Scaffolding

Element · All elements
Evidence · 4 claims (1 for, 2 mixed, 1 against) · 4 studies (2 causal, 1 quant-synthesis, 1 associational), q3 · 2 of 4 report an effect size · 4 claims rest on one study

Description

Scaffolding is the element in which support is added temporarily so learners can perform tasks they could not yet complete independently.

Design Implications

Context

Requirements

• A task just beyond current independent performance
• Support that can later be faded

Constraints

• Over-support can reduce productive effort
• Withdrawing support before checking understanding blocks uptake, even when the support itself was well-calibrated — see Students' application of teacher support predicts accurate answers in small-group work [-M]

Target Learning Goals

• Extend capability while building toward independence.

Affordances

• Scaffolding
• Scaffolding and Fading

Claims

• The scaffolding intervention unintentionally increased small groups' independent working time, roughly doubling it from premeasurement to postmeasurement [+W]
• Complete and faded double-content examples did not differentially affect student teachers' professional vision [~W]
• Customized scaffolding (fading/adding) outperforms non-customized scaffolding in PBL-STEM, with fading/adding highest at g = 0.590 [~W]

Related Elements

• Fading
• Fading Scaffolding

Examples

• Small-Group Scaffolding Tool — scaffolds a small group's collective zone of proximal development rather than an individual student's

Key Sources

• Wood, D., Bruner, J. S., & Ross, G. (1976). The role of tutoring in problem solving. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 17(2), 89-100. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.1976.tb00381.x
• Calor, S. M., Dekker, R., van Drie, J. P., & Volman, M. L. L. (2022). Scaffolding small groups at the group level: Improving the scaffolding behavior of mathematics teachers during mathematical discussions. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 31(3), 369-407. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508406.2021.2024834

Page metadata

Field	Value
type	element
id	scaffolding
title	Scaffolding
description	Scaffolding is the element in which support is added temporarily so learners can perform tasks they could not yet complete independently.
status	review
canonical	True
generated	by claude/unspecified on 2026-08-29
trust	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content

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