What are scaffolds?

Scaffolding for LearningScaffolding is the process of organizing an event to facilitate student access in a learning experience. Students work within their ability and are given "scaffolds" to help them complete complex tasks such as limited choices, specific directions, and demonstrations. These scaffolds reduce frustration and increase success. They also allow students to work more independently to solve problems and complete task. Scaffolding is particularly useful in differentiating instruction to meet the needs of students with varied learning styles and needs.

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Scaffolding for LearningDodge (2001a) describes scaffolding as a “temporary structure used to help learners act more skilled than they really are” (p. 58). Because scaffolding is intended to be temporary, Dodge stresses the need to fade support as students gain experience and skills.

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