Scaffolding - good or bad idea?
Hi,
I'm visiting from the EAP forum and I'm keen to learn what teachers think about scaffolding learning, especially for learners with a low level of proficiency. By this I mean the kinds of support you provide for learners to complete tasks effectively.
I've heard teachers describe scaffolding in very negative terms, e.g. 'I had to drag the answer out of them with lots of questions.' or 'I can't dither about waiting for them to catch up.'
Can you tell us what kinds of scaffolding activities you use and how you feel about using them?
Olwyn
Hi Janet,
Thanks for the link. Scott is always worth reading and listening to :-) I also like the idea of 'transfer of control' and the notion of co-authored activities. I have seen this described in a similar way by Laurillard* as a 'collaborative conversation':
- teacher and learner become aware of a gap in their respective understanding of a concept
- teacher scaffolds = adapts her description of concept to level of learner’s understanding
- learner uses this feedback to change his own understanding
- teacher provides opportunities for learner to interact with real-world task and receive feedback
This seems to suggest - as Scott does - that scaffolding is an opportunity for learning, helping students to notice what they are doing and reflect on it.
* Laurillard, D. (2002) Rethinking University Teaching: a framework for the effective use of learning technologies. London: Routledge Falmer.
Hi Olwyn
Thank you for your comments about "collaborative conversation" by Laurillard. Scaffolding learning is a very interesting topic and I look forward to reading more about it.
Best
janet
HI OLywn
I spotted you posted this message in 3 fora so I am wondering what conclusions or similarities/differences you might have found from the answers in those diverse locations!!!!
Best wishes,
Heather
Hi Heather,
YOu're right, I posted it in several of the forums and got some very different discussions. The ESOL forum didn't really pick it up but there was a lively discussion in both the ESP forum and the Young learners forum. In the latter, the discussion touched on the idea that the use of L1 in the class could be a type of scaffolding. In the ESP forum there was a lively discussion about whether students should be allowed to look at the answers to a task before doing it and then look back to the task to see why the answers were as they were. Several people mentioned this as a way that they had learned.
Miguel in Young Learners pointed us to Scot Thornbury's blog, where there is a brief but very helpful discussion of it: http://scottthornbury.wordpress.com/2010/04/04/s-is-for-scaffolding/
I also mentioned the difficulty for a teacher moving from one type of ELT teaching to another, e.g. EAP/ESP, because in order to scaffold performance a teacher has to ahve a very good knowledge of the content and aims of a course.
Hi Olwyn
I look forward to seeing how this discussion progresses as it's a very good question that you ask. I have just read the latest blog post by Scott Thornbury and the title is "S is for Scaffolding", which I think is quite opportune for this thread. I like the idea of "transfer of control" that is mentioned in the post. It is also interesting to note that scaffolding is seen as a series of "embedded co-authored language" which takes place over a period of time. Here is the link. http://scottthornbury.wordpress.com/2010/04/04/s-is-for-scaffolding/
Best
Janet