Exploring The Metaphor Of Scaffolding In Teaching And Learning

Introduction
As most people know scaffolding is a temporary structure which aids in construction work for workers to build or repair buildings. The scaffolding will be removed once the building is able to support itself. In a learning context, the metaphor of scaffolding was first introduced by Wood, Bruner, and Ross in 1976. The same as the builders, teachers provide temporary support to help learners to develop new concepts, new skills, and new knowledge. Once the learners acquire the skills, the teachers will remove the support. Through this activity, the teachers assure that the learners are able to participate fully in the curriculum. As the supports given by the teacher the learners allow them to transfer their skills and knowledge to

Vygotsky mentioned that the “gap” between what learners can do easily and what learners can do with the help of a more knowledgeable other based on his concept of Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). Thus, the most effective learning takes place when the task given to the learners is a level higher than the learners’ actual knowledge (i+1). Knowledge is best transferred when the teacher co-operates and discuss with the learners. The importance of scaffolding is its contribution to the teacher-learning relationship. It focuses on the role of teacher and learners which are distinct but complementary in the learning context (Gibbons, 2002). Learning takes place the best when the classroom is able to provide high support and high challenge for

It provides the most effective learning condition which is the gap between what the learners can and cannot do without help in the ZPD. When planning the scaffold, a teacher should consider the designed-in scaffold, where the teacher has to plan before a teacher and the interactional contingent which is the situation in the classroom context. The teacher can provide the scaffold to learners during listening and speaking class to help the learners to decode and meaning build the sound they heard. A teacher who is not able to provide suitable scaffolding in the classroom is not able to motivate the learners to learn because the lesson may be either too simple or too difficult for the learners to learn. In conclusion, a “good” language teacher should be able to plan, select and sequence the activities to provide the suitable challenge and scaffold for learners to learn