INTRODUCTION

The Covid-19 pandemic has impact on education and learning aspects globally. Learning becomes less effective because students demanded to self-regulate learning with all the obstacles. Appropriate learning method is needed as an alternative solution in learning processes. One of them is Scaffolding.

WHAT IS SCAFFOLDING?

Scaffolding is an instructional/teaching method that progressively moves students toward greater independence and understanding during the learning process.

Scaffolding learning  can  see  the  process  and  facilitate  student learning in completing tasks that have not been studied and are  within  its  ability. Scaffolding  learning can  be interpreted  as  a  way  of  providing  learning  support independently,  structured  from the  initial  stage to  the final  stage. 

WHY SCAFFOLDING?

Scaffolding is a guided support provided to students, as they show improvement.

For effective scaffolding to take place, teachers should be able to provide differentiated guidance to students who show different levels of understanding. 

Scaffolding during learning help students work beyond their current abilities and learn more efficiently.

Pre-class assignments prepared and implemented via adaptive learning platforms allow teachers to assess and activate students’ prior knowledge. This enables teachers to plan daily lessons tailored to students’ levels of understanding. 

Adaptive learning platforms redirect students to fundamental concepts if the platform recognizes that students do not understand prerequisites well enough. These platforms break problems into small parts and provide the students with hints to work on their own.

PURPOSES OF SCAFFOLDING 

 Scaffolding serves a variety of purposes during learning, allowing the instructor to:

1. Provide support.
2. Model skills.
3. Share knowledge.
4. Solicit questions.
5. Adjust pace.
6. Teach strategies.

All of these purposes will help students to eventually take ownership of their own learning and perform independently.

SCAFFOLDING PROCESS

Scaffolding should occur at multiple places throughout the learning process. The following steps are one way of thinking about how to devise and incorporate scaffolding throughout.   

• (Cited from: Scaffolding-Centre for Educational Innovation)

In the first steps, understanding students’ prior knowledge is required considering the learning outcomes we want for the students, and then considering which scaffolds will help students to achieve these goals.

SCAFFOLDING TECHNIQUES

The following techniques are ways to incorporate scaffolding at three different points in the learning process.

1. Planning learning

During planning:

• Intentionally plan and organize the learning process.
• Divide instruction into mini-lessons or have periodic checkpoints.
• Incorporate technology support.
• Use rubrics to introduce and affirm expectations.
• Check your “expert blind-spot” that might lead you to assume a level of understanding or automaticity that your students don’t yet possess.

2. Instructional practices

During instruction:

• Build and activate background knowledge.
• Provide multi-modal support.
• Teach content, concepts, skills and strategies in digestible bites.
• Support students through tasks they are not yet able to perform independently.
• Appropriately pace lessons to guide students through new knowledge and concepts.
• Provide explanations to support challenging processes.
• Give multiple examples to expand or illustrate content.
• Share out loud the thought and research process as you search for answers.

3. Monitoring learning

During practice:

• Use techniques to keep students on target.
• Include formative assessments and feedback.
• Ensure students are making progress toward learning outcomes.

SCAFFOLDING ACTIVITIES

The following are several activities to consider to helping scaffold learning. They are:

1. Advanced organizers to introduce new content or task.
2. Graphic organizers.
3. Templates.
4. Flow charts.
5. Outlines showing content organization.
6. I-think maps, Concept maps or mind maps that illustrate relationships.
7. Cue cards or question cards to facilitate discussion.
8. Sample problems to practice important concepts.
9. Periodic checkpoints to help students determine understanding.
10. Self-evaluations to reflect on learning.

SCAFFOLDING MODEL

One popular method for scaffolding is to begin

1. By modeling (I do). Students are able to concentrate on how they go about a task without being distracted by trying to do it themselves. 
2. Then having students to work together (We do), during guided practice, difficulty is increased, but students receive scaffolding from the teacher and friends, and finally
3. Attempt students (as their ability increases) to succeed at the task on their own (You do).

CONCLUSION

• Learning will be maximized if it is supported by a structured, systematic learning design and can provide access to material that is easy for students to understand. A good learning design usually has the right model, approach, strategy, learning material and learning method. Therefore, one of the learning methods is the Scaffolding method.
• Scaffolding  through learning  can  be interpreted  as  a  way  of  providing  learning  support independently,  structured  from the  initial  stage to  the final stage.  
• Support  is  provided and carried  out continuously in  the form  of  conceptual  support  and conceptual interference that cause students to change

References: 

1. Scaffolding-Centre for Educational Innovation-University at Buffalo buffalo.edu
2. Adaptive Learning Platforms to Encourage Effective Learning in Online Teaching During COVID-19, Priya Harindranathan, March 19, 2021 trainingmag.com
3. Scaffolding Oriented Cognitive Perturbation as an Alternative Solution on Covid-19 Learning Era Rendy Wikrama Wardana and Afrizal Mayub. Proceedings of the International Conference on Educational Sciences and Teacher Profession (ICETeP 2020) researchgate.net