Effective teachers understand that students learn in many ways. As a teacher, you can strive to develop practices that help students understand and interact with new information. Scaffolding is one such pedagogical tool that can help students retain and apply new knowledge.

What is scaffolding in education? It’s a technique that establishes a firm framework of foundational knowledge before gradually building upon that framework. Here, you can learn more about it and explore how to apply it in your work, whether you teach in a general classroom or if you specialize in teaching students with exceptionalities.

Scaffolding in education is an instructional method in which a teacher provides temporary support to help students learn new concepts or skills. As students become more proficient, the teacher gradually reduces guidance, allowing students to work independently. According to Edutopia, scaffolding provides a safety net, easing students into a concept or skill instead of expecting them to work independently right from the start.^{(See disclaimer 1)}

In other words, the teacher shows how something is done, then the class practices together and, finally, students work individually. Scaffolding can also involve group practice.

Scaffolding is important for education because it meets the students where they are. In other words, it adapts to the student’s current ability level and their needs.^{(See disclaimer 2)}

Research on learning and development suggests that students make stronger gains when instruction is intentionally designed within their zone of proximal development (ZPD).^{(See disclaimer 3)} By providing targeted support and gradually increasing independence, teachers can help students engage with challenging material while maintaining productive levels of confidence and motivation.

Using scaffolding in education can improve learning outcomes while easing the student’s cognitive load. With scaffolding, the student is never given more than they are capable of handling, as the technique gradually transfers a manageable level of responsibility to the student.^{(See disclaimer 2)}

There are numerous other benefits of implementing scaffolding techniques. According to Discovery Education, these include:^{(See disclaimer 4)} 

• Supporting students’ self-confidence
• Improving comprehension, particularly with complex ideas
• Keeping students engaged in the learning process
• Empowering educators to provide responsive instruction

The term “scaffolding” is purposefully reminiscent of the construction process. In construction, builders enact scaffolding to provide temporary support to workers. In education, scaffolding similarly provides temporary support to students while they work on mastery of a new concept or skill.^{(See disclaimer 2)}

The concept of instructional scaffolding is closely tied to Lev Vygotsky's theory of the ZPD.^{(See disclaimer 3,5)} Vygotsky described the ZPD as the gap between what a learner can accomplish independently and what they can achieve with guidance from a teacher, peer or other knowledgeable individual.^{(See disclaimer 5 )}Learning is most effective when instruction targets this zone, providing support that helps students progress beyond their current level of understanding.^{(See disclaimer 5)}

Building on Vygotsky's work, researchers David Wood, Jerome Bruner and Gail Ross formally introduced the concept of "scaffolding" in 1976.^{(See disclaimer 6)} They described scaffolding as the temporary support provided by a teacher or expert that enables a learner to successfully complete a task that would otherwise be too difficult.^{(See disclaimer 5)} As students gain competence, those supports are gradually removed until learners can perform independently.

This theoretical foundation continues to influence modern instructional practices, including modeling, guided practice, questioning strategies, collaborative learning and the gradual release of responsibility approach used in classrooms today.^{(See disclaimer 2)}

There are numerous types of scaffolding in education, including the following.

Verbal and Questioning Scaffolds

Scaffolding in education is about processing information and engaging with ideas. Discussing the topic in question verbally is an excellent way to introduce the information. Teachers can also ask strategic questions designed to spark reflection.^{(See disclaimer 1)}

Visual and Modeling Scaffolds

Visual aids can be effective scaffolding tools. These include pictures, charts and graphic organizers. Using these tools, students can organize information visually and establish sequencing and cause-and-effect relationships.^{(See disclaimer 1)}

Modeling is a core concept in scaffolding. To begin the process of scaffolding, educators can first demonstrate or model a concept to the students. This step precedes performing the activity together, which is followed by the students performing it independently.^{(See disclaimer 1)}

Procedural and Task Scaffolds

Procedural and task scaffolding focuses on breaking learning tasks into smaller, more manageable steps. At each step, the teacher offers guidance applicable solely to that step. By breaking down the learning process into more manageable pieces, students may be more likely to retain their focus while building independence. Procedural and task scaffolding also mitigate cognitive overload.^{(See disclaimer 2)}

Peer and Collaborative Scaffolds

Although scaffolding eventually leads to the student’s ability to perform a task independently, peer collaboration is often a crucial part of the process. Beyond participating in class discussions, students can work together in pairs or in small groups to complete activities.^{(See disclaimer 1,2)}

Collaborative scaffolding can look different depending on the grade level. Early childhood students may work together during guided play activities, elementary students may complete partner reading assignments and middle or high school students may participate in collaborative problem-solving tasks, peer reviews or project-based learning experiences.

Teachers can draw from several practical strategies to guide learning, from modeling and prompting to breaking down complex tasks and gradually giving students more responsibility. Here are five strategies to help you get started.

Model the Skill or Process

Teaching students how to do something by showing them how to do it can be an effective way to scaffold learning. Try to problem-solve by walking students through the steps or by talking them through the process. You can also have some students model for their classmates.

