Strategy

                                       Scaffolding in Education video

References:

Berk E and Winsler A (1995) Scaffolding Children's Learning: Vygotsky and Early Childhood Education. Washington DC:  National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Hogan K and Pressley M (1997) Scaffolding Student Learning: Instructional Approaches and Issues (Advances in Teaching & Learning). Cambridge, MA : Brookline Books.

McLeod S A (2007). Lev Vygotsky. Available at http://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html/  [Accessed on 4^th Apr].

Pritchard A (2013) Ways of Learning: Learning theories and learning styles in the classrooms (3^rd ed).  Abingdon: Routledge.

Scaffold picture (2013) Available at https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&ved=0CAUQjhw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthekglawyerblog.com%2Fptblog%2F2013%2Ftest-out-the-scaffolding-a-qualitative-comparison-of-llb-threshold-learning-outcomes-and-the-plt-competency-standards-for-lawyers-skills%2F&ei=B-U2VYaJK87kaKqHgaAO&psig=AFQjCNEZ5OKo2-U6ebcm92i29-n2sjtlrw&ust=1429747329471883. [Accessed on 12^th April].

Schunk D (2013) Learning Theories: An Educational Perspective (6^th ed). Essex: Pearson Education Limited.

Stevan W (2014) Scaffolding in Education. Youtube video.  Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktXhlPUUPDs. [Accessed on the 10^th April 2015].

 Van Der Stuyf R (2002) Scaffolding as a Teaching Strategy.  Available at http://condor.admin.ccny.cuny.edu/~group4. [Accessed on 8^th April].