Student-Centred Scaffolding

By Andrew Moore

“Bop bop bop, bop to the top.” - Sharpay and Ryan Evans

When the term scaffolding is used in regards to education I can’t help but think of the characters Sharpay and Ryan Evans from High School Musical singing about ‘bopping’ to the top, both singing about and physically climbing ladders in their euphoric musical rendition. Although not an accurate representation of the act of scaffolding itself, the idea of climbing a ladder and moving one rung (eh-hem ‘bop’) at a time within a structured task is crucial in the student-centred learning experience. 

Becton Loveless offers the following definition. ‘Scaffolding refers to breaking up new concepts so that they can be learned more easily.’ With the implementation of scaffolds, pupils will have a greater ability to understand new concepts and more efficiently retain information.

The role of scaffolds within my own practice is crucial for building pupil understanding and returning to concepts. An issue that often arises in the music classroom is cognitive overload from the number of variables to a task. For example, a Year 7 piano task will typically require a student to combine previously taught information regarding note values with new information in the form of reading pitch AND learning how to both translate this to specific keys and have accurate motor control over their fingers. To exacerbate this, students may also only encounter the subject and instrument once a week often resulting in an element of ‘relearning’ taking place in each lesson. I imagine there will be doppelganger-esque scenarios in most subjects, further highlighting the importance of teacher tools to help students navigate or return to a concept. Below are some general tips I find helpful within my own practice:

1. Be aware of your students’ Zones of Proximal Development.

Coined by the researcher Vygotsky, the zones of proximal development (ZPD) refer to what a student can do independently, what they can do with assistance, and what they can’t do just yet, even with help. It is important to be aware of the students in your class and the ability they already have, the ability they will have with assistance from a student with slightly more ability (for example in music this could be a student who has learned the piano privately), the ability they will have with assistance from you, and then tasks that despite regular assistance are still too challenging (in music this could be providing a student who can competently read the various notes with a piece of music at concert level and ask them to perform). With understanding of the various zones you can effectively plan your lesson using scaffolds informed by the students within the room, what they know, how this may be used to help others and also how you may help the students by working with them. 

2. Link the steps, highlight the journey, empower students in future use.

It is important pupils can see the steps and scaffolds that are used in the delivering of a concept so their ‘toolkit’ of knowledge is nurtured and developed. If the steps for a particular task are linked to build upon one another then the student can use the scaffolds in real time. By immediately highlighting the steps and how they are linked, the students will gain an satisfaction and greater command over the task itself, perhaps being able to independently utilise the scaffold when in need and also appreciate the scaffolds provided within a new task or concept. This also helps as the steps should and naturally will become more complex as pupil knowledge grows. 

3. Embed scaffolds in pupil routines for consistent tasks.

Earlier in the blog post I discussed the scenario of a Year 7 music class learning to play the piano. The scaffold I used to support pupils in this scenario was laminated cut outs of part of a piano with the particular note names (translations) written for each key. Pupils could then slot the cut out behind relevant keys of the piano, therefore allowing pupils to more easily access the piano keys and link them to the notes. The keyboard cut outs sit at the front of the music room in a pile visible and readily accessible to students. For every subsequent lesson the scaffold was readily available to use and gradually I stopped instructing pupils to retrieve the cut-out, and rather allowed them to pick it up when they felt in need. This also allowed pupils to gradually manage the task without the scaffold, or use it when they may have had a lapse in knowledge or need just a little bit more support approaching the piano task itself. 

4. Make use of a physical scaffold.

This is not to say set up scaffolding as you would with a building, rather make use of physical. tangible objects that scaffold a task or a concept. For example, when leading pupils in their writing technique for an essay question, providing generic but typical sentence starters in printed form can be a useful scaffold students can use on a regular basis before they gradually no longer need it. This could be a typical starting sentence for an introduction section of an essay, and similarly a conclusion. If the sentence starters were printed they offer another vehicle for student understanding and reasoning, perhaps the student could place the physical object on the relevant paper to help with the process of planning and envisioning their future sentence etc. 

5. Scaffold conversations.

A fairly self-explanatory title, when you scaffold conversation you offer prompts in some shape or form that assist your pupils in verbal reasoning and understanding a concept. I find the key to scaffolding conversation is to ensure your contributions are brief and clearly highlight how the topic builds upon prior knowledge. Another important factor in scaffolding conversation is understanding and in part predicting student responses, then using this knowledge to inform your response and scaffolded sentences… (bear with me). There was a particular lesson where my Year 9 students were analysing a piece of music called ‘4:33’ in which the performer sits at a piano but does not play it. The concept briefly summarised is that the music is what happens within the silence- therefore unique for each performance. However, does this mean the piece is actually music? This was the question I posed to my Year 9’s with the overall goal that students would be able to articulate what they thought music was and why. By predicting likely student responses I would play devil’s advocate and ask leading questions requiring students to examine their views and deepen their inquiry of the debate itself. By doing so you can set the parameters to help support pupils as they formulate their understanding and answers whilst also inspiring them in their answers. The scaffold requires a good understanding of your pupils, however can be incredibly useful and helpful in supporting students within important conversations. 

6. Ensure understanding of scaffolding and differentiation, the similarities and differences.

Differentiation and scaffolding often overlap and both share the same desired end goal of increasing student success. Generally, differentiation is seen as more individualistic in approach, for example, modifying or creating a different task in order to cater more efficiently to a particular student or students’ learning style; whereas scaffolding is generally aimed at a class as a whole. Understanding the distinction is important for the lesson planning process helping to ensure teachers are firmly aware and have command over the resources they are creating and delivering within the lesson. A pitfall I occasionally fall into is I create a resource with the intention of using it as a differentiated resource for a student, however, it is actually part of the general scaffolding of the lesson, therefore missing the student in need of a modified task or resource. Similarly, understanding the two processes will allow you to reuse and repurpose previous materials, such as a scaffold becoming a more targeted resource of differentiation.

Thank you for reading and always remember, you gotta bop bop bop, bop to the top!

Further reading:

• https://www.educationcorner.com/scaffolding-education-guide.html
• https://blