Vygotsky Scaffolding: What It Is and How to Use It

Posted by Christine Sarikas | Jan 4, 2020 5:00:00 PM

GENERAL EDUCATION

If you're an educator or have a student in school, you may have heard of the concept
Vygotsky scaffolding. It may sound like a construction term, but Vygotsky scaffolding
and the related concept of the zone of proximal development are teaching
methods that can help students learn much more information much more quickly than
they would with traditional instruction.

However, Vygotsky scaffolding is only effective if you know how to properly implement
it; otherwise it can actually hinder a student's learning. Read this guide to learn what
scaffolding and the zone of proximal development are, what the scaffolding psychology
is, if studies have found these teaching methods to be effective, and how you can use
these methods in the classroom to promote learning.

What Is Instructional Scaffolding?

Instructional scaffolding, also known as "Vygotsky scaffolding" or just "scaffolding," is a
teaching method that helps students learn more by working with a teacher or a
more advanced student to achieve their learning goals.

The theory behind instructional scaffolding is that, compared to learning independently,

students learn more when collaborating with others who have a wider range of skills and
knowledge than the student currently does. These instructors or peers are the

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"scaffolding" who help the student expand her learning boundaries and learn more than
she would be able to on her own.

Vygotsky scaffolding is part of the education concept "zone of proximal

development" or ZPD. The ZPD is the set of skills or knowledge a student can't do on
her own but can do with the help or guidance of someone else. It's the skill level just
above where the student currently is.

ZPD is often depicted as a series of concentric circles. The smallest circle is the set of
skills a student can learn on her own, without any help. Next is the ZPD, or skills a
student wouldn't be able to do on her own, but can do with a teacher or peer
helping her. Beyond that are skills the student can't do yet, even with help.

For example, say there is a kindergartner who is learning how to read and write. He
knows all the letters of the alphabet, but he can't yet read or write words. No matter how
much guidance he was given, he could never read a novel on his own at this point, but
with a teacher's help, he can learn how to read and write short words like "at," "boy" and
"dog" because this skill is within is ZPD. It would have taken him much longer to learn
this skill on his own, but it's still simple enough that he can understand it if he has
someone to explain it to him. The student's ZPD is reading and writing short words,
and the teacher who helps him learn them is the scaffolding.

Proponents of ZPD and instructional scaffolding believe they are highly effective ways
to maximize a student's learning. Scaffolding can be used to help a person of any age

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learn something new, but in the classroom it is most often used with younger
students (preschool and elementary school) since they are learning new skills and
concepts they haven't been exposed to before most frequently.

What's the History Behind Vygotsky Scaffolding?

Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) was a Soviet psychologist who coined the term "zone of
proximal development" and conducted many studies that led to instructional scaffolding.
This is why the concept is often referred to as "Vygotsky scaffolding."

Vygotsky focused his work on developmental psychology, and it was in the 1920s and
early 1930s, towards the end of his career, that he developed the concept of
ZPD. Vygotsky believed that educators should help students learn within their
ZPD so that they can increase their skills and knowledge without becoming frustrated by
things that are currently too difficult for them to accomplish.

Vygotsky came up with the idea of ZPD after extensive studying of how young children
learn and the effectiveness of different teaching methods. He found that individual
knowledge-based tests are often an inaccurate way to measure a young student's
intelligence since children need to interact with others who are more intelligent
than they currently are in order to learn. He cited many examples of cultures where
young children are taught new skills and knowledge passed down by older generations.

For example, when infants are learning how to walk, they often start by holding onto the
clothes or hands of an adult or older child, who guides them. The infant will continue to
do this until they have enough skills and strength to walk on their own. This way they're
able to learn to walk much faster than if they were expected to learn without being able
to hold onto anything.

Vygotsky instead believed that the proper way to test young students was to test
their ability to solve problems both independently and with the help of an
adult. Dr. Maria Montessori, who established the Montessori education philosophy, also
published similar research several decades before Vygotsky. Vygotsky died in 1934,
less than a decade after he introduced the idea of ZPD, and after his death research on
his ideas greatly decreased.

In the 1960s, Vygotsky's work was revived by a new group of psychologists studying
developmental psychology. Dr. Jerome Bruner coined the term "scaffolding" and
connected it to Vygotsky's work. Dr. Bruner and other psychologists began studying the
use of ZPD in different educational contexts, and they found that encouraging students
to tackle the most difficult tasks within their ZPD leads to the most learning.

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Today scaffolding continues to be studied and used in schools, and much recent
research has focused on how to use scaffolding to make classes (including online
classes) more effective.

Does Vygotsky Scaffolding Work?

Over the past several decades, numerous studies have been conducted to study the
effectiveness of using ZPD and scaffolding as teaching methods. Overall, research
has shown that these methods can often help students learn more than they
would compared to traditional teaching methods, but they require the instructor to
have a good grasp of the student's ZPD so they can adapt the teaching method to them.

