Best Practice

In the classroom: Getting scaffolding right

Resources and projects Support staff Pedagogy Teaching staff
Scaffolding is an essential part of teaching, but has its real meaning become lost? Annabel Daniels says we must focus on scaffolding strategies rather than tools. With a focus on English study, she offers some practical reflections

What comes to mind when you think of scaffolding? Writing frames? Sentence starters? Differentiated worksheets? Often, we think of scaffolding as breaking down the task. However, just because we have broken down a task into steps, does this mean that students know how to complete each step?

There are two common perceptions of scaffolding:

So what is the function? The theory behind scaffolding (Wood et al, 1976; Vygotsky, 1978; Gallimore et al, 1990; Stone, 1993) suggests that key features of the process are:

However, as a result of performative culture in the UK, schools have broadened the term “scaffolding” to include any tool that aids teaching. This is inaccurate.

Register now, read forever

Thank you for visiting SecEd and reading some of our content for professionals in secondary education. Register now for free to get unlimited access to all content.

What's included:

  • Unlimited access to news, best practice articles and podcast

  • New content and e-bulletins delivered straight to your inbox every Monday and Thursday

Register

Already have an account? Sign in here