On 12/07/08, 1teacher wrote:
> Could someone describe "scaffolding" and give an example.
> I did some web checking on the topic & want to make sure
> I'm not missing something here.

I looked at Wikipedia and it seems that scaffolding means
coaching a student in a particular skill, in baby steps. The
example that pops to my mind is drawing food chains and food
webs; we typically start with a simple 3-member chain (grass-
mouse-owl etc.) which is explained in detail, and then we
progress toward the more complicated examples, and students
are increasingly encouraged to try to draw the food webs by
themselves.

I think that repeatedly exposing students to situations
where a concept is needed also counts as scaffolding, if
there is some kind of "security net". For example the class
may be asked the same question about the vertical zonation
of ecosystems on a mountain during several class periods,
for various reasons connected to that particular lesson, but
without the pressure of getting a test grade. Then the
students who need scaffolding would hear the right answer
over and over in slightly different situations, and
internalize the answer and put it into permanent memory (or
at least the long-term memory).

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