An early study from 1975 found that four-year-olds whose mother's interacted with them
and gave them advice were able to build significantly more complicated block towers
than those who worked alone. The children who were most successful were those
whose mothers adapted their strategy based on how well their child was completing the
task. They made different comments based on whether the child was doing well or was
struggling. A 1990 study found similar results when children were asked to put
dollhouse furniture into the correct room. Children whose mothers gave them
guidance were significantly more successful than those who completed the task
on their own.

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A study published in 2000 that focused on a teacher using ZPD and scaffolding to teach
a Farsi speaker English found that these methods can be an effective way to teach
someone a new language. As the student improved his English skills, his teacher went
from teaching individual words and phrases, to asking yes/no questions, to asking
questions that required more in-depth responses. This gradual increase in difficulty
helped the student improve his English skills while reducing feelings of frustration
from attempting language skills beyond his current level.

A similar scaffolding psychology study published in 2014 found that, in a group of 30

Australian language students, those who had tutors that used scaffolding techniques
made significantly more progress in their writing quality and strategy application.

Two studies, one from 2003 and one from 2010, found that ZPD and scaffolding can be
effective, but if the instructor doesn't know how to implement them correctly, she is at
risk of helping students too much which turns them into passive learners and
hinders their growth.

Tips for Using Vygotsky Scaffolding in the Classroom

From the studies discussed above, we know that instructional scaffolding can be an
effective teaching tool, but only if the instructor understands how to use it. Below are
four tips for using scaffolding in the classroom.

Know Each Student's ZPD

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In order to use ZPD and scaffolding techniques successfully, it's critical to know your
students' current level of knowledge. Without this information, you won't be able to
teach them in their ZPD or provide effective scaffolding support.

Before you begin a lesson with ZPD or Vygotsky scaffolding, find their baseline
knowledge by giving a short quiz or having an introductory discussion on the topic
where you ask students questions to figure out what they already know.

Also remember that each student will have a different ZPD for each topic you teach. If a
class has widely varying ZPDs for a specific topic, it can be more effective to have them
work in groups or individually while you walk around the classroom and provide
guidance so that you can tailor your techniques to each student's ZPD.

Encourage Group Work

Group work can be a very effective way of using scaffolding principles in the classroom
because students can learn from each other while working together on a project. More
advanced students can help others learn while improving their own skills by explaining
their thought process. Try to create groups that contain students with different skill
sets and learning levels to maximize the amount students learn from each other.

Make sure each student in the group is actively participating. If you see one student
doing most of the work, have her ask the other students for their opinions, and
emphasize the importance of everyone contributing.

Don't Offer Too Much Help

A potential drawback of Vygotsky scaffolding is the possibility of providing too much

help. This causes the student to be a passive, instead of active, learner and actually
reduces the amount the student learns.

If you're using scaffolding techniques, don't jump in right away and start offering
advice. Let each student work on their own first. When they begin to struggle, first start
by asking them questions about what they've done and what they think they should do
next. As much as possible, ask open-ended questions that encourage them to find a
solution on their own, as opposed to just telling them the next step.

For example, if a student is trying to build a block tower, it's much more helpful to say
things like "How do you think you can make this tower stronger?" or "Why do you think
the tower fell down?" than "You need to make the base bigger."

If after you've had the student think through the problem, then you can begin
offering concrete advice for what to do next, but be sure to continue to ask
questions to help increase the student's understanding. For example, after giving advice
on how to improve the block tower, you can ask "Why do you think making the base
bigger helps the tower stay up?"

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Have Students Think Aloud

Having students discuss their thought process is one of the best ways to figure out
where their current skills are (and thus determine their ZPD) and make sure they're
actively learning. As a student is working on a project, have her talk about why she's
making certain decisions, what she thinks she should do next, and what she's unsure
about. When you give advice, make sure you also explain your own thought process so
students can understand why you're making the decisions you did.

Summary: Vygotsky Scaffolding and the Zone of

Proximal Development
Vygotsky scaffolding is a teaching method that uses instructors and more advanced
peers to help students learn. The Vygotsky theory of cognitive development states
that students will learn more when they receive guidance from someone with more
skills in the subject they're learning than they would if they were tackling the subject on
their own.

Vygotsky scaffolding is part of the education theory the zone of proximal development.
The zone of proximal development states that each student, for each subject, has three
levels of learning: things the student can accomplish on her own, things she can
accomplish with help from someone else (the zone of proximal development) and things

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she can't accomplish no matter how much help she has. The ZPD and Vygotsky
scaffolding theory is that students learn the most when they're in their ZPD.

Soviet psychologist Lev Vygotsky developed the ZPD and the Vygotsky theory of
cognitive development, while Jerome Bruner developed scaffolding psychology several
decades later. Studies have shown that scaffolding can be a very effective teaching
method, as long as the teacher understands the concepts behind it and doesn't provide
too much guidance.

If using scaffolding and the zone of proximal development in the classroom, remember
to know each student's ZPD, encourage group work, don't offer too much help, and
have students explain their thought process out loud.

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Christine Sarikas
About the Author
Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental
Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school
she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist.
She has taught English and biology in several countries.