Scaffolding

As we saw in the activities about learning objectives, we describe learning by saying “what [students
are] able to do after completing a lesson or instructional unit” (OPEN, 2014). In other words, learning
means being able to do new things.

When we are still learning something, we can do more and do it better when we are helped by someone
who is more capable and knowledgeable. This could be a teacher, a parent, or a more knowledgeable
peer. The difference between what a learner can do by him-/herself and what he/she can do with help is
called the zone of proximal development (Cammarata, 2015; Vygotsky, 1978). It is often shortened to
“ZPD.” Vygotsky is the thinker who originally coined this term. While Vygotsky’s work focused on
children, extensive research has supported this model of learning for adult learners as well (Lefrancois,
2000). After accomplishing a task with the help of another, a learner is then able to do the task more
independently the next time.

In order to reduce this gap of capabilities and help students reach their full potential to master content
and use their L2 independently, a CBI teacher needs to scaffold (Donato, 1994; Fields, 2017). In the
world of construction, scaffolds are the temporary structures that provide physical support to workers
and help them reach the work areas they themselves could not. In a CBI classroom, instructional
scaffolding provides the same support to classroom teaching. It is used, as needed, to bridge learning
gaps when students are unable to complete a task without support. Scaffolding should be withdrawn
slowly when it is no longer needed (Lange, 2011). Scaffolding is a powerful tool for learning, as it helps
students go beyond what they could do on their own.

In CBI classrooms, the scaffolding that teachers do creates supportive conditions in which students can
participate and extend their current skills and knowledge to reach higher levels of competence. Thus,
scaffolding demands that teachers continuously revise the techniques and strategies in response to the
emerging capabilities of their students (Donato, 1994). For instance, students’ limited use of the target
language and frequent comprehension errors can be the signals that the instructor needs to provide
more scaffolding. Through the provision of timely and constructive support, scaffolding allows students
to engage in meaningful learning and lower their anxiety levels (Fields, 2017; Donato, 1994).

What does scaffolding in a CBI classroom look like?

Scaffolding in CBI classroom involves two major steps. The first step is the development of lesson plans
to structure the lesson so that it transitions from what the students already know to acquiring new
concepts (Lange, 2011).

© 2018 by World Learning. Scaffolding for the AE E-Teacher Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and
administered by FHI 360. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, except where noted. To
view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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administered by FHI 360 and delivered by World Learning

In the second step, the execution of the lesson plan takes place, and every step involves the support of
the teacher. The instruction begins with the teacher modelling the task and students observing it. Then,
it moves to guided practice, where students perform parts of the tasks independently and the teacher
provides guidance. Gradually, as the students gain expertise, the complexity of the task is increased and
the support is reduced. The process continues until the students perform the entire task with little or no
support from the teacher (Lange, 2011).

Some of the techniques that a CBI teacher can use to scaffold are described below:

1. Think-aloud

Think-aloud takes place in a controlled setting where students are directed by a series of questions
to think about and answer while reading. It is a technique that helps students monitor their thinking
while reading any text and reveals how much they have understood. To make their understanding
and thought process visible, the following list of questions can be posed:
• What do I know about this topic?
• Do I understand what I just read?
• What do I think I will learn about this topic?
• Do I have a clear picture in my head about this information?
• How does it fit in with what I already know?
• What more can I do to understand this?
• What were the most important points in this reading?
• What new information did I learn?
(AdLits, n.d.)

2. Pre-teaching Vocabulary

As discussed in Module 1 (“Vocabulary Instruction in CBI”), vocabulary development directly

impacts the academic achievement of students. Vocabulary words should be introduced in
context while associating them with the things that the students already know and find
interesting. Since vocabulary is a critical component of a CBI classroom, it should be taught
outright. Teachers should also allot time for discussion of those words in pairs, small groups or
with whole class. Instead of using dictionaries at early stages of a lesson, these should be used
later, after the discussion, to compare the definitions that the students have already discovered
and come up with (Williams, 2015).

