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Faculty of Social Sciences

2006

Scaffolding numeracy: pre-service teachers'

perspective
Irina M. Verenikina
University of Wollongong, [email protected]

Mohan Chinnappan
University of Wollongong, [email protected]

Publication Details
Verenikina, I. M. & Chinnappan, M. (2006). Scaffolding numeracy: pre-service teachers' perspective. In P. Grootenboer, R.
Zevenbergen & M. Chinnappan (Eds.), Identities, Cultures and Learning Spaces (pp. 519-526). Adelaide, SA: MERGA Inc..

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Scaffolding Numeracy:
Pre-service Teachers Perspective
Irina Verenikina

Mohan Chinnappan

University of Wollongong
[email protected]

University of Wollongong
[email protected]

Scaffolding has become increasingly popular as it provides teachers with an appealing

alternative to traditional classroom techniques of teaching. Recent research identified a
number of different ways that scaffolding can be used in the classroom to improve
students numeracy levels in primary schools. However, despite the importance of
scaffolding, pre-service teachers experience difficulties in understanding the complex
techniques of scaffolding and often fail to make connections between theoretical
explanations and their practical use. This paper examines current perceptions of scaffolding
by a cohort of pre-service teachers, both in its conceptual framework and its practical
implications to teaching in the classroom, and to teaching numeracy in particular. The
results indicated that the participants appreciated the importance of scaffolding as an
alternative to the traditional forms of educational instruction. However, they continue to
demonstrate a limited appreciation of the more complex and theoretical aspects of
scaffolding.

Introduction
Since the term scaffolding was introduced by Wood, Bruner and Ross in 1976, it has
been interpreted and applied to educational research and practice in a variety of ways. As
the focus of Australian educational research has shifted to studying the quality of teacher
intervention, the notion of scaffolding has become increasingly popular among educators in
different areas of teaching. A growing number of educators and researchers have used the
concept of scaffolding as a metaphor to describe and explain the role of the teacher in
assisting children's learning in the classroom (Stone, 1998; Daniels, 2001). In particular,
recent research in numeracy identified a number of ways that scaffolding can be used in the
classroom to improve students numeracy levels in primary schools (Siemon, & Virgona,
2003; Anghileri, 2006; DEST, 2004). However, overall, the interpretation of scaffolding in
current educational research is exceedingly diverse and often serves as an umbrella term for
any kind of teacher support (Jacobs, 2001). Due to the metaphorical nature of the term and
its multiple interpretations, scaffolding does not provide educators with clear and definite
guidelines on the ways that it should be used to achieve successful learning. Scaffolding can
become a hindrance rather than help in children's learning if taken out of its theoretical
context (Stone, 1998; Tudge, 1990, in Moll, 1990). Such a diverse and sometimes
conflicting interpretations of scaffolding creates difficulties in teaching this concept to preservice teachers.
The recent government request for quality teaching has brought into focus issues
concerning the role of teacher educators to ensure that pre-service teachers receive
appropriate training. Becoming a quality teacher involves the acquisition of subject matter
knowledge and the transformation of this knowledge with appropriate pedagogical skills of
teaching. The latter includes knowledge about scaffolding. To be able to teach in an ever
changing school environment, teachers need to be able to adjust their knowledge and skill to
a particular classroom situation and to a particular child. This means that teachers have to
be able to reflect upon, and think about, their teaching practices in a critical and creative

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manner. A deep understanding of the theoretical framework that support their pedagogical
practices are essential for the development of such ability.
Despite the importance of scaffolding, the literature indicates the complexity of the
metaphor and the difficulties in its understanding by educators (Stone, 1998; Bliss, Askew,
& Macrae, 1996). There is a need to explore the ways that pre-service teachers understand
and interpret scaffolding as they relate to specific subject areas of teaching. This paper
examines the above issue by exploring current perceptions of scaffolding held by a group of
pre-service teachers. Their perceptions of scaffolding, understanding of its theoretical
underpinnings and its classroom value were explored in relation to teaching numeracy.

