Some of my students have little experience in lab investigations. My colleague suggested I “scaffold” my instruction to help them develop lab skills, but I’m not sure what that would look like.  —C., Virginia

“Scaffolding” refers to guiding strategies designed to help students develop greater understanding of concepts and skills to become more independent learners.

Think of when you were learning to ride a bicycle. Someone first walked along with you, holding onto the seat as you pedaled. Your instructor probably gave you advice and encouragement, then let go for a few seconds until you started to wobble. Eventually you were ready to go on your own, and your instructor kept a watchful eye on you for a while.

One strategy to scaffold your students’ skill learning is with an I do->we do->you do progression:

• focused demonstrations of the skills, connecting them to what students already know
• guided practice in a variety of contexts with teacher monitoring and feedback
• opportunities for students to choose and use the skills independently (even if they make a few mistakes)

I observed an Earth science teacher scaffolding with a “think-aloud” as she demonstrated how to create graphs from a data table. This was a not a “how-to” lecture. She reminded herself of the graph’s purpose and the steps of the process, asked herself questions as she worked, and deliberately made some mistakes (correcting them in real time). It was as if the students could peek inside her mind as she worked through the process. When she paused in her thinking, the students volunteered their own suggestions. In the second part of the lesson, students worked in groups to make graphs as she monitored each group, offering suggestions and feedback.

For more suggestions:

• Just-in-time support
• 6 Scaffolding Strategies to Use With Your Students
• Scaffolding