Scaffolding in teaching is a technique where teachers provide support and guidance to students as they learn new concepts or skills. It involves breaking down complex tasks into smaller, more manageable steps, and providing feedback and support at each stage. The goal of scaffolding is to help students develop a firm foundation of knowledge before gradually building upon it.
Scaffolding can take many forms, including breaking up the learning into chunks and providing a tool or structure with each chunk, previewing the text and discussing key vocabulary, or chunking the text and then reading and discussing as you go. Effective scaffolding strategies can help students retain and apply new knowledge.
Scaffolding is a process that should be strategically embedded into both the design and instruction of a course. It can be used in a variety of subjects, from reading and writing to mathematics and science, and is especially effective for students who may struggle with more complex or abstract concepts.