The Role of Scaffolding in Teaching Numeracy

The development of childrens numeracy skills depends on a range of factors not least
the quality of classroom teaching. The metaphor of scaffolding has become increasingly
popular because it provides educators with an alternative to traditional classroom
techniques such as direct instruction. The metaphor is used to characterise and rationalise
the role of teachers (or more knowledgeable peers) in supporting and guiding childrens
learning and development. It is based on the premise that teaching involves the coconstruction of knowledge within student-centred activities (Vygotsky, 1997). The quality
of teacher-child interaction is essential to effective scaffolding, which emphasises
collaboration, dialogue and negotiation. (Chinnappan, 2003; Rasmussen, 2001).
Over the past decade research has identified a range of explicit scaffolding approaches
and techniques that can improve students numeracy in primary classrooms. Anghileri
(2006) identified and classified classroom interactions that can be effective for mathematics
learning and are necessary to support the practitioner in reflection and analysis of actual
classroom practices. She has developed a comprehensive three-level hierarchical model for
scaffolding mathematics which includes planning and organising prompts and stimuli in the
learning environment (level 1, environment provision), and different levels of teacher-child
interaction which either focus on the task at hand (level 2) or aim at developing
representational tools and generating conceptual discourse in the learner (level 3, developing
conceptual thinking) (Anghileri, 2006). OToole and Plummer (2004) provide detailed
analyses of different types of questions that support childrens thinking and
conceptualisation of the mathematical processes. Morrone et al. (2004) contend the
importance of such characteristics of scaffolding as negotiating meaning, transferring
responsibility and fostering intrinsic motivation (p.20).
Recent research conducted by the Australian government has identified and provided an
in-depth analysis of twelve practices of scaffolding learning mathematics that can lead to
improving students numeracy in primary classrooms (DEST, 2004). These teaching
approaches are based on the range of scaffolding techniques used by effective teachers
during numeracy lessons. Such practices include exploring childrens understanding
(excavating); modelling and demonstrating; collaborating and negotiating and so on
(DEST, 2004, p.3). This research provides important directions for enhancing pre-service
teachers skills in teaching mathematics, although, the variety of techniques and diversity of
approaches can make the task of making this wealth of knowledge available to pre-service
teachers quite a complex enterprise.
Anghileri (2006) points out that some teaching still uses minimal scaffolded support to
children in the classroom, providing textbook exercises and direct explanations. The study

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also highlighted the need for further examination of practitioners views about scaffolding
practices and the potential relationship between teachers beliefs and subsequent practice
that draws on scaffolding techniques. The current study takes up this issue.

Complexity of the Metaphor of Scaffolding and its Implementation

Despite the importance of scaffolding, research indicates that it is a concept which is
difficult to master (Stone, 1998; Bliss et al., 1996). For example, Bliss, Askew and Macrae
(1996), in their study of teaching mathematics and science, demonstrated that school
teachers experience difficulties in using scaffolding in their teaching. They reported a
relative absence of scaffolding in most lessons (Bliss et al., 1996, p. 44). and pointed out
that the teachers were unable to effectively engage in scaffolded interaction with their
pupils: they either tended to use directive teaching strategy, keeping their initiative in the
episode, or gave full initiative to the pupils, leaving them to do the task by themselves,
without much help from the teacher.
Researchers stress the importance of understanding the metaphor of scaffolding in
conjunction with the theory from which it originated. It is argued that if taken out of its
theoretical context, scaffolding can serve to constrain rather than enhance childrens learning
(Tudge, 1990, in Moll, 1990; Stone, 1998).
The term scaffolding, although never used by Vygotsky, was introduced in an attempt
to operationalise the concept of teaching in the zone of proximal development (ZPD)
(Wood, Bruner, & Ross, 1976, cited in Verenikina, 2004). The ZPD, defined as the distance
between what a student can do with and without help (Vygotsky, 1978), is used to explain
the social and participatory nature of teaching and learning. Supporting children's active
position in their learning and assisting them in becoming self-regulated learners is essential.
The main aspiration of teaching in the ZPD is to see students being actively engaged in
their learning with the future prospect of becoming self-directed, life long learners. The
definition of the ZPD points to the meaning of teaching as the transformation of socially
constructed knowledge into that which is individually owned. This type of teaching
assumes a specific paradigm of teacher-learner interaction where the role of the adult is that
of collaborator and co-constructor. A strong emphasis is made on the active position of the
child, which is essential for becoming a self-regulated learner. According to Vygotsky, the
educational process should be based on the student's engagement in an individual activity,
where "the teacher is the director of the social environment in the classroom, the governor
and guide of the interactions between the educational process and the student" (Vygotsky,
1997, p.49). The teacher doesn't influence children directly, but through shaping and
fashioning their social environment through indirect instruction. The way that adult
interacts with the child is essential to supporting children as active, self-regulated learners
(Diaz, Neal, & Amaya-Williams, 1990, in Moll, 1990).

