Examining Scaffolding Techniques in Psychological Education

Scaffolding is a term that appears frequently in the field of psychology. It is a term that is used to describe a form of teaching. According to Firestone, it is a technique in which teachers show their students how to find a solution to a problem. The teacher then “steps back” and allows for the student to try it on their own. This process is done to teach independence in problem solving onto the students (Firestone n.d.). Through the use of scaffolding, students are able to work on problems on their own, without having to necessarily “hold hands” with their instructor or teacher. Scaffolding is worth examining in the field of psychology because it is useful to see the development in the growth and knowledge of a child. The results of scaffolding are worth examining as well in order to see what the most effective ways of teaching are. There are many different ways in which teachers or instructors can inform their students how to solve a problem. In other words, there are many different scaffolding techniques. Because of this, the question of “what is the most frequently used scaffolding technique?” arises.

Henderson, Joyce Many, H.P. Wellborn, and Joy Ward (2006), there are six main deviations of scaffolding; these deviations include of “modeling, contingency management, giving feedback, instructing, questioning, and applying cognitive thinking.” Though there are different variations, the teacher is allowed to choose which one (s)he would like to instill on their student. If the instructor knows what specific area the student is struggling in, they can decide which will be the best fitting scaffolding method and apply it to the student. It was discovered that early childhood development depended heavily on social interaction. It is crucial for the advancement of knowledge in a child to be “centered in a social support system that encourages communication and interaction” (Henderson et. al