In the blink of an eye, we are entering week 4 of term 2! How time flies – soon it’ll be the start of the Mid-Year Examinations. Parents, if we are starting to fret about how well our child is learning, let’s practice a simple method to help enhance their learning – The scaffolding technique.
The scaffolding technique is now a topic of discussion in various academic circles. It’s a method that has been in use for a long time. But it has gained popular attention over the last few years and its effectiveness is being widely researched.
So, what is this scaffolding technique?
It is a technique of providing temporary support. It is an instructional method that facilitates a child’s development by setting up learning environments and giving active support from parents or teachers.
In this method, the teachers or parents provide support for the children to complete tasks or goals that might be initially out of their ability. Once they get a hang of the task and gain needed knowledge, the support is reduced. This is mainly used to familiarise students with fields or tasks they are facing for the first time. Scaffolding deals with breaking down complex topics into manageable parts so that students can tackle them more effectively.
Consider the case of a child learning to ride a bicycle. Initially, the parents might attach support wheels to the bicycle, or they might hold it steady for the child while riding. They will give instructions on how to ride it or even demonstrate by riding it themselves. Then, slowly the supports come off and the parents will limit themselves to just keeping an eye on the child. Eventually, the child will be allowed to ride it without supervision. This is how scaffolding learning is.
The term “scaffolding” was coined in a work called “The Role of Tutoring in Problem Solving” by David Wood, Gail Ross, and Jerome Bruner in 1976. They compared it to the scaffolding used during the construction of buildings. It is used to provide temporary support to workers during construction and comes off as the construction progresses. Their theory gained the attention of many researchers and was later modified stating that the techniques needed for each student are different and thus, have to be tailored individually.
How scaffolding is useful?
- Helps the students push through and thus not give up. If you present a child with a task that they are not able to do right away, they might get discouraged and just quit. But if you stay with them, show them how to do it, and then support them along the way, they will finish it.
- Instil a sense of self-confidence. Even if you offer initial support, slowly limit your involvement and let them take it forward on their own. When they do that and accomplish the goal given to them, it will instil a sense of confidence in them. This can work wonders.
- Teaches how to tackle complex issues. When you make use of scaffolding techniques, the children learn to analyse the complex problems and solve them on their own by seeing how you approached the task. They will learn how to break down complex tasks and problems into simpler ones.
- Understand the proper way of learning. Instead of memorizing everything, scaffolding methods require students to understand the task at hand and approach each problem differently.
Learn the strengths and weaknesses of each child. . Like it was stated previously, scaffolding techniques have to be selected according to the individual. So, when you apply it to your children, you will learn where they shine and in what areas they are lacking in. This will help you understand them better.
Scaffolding strategies you can try out
- Show and tell method. You show the children a problem or task to complete and walk them through the steps in solving it. This is one of the best methods to teach students. While solving it, tell them aloud how you came to use the method of solving it and how you learned it. Let them know how your thought process went when you saw the problem.
- Use their prior knowledge. Try to understand what the students already know and use the knowledge to make them connect to the problem at hand. Maybe the children might already be familiar with a problem or topic that is similar to the topic you’re about to teach. By connecting and comparing them, they will easily grasp it.
- Discussion groups. Create discussion groups among students and let them speak out loud about what they have learned and explain to others anything they might have missed or not grasped.
- Visual Aids and Gestures. Visually representing ideas and information allows children to grasp them easily. Also, showing gestures, especially while teaching languages can boost the effectiveness of the lessons.
- Review Sessions. Continually review the progress and adapt your methods accordingly. The support you provide shouldn’t end up being a crutch for them. Eventually, limit your support to only when it is needed.
- Scaffolding techniques are greatly effective in guiding a child’s learning process. It can be quite time-consuming as each child has to be given attention separately. But, once you get the hang of it, it is highly effective and also helps create good learners. So, don’t rush the children and be patient and your efforts will bear proper results. Use our 88tuition videos as a start to help scaffold your child’s learning! 🙂
What is scaffolding?
Exam Smart Tips
Exam Smart Tip #1 – How to Encourage Our Kids to Speak Better?
Exam Smart Tip #2 – How to avoid carelessness?
Exam Smart Tip #3 – Establishing Routines!
Exam Smart Tip #4 – Let’s Read Carefully!
Exam Smart Tip #5 – Beating the Exam Fever!
Exam Smart Tip #6 – How to Eat Right for the Exams?
Exam Smart Tip #7 – How to Avoid a Meltdown?
Exam Smart Tip #8 – Taking Stress out of Tests
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