Theoretical Connections
Scaffolding and the concept of the zone of proximal development can be fully
understood only in the context of the Vygotskian theory as a whole. Failure to see the
connections between the ZPD and the theory as a whole might lead to a symplstic
understanding of the concept (Tudge, 1990, in Moll, 1990). Furthermore, there is a danger
that a failure to understand the complexity of Vygotskian theory as a whole can lead to
interpretation of the ZPD as a domination over a child's initiative and active position as a
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learner.
According to Vygotsky, the most important part of children's psychological
development is acquisition of the culture to which they belong. Acquisition of mental tools
plays a crucial role in the development of children's minds (Vygotsky, 1978). "The role of
the teacher is to "arm children" with these toolsIt involves enabling the child to use tools
independently and creatively." (Bodrova & Leong, 1996, p.3). Children acquire cultural
tools in interactions with more experienced members of the society. Moving from shared
possession of tools (interpersonal) to individual possession (intrapersonal) is associated
with gaining independence and a shift in the development of the child.
To understand the complexity of teaching in the ZPD, it is necessary to take into
account such concepts as cultural and social mediation of learning, internalisation,
intersubjectivity and the active position of the child. When we talk about teaching in the
ZPD, we look at the way that a child's performance is mediated socially, that is, the quality
of adult-child interaction. This includes the means by which the educator meets the level of
the child's understanding and leads the child to a higher, culturally mediated level of
development. This connects to the idea of tool mediation, that is, to a consideration of
what cultural tools have been provided for the child to appropriate. It also includes a
consideration of the techniques that can be used to ensure the transformation of assisted
performance into independent performance (internalisation). Stone (1998) called it
knowledge consolidation (p. 358) .
The above concepts are taught to pre-service teachers in foundation subjects in primary
and early childhood teacher education programs including the active position of the child in
learning, the quality of interaction and indirect instruction; collaboration and negotiation
(child-adult and guided peer joint problem solving, discussion and dialogue), providing
conceptual tools and utilising reflective practices (articulation, reinforcing and
consolidation) (Vialle, Lysaght, & Verenikina, 2005). It is proposed that understanding the
theoretical underpinnings of the metaphor might assist pre-service teachers learning the
variety of scaffolding techniques and making appropriate decisions about their classroom
application. For example, understanding of Anghileris (2006) first level of scaffolding,
environment provision, can be enriched if considered in connection to socio-cultural
approach to the construction of mathematics curriculum (Renshaw, 1996). The third level
of scaffolding, developing conceptual thinking (Anghileri, 2006), can be better understood
in connection to the notion of mental tool appropriation (Vygotsky, 1978).

Overview of the Study

In order to explore pre-service teachers understanding of the main characteristics of
scaffolding, its theoretical underpinnings and its value in their professional practice, and
numeracy, we adopted a survey design for the present study.