Modeling can be used at any grade level and in any subject area. For example, an elementary school teacher might model how to solve a division problem using grouping. The teacher could draw circles on the board and talk to students as they draw checkmarks in each circle to show how one number can be divided into another.

In an early childhood classroom, a teacher might model how to sort objects by color, shape or size before asking children to complete a sorting activity independently. In middle school science, a teacher might demonstrate how to record observations during a lab investigation before students conduct their own experiments and document findings. These supports can help students build confidence before taking ownership of the learning process.

Activate Prior Knowledge

Students are not blank slates; they come to class with knowledge of — and experience with — many different topics. Teachers can ask students to discuss their own experiences and ideas, and relate them to the topic at hand.

For example, high school history teachers use prior knowledge as instructional scaffolding when they ask students to connect current events to historical events.

At the elementary level, a reading teacher might connect a story about community helpers to students' own experiences meeting firefighters, nurses or teachers. In middle school, a science teacher may ask students to discuss everyday examples of weather patterns before introducing meteorology concepts.

Break Learning Into Manageable Steps

Look for ways of breaking down a learning task into smaller steps. During each step, provide guidance and instruction. Ensure that each student focuses only on the task at hand, enabling them to stay focused and avoid cognitive overload.^{(See disclaimer 2)}

For example, a kindergarten teacher may break letter formation into individual movements before asking students to write complete words. An upper elementary teacher may divide a research project into separate stages, such as selecting a topic, gathering sources, creating an outline and writing a final report. High school teachers often scaffold complex assignments by requiring students to submit drafts and receive feedback before turning in a completed project.

Use Prompts, Questions and Cues

Provide students with structured prompts, strategic questions and cues, such as visual aids, to guide the learning activity. These tools help students walk through the activity one step at a time without feeling overwhelmed.

Students can also formulate their own questions throughout a learning activity to guide the process. Question ladders are one example of this. In a question ladder, the student starts by developing a basic, general question about a topic. As they work through the activity, they develop increasingly complex questions (and strive to find the answers).^{(See disclaimer 2)}

Gradually Release Responsibility

In the latter stages of scaffolding in education, the teacher steps back and lets the student do the task independently. The concept of fading refers to the gradual and intentional diminishing of educator assistance. It’s important that the degree of fading corresponds to the student’s increasing proficiency.^{(See disclaimer 2)}

When the student can complete the task entirely independently, there is a transfer of responsibility from the teacher to the student.^{(See disclaimer 2)}

In order to present information to be scaffolded, a teacher must assess what students already know and then consider the learning objectives. Finally, they can draw up a plan to advance the students from the current knowledge to mastering the learning goals.

The first steps in the instructional scaffolding process may include explaining the concept at the students’ current level. The teacher can model the problem-solving process or present an approach for accomplishing a task. After this, the scaffolding begins. 

The teacher then supports students by:

• Breaking the directions into small chunks
• Talking students through the task while they complete it
• Grouping students together to talk through the task and support each other
• Referring to models of the task where students can gather additional information
• Giving students tips and tricks while they are working

Scaffolding is not the same as differentiation in the classroom. Differentiation involves adjusting the lesson, activities and materials to meet the needs of individual students, who all have different ability levels. In contrast, scaffolding is a structured approach that eases the student into learning the concept or completing the task.^{(See disclaimer 1)}

As helpful as scaffolding in education is, there are some challenges to be aware of. Teachers may have trouble balancing the amount of assistance they offer. Offering too much help may thwart independence, but offering too little can lead to frustration for the students. Other challenges may include: 

• Withdrawing support too early
• Neglecting to ask strategic questions that provoke reflection
• Choosing activities that aren’t engaging to students

Graphic organizers can be helpful in instructional scaffolding. These tools help students organize their thinking about complex or interrelated pieces of information using visual aids. Graphic organizers can also guide students through a new process or task and translate abstract ideas into concrete ways of thinking.

As part of the instructional scaffolding process, teachers can use graphic organizers to support learning in all stages. When presenting information, teachers should introduce the graphic organizer and explain how it will be used, what will go in each section and how it can support learning. Then, the teacher models how to fill out the graphic organizer.

For example, if the learning objective is to compare and contrast two events in history, the teacher may display a Venn diagram and fill in one common attribute and one contrasting attribute. The teacher may then ask students to look through their texts and find two more examples to share with everyone.

Once students feel confident in both the assignment and the topic, they can complete their own graphic organizers that can later be used to create a presentation or write an essay.

Technology can be a wonderful tool to help simplify the scaffolding process for educators. Teachers can make playlists of lecture videos for students to watch before the class lesson, allowing students to preview the material and be ready to engage with the content in class. They can also provide links to websites that have different ways to engage with the content, such as videos, games, articles or demonstrations.

Many online curriculum programs are adaptive, meaning they can assess what a student knows and what information they need next, allowing them to follow a personalized learning path toward meeting learning objectives.

You can explore scaffolding and other instructional methods when you become an education major at GCU. Choose from a broad range of education degree options, including the Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education and the Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education with an Emphasis in STEM.