SCAFFOLDING SKILLS

What is scaffolding?

I find it easiest to use the origin of the term scaffolding, used in construction, to explain the definition in terms of learning and teaching. A scaffold is the structure you around buildings being built that supports the workers and the tools while the work progresses.

You can’t assemble scaffolding from the top down, it has to progress upwards with the building levels from the foundation to the completed goal.

The design and strength of the scaffolding has to match the needs of the individual job.

Scaffolding

When to use scaffolding?

We use scaffolding with teaching to support the individual growth of skills or the mastery of a specific task.

Scaffolding is useful in most teaching moments.Breaking down a task into manageable segments makes it more attainable and helps children develop strategies for independent mastery.

Two examples could be:

·     1:  A child has climbed up a climber and now is scared to climb down. Rather than lifting them down, try to coach them down. Ask questions such as “Do you remember how you got up there?” Then talk them through strategizing a way to reverse their climb or find an alternate path down. Give them a hand only as needed to alleviate fear or to assure safety. Use positive and confident language to encourage. Not only will this help develop critical thinking for the child, but you have created a safer environment because the child will use those new skills next time rather than just climbing too high and expecting you to be there to catch them.

Learning to climb.

·     2:  You are teaching a necessary skill through a project or activity. Breaking it down into simple instructions with definite steps will make it less overwhelming. Before giving the children their tools, show and narrate the process clearly with your own example. Then repeat the instructions such as “Step one was…step two was...step three was.” Or ask them to tell you those steps. Design the activity to challenge the children but so that they can succeed. And try it out yourself ahead of time so you can see where it may need to be adjusted for the group or for individuals.

Why to use scaffolding?

Scaffolding is not a new concept; it’s the natural way to learn. For instance, most people can’t pick up a pencil for the first time and write legibly or draw a representational figure. We need to first learn what a pencil is, what it is used for, how to hold it, how to apply pressure and how to move it in various directions to form an image.

Some of our modern systems have diverted learning toward unnatural processes, such as holding a phone and using only thumbs to operate it. But when we watch a parent teaching a child to dress, for instance, we can see the natural progression of skills needed to master the whole process. 

How to use scaffolding?

Scaffolding should be used in any teaching moment.

Remember I said - The design and strength of the scaffolding has to match the needs of the individual job. So the scaffold can meld and morph to support any need or skill level. As teachers we should all be individualizing every activity to the students in our classes and thinking in terms of the skills which they already have compared to the goals. If the goal is putting on their own mittens, you can break it down as easily as you can when the goal is learning to build a tower. One level builds upon another. We all are skilled at knowing our students and once you have that knowledge of them, it becomes easier to coach and support them rather than to do it for them or make them give up.

When you interrupt the process of learning by doing it for them you teach them that you don’t see them as capable. It can be crippling for some children to feel that their attempts do not measure up. That is not to say, that you never assist or do some of the work, but your goal should be to help the process of learning, rather than focusing on the outcome.

"I can do it, but I want you close by too."

Sometimes  the scaffolding is simply the way we word encouragement and use compassion. Sometime it is using hand-over-hand to show the correct movement. Sometimes it is slowing down or speeding up to match the progression in the group. Sometimes it is precutting two children’s projects while leaving others to be cut by the kids themselves.

There are as many ways to scaffold as there are moments for which to use it. Being patient and intentional in teaching moments will give children space to explore and experience lessons more meaningfully. It is our job to recognize what level the individual child is at and how to introduce a challenge that will build toward the next level. Then we need to intentionally support that child through the levels, so that they can succeed but the successes are theirs, not ours.

These children are confident in designing and building because they have the foundational skills.