Participants
The survey was conducted with student teachers in their third year of study in
Bachelor of Education (Primary/Early Childhood) programs. Eighty student teachers
volunteered to participate in the study. The background to this was that the surveyed
cohort of student teachers was introduced to the socio-cultural theory of child development
in the first year of their undergraduate study at the university, however the concept of
scaffolding was not explicitly taught. During the second year of the program, the concept
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of scaffolding was taught as part of discipline subjects related to different Key Learning
Areas (KLAs) including numeracy. In addition, the students could have learnt about
scaffolding from their supervising teachers during their practicum experiences in schools.

Procedure
The survey instrument included a series of open-ended questions that focussed on the
following issues: how scaffolding is defined and what value it has for teaching; how
scaffolding is different from traditional teaching instruction, what specific techniques it
includes and what are its theoretical underpinnings. The questions were formulated in a
manner that stimulated the students to provide a descriptive and detailed answer. For
example, a question on scaffolding definition was worded as follows, When a teacher says,
I scaffolded my students understanding of numeracy, what do you think they mean by
scaffolding? How would you define scaffolding? The survey was conducted in an
anonymous manner and the participation was voluntary. The analysis of the data was
assisted by the use of Nvivo software. The responses were coded in accord with the key
characteristics of scaffolding such as active position of the child, joint activity, tool
mediation, indirect instruction and reflective practices. The students understanding of
different levels of scaffolding was judged upon the characteristics and techniques of
scaffolding, present in their answers.

Results and Analysis

Student teachers (ST) responses demonstrated that they valued scaffolding as a
helpful technique for their future teaching. In particular, they stressed the importance of
scaffolding mathematics, as it is a complex subject. All the participants were quite familiar
with the concept and believed it was different to a direct instruction of a traditional
classroom.
Significant number of both primary and early childhood students demonstrated an
understanding of the importance of the active position of the child in scaffolded teaching
(37 responses). For early childhood students, the above view of scaffolding was in tune
with the notion of child centred curriculum (27 responses). The following comments were
typical:
STA: Traditional classroom instruction can see the teacher providing answers without giving the
learner an opportunity to discover/understand for him/her self
STB: Scaffolding is child directed so the children determine their journey of education, the teacher
bases their curriculum on the childrens interests and knowledge as they build knowledge in
the children, firstly with a lot of support and slowly stepping back as the children progress
and learn.

Such emphasis on the active position of the learner in scaffolding is highly important.
Learners should be given freedom to explore and discover by themselves, at their own pace
and by their own means. Initiative and self-determination of the learner should not be
hindered by educational instruction.
Learning in social interactions with other people was an essential characteristic of
scaffolding pointed out by most of the students. A central feature of such interactions (35
responses) was a joint activity in which teacher and the learner engage. The following
responses reflect the social dimensions of working in a group:
STC: It is more of a team effort between teacher and student. They work together rather than being
majority teacher directed.

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STD: Traditional classroom instruction is just giving the students work, telling them how to do it
and that is it.

The quality of teacher-learner interactions in scaffolding was explained in a number of

different ways. Sixteen responses from the participants suggested the importance of
indirect instruction such as prompting, hinting, guidance and support. For example, STE
explained, It means teachers arent spoon feeding children. The children are guided,
supported and even led at times, though they are putting in the effort too.
Other participants, however, had difficulties in articulating the quality of interaction in
scaffolding and described it in general terms. For example, the following definitions are
quite uncertain in what scaffolding actually is and what kind of support it includes:
STF:

I think scaffolding is the way that teachers help children to understanding their tasks
properly and direct them and keep children on track of doing the tasks
STG: A teacher/tutor etc. is alongside the child as a task is being tackled; areas of weakness can be
identified immediately and applied to the task at hand. There is no delay in advising the
student..