3. Think-Pair-Share

Think-Pair-Share is a co-operative discussion strategy that involves three steps:

a. Think: the teacher provokes students’ thinking by posing a question, prompt or observation
and students take a few minutes to think about it.
b. Pair: Students, then, pair up with their classmates and talk about the answer or thought
that they came up with. While doing so, the students compare and identify the answers that
they think are the most suitable, convincing or unique.

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administered by FHI 360 and delivered by World Learning

c. Share: After discussing the question, each pair shares their responses and thinking behind
them with the whole group or class.
(Alber, 2014)

4. Use Visual Aids

Visual aids like graphic organizers, infographics, charts and pictures can serve as effective and
interactive scaffolding tools. These tools help represent ideas and concepts visually, organize
information, and show the relation among various other concepts. Visually representing ideas
by synthesizing several hypotheses can help students use and deal with new and challenging
information (Alber, 2014).

Final Words – With Several More Ways to Scaffold

Apart from these techniques, CBI teachers can also bring some changes to their regular teaching style by
using simpler vocabulary and syntax, reducing the speed of the messages, introducing more pauses,
giving generous amounts of waiting time for students to think, modulating their voice, and using more
gestures and facial expressions (Urmeneta, 2013).

References
(This content is copyrighted, and cannot be adapted in any way, or distributed after the end of this course. It is not Public Domain or Creative
Commons-licensed, and therefore not for public use.)

AdLits. (n.d.). Think alouds. Retrieved from Adolescent Literacy: http://www.adlit.org/strategies/22735/

Alber, R. (2014). 6 scaffolding strategies to use with your students. Retrieved from Edutopia:
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/scaffolding-lessons-six-strategies-rebecca-alber

Cammarata, L. (2015, February). Instructional scaffolding with graphic organizers. Retrieved from Center
for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA):
http://carla.umn.edu/immersion/acie/vol8/2005BRIDGE8.2.pdf

Donato, R. (1994). Collective scaffolding in second language learning. In G. A. James P.

Lantolf, Vygotskian Approaches to Second Language Research (pp. 33-42). Connecticut: Greenwood
Publishing Group.

Escobar Urmeneta, C. (2013). Learning to become a CLIL teacher: teaching, reflection and professional
development. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 16(3), 334-353.

Fields, D. L. (2017, March). 101 scaffolding techniques for language teaching and learning. Retrieved
from Edicionesmagina: https://edicionesmagina.com/appl/botiga/client/img/71007.pdf

Lange, V. L. (2011). Instructional Scaffolding. Retrieved from World Learning SIT Graduate Institute:
http://condor.admin.ccny.cuny.edu/~group4/

Lefrancois, G. R. (2000). Psychology for teaching. Belmon, CA: Wadsworth Publishing.

OPEN (Open Professionals Education Network). (2014). Writing learning objectives: Overview

This is a program of the U.S. Department of State

administered by FHI 360 and delivered by World Learning

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge,
MA: Harvard University Press.

Williams, V. (2015, May). 7 ways to scaffold instruction for English language learners. Retrieved from
NWEA: https://www.nwea.org/blog/2015/7-ways-to-scaffold-instruction-for-english-language-learners/

Suggested Further Reading

(This content is Creative Commons-licensed with some restrictions. It is not compliant with the AE E-Teacher Program’s standards for openly-
licensed content. Feel free to save and read any of these resources, but please check the individual license before adapting or distributing a
resource.)

Arshad, M., & Chen, W. H. (2009). Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory of literacy: Scaffolding children to
read and write at an early age. Journal of the Humanities of Indonesia,11(2), 319-334. Retrieved
from http://wacana.ui.ac.id/index.php/wjhi/article/view/164/153

Gusrayani, D. (2014). Developing students' knowledge from the results of scaffolding in English
teaching. Journal of English Education,3(1), 31-40. Retrieved
fromhttps://journal.uniku.ac.id/index.php/ERJEE/article/view/112/74

To cite this article:

World Learning. (2019). Scaffolding. In “Content-based Instruction” [MOOC].

This is a program of the U.S. Department of State

administered by FHI 360 and delivered by World Learning