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scaffolding
An instructional technique in which a teacher breaks complex tasks into smaller component tasks, models the task, and creates links to students’ existing knowledge. Scaffolding supports students in their learning until they are ready to pursue a task independently.
See also zone of proximal development.
Additional information
Lev Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory proposes that teachers provide supports for students to move beyond what they are capable of accomplishing on their own. This scaffolding occurs to take students through the zone of proximal development. The amount of scaffolding provided is reduced as students become more independent within a learning context.