Interestingly, breaking the tasks into smaller, more manageable parts, as well as
modelling and demonstration techniques were highly popular (34 responses). It was not
surprising that these techniques were attractive to the students as they are easy to grasp
and implement. However, they do not constitute the essence of scaffolding and can be used
as part of any teaching style, e.g., a classroom based on traditional behaviourism.
Some students (10 responses) directly connected scaffolding to the ZPD. The most
frequently mentioned technique was challenging the learner, for example:
STH: I would define scaffolding as demonstration and encouraging people to work in their zone of
proximal development that is working outside their comfort zone to increase their knowledge
and improve tasks.

A technique of changing of the amount of support while the learner is gaining the
expertise is an essential characteristic of scaffolding as it refers to the changing level of a
learners expertise and moving from shared to independent performance. For example, STI
made the following comment:
It allows students to develop skills over time, working from what they can do with a lot of
assistance to what they can do with a little assistance and finally towards independent mastery of
the skill being taught: begin with a lot of support from the teacher; slowly remove support; remove
support until there is no support and the students are working independently

Just few students mentioned some more in depth characteristics of scaffolding. For
example, only one student saw scaffolding as a technique that provides new learners with
cultural tools that are essential for becoming an independent learner. Another student (STJ)
highlighted such a subtle but crucial characteristic of scaffolding as knowledge construction
and consolidation:
Traditionally one teacher would instruct a class how to add numbers together, for example, and then
give them a worksheet to do it for themselves. The child has to digest the information the first time
in order to be able to complete the task.

The lack of awareness of some in depth characteristics of scaffolding indicated that the
students might have some difficulties in understanding them and more explicit connections
of scaffolding to the theory needed to be made.

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Discussion and Implications

The results of this study indicate that, on the whole, pre-service teachers were aware of
the practice of scaffolding and appreciated its potential use in their day-to-day teaching of
numeracy. The participants see the scaffolding metaphor as a useful concept that allows
pre-service teachers to move away from the direct instruction of a traditional classroom and
search for a richer and more sophisticated educational tool.
While experiencing the need to find an alternative to the traditional forms of educational
instruction, student teachers look for a variety of new teaching techniques that are provided
by modern pedagogy. They demonstrated understanding of the differences in the quality of
teacher-child interaction when scaffolding approach is used as opposed to direct
instruction. A variety of indirect techniques such as questioning, hinting and prompting
were mentioned. However, a few participants expressed confusion about the quality of
teacher-child interaction. In addition, a high proportion of students responses suggested a
lack of understanding of the relationship between learning environment provided by the
teacher and its impact on childrens use of prior knowledge. This issue has received a great
deal of attention in other studies of meaningful mathematical engagement (Chinnappan,
2003).
The majority of student teachers displayed understanding of some basic techniques of
scaffolding such as breaking the tasks into smaller pieces, modelling and demonstration,
which are relatively easy to grasp and implement.
The more complex levels of scaffolding did not receive much attention in students
responses. Just a small number of answers indicated pre-service teachers awareness of
some in depth scaffolding characteristics such as quality of teacher-student interaction and
acquisition of cultural tools (these characteristics can be associated with the third level of
scaffolding mathematics of Anghileri, 2006). The lack of students awareness of such
characteristics of scaffolding suggested that they might have difficulties in their
understanding.
While it is not the aim of this paper to generalise on the basis of findings of this limited
sample, the results do seem to suggest that pre-service teachers lack a clear understanding
of the conceptual basis of scaffolding practices in general and in relation to teaching
numeracy in particular. Further research needs to explore students understanding of the
use of specific techniques of scaffolding in authentic activities of their use. A combined
effort of lecturers in mathematics and foundation subjects might be beneficial for designing
such activities. This level of teacher education will provide a basis for the integration of the
concepts across KLAs, which is a key requirement for teaching numeracy (Beswick, 2005).
The understanding of the theoretical principles of scaffolding will allow pre-service
teachers to anchor their repertoire of scaffolding techniques provided by recent research. A
next step of inquiry could focus on the ways that pre-service teachers perceptions
actually impact on their practicum and beyond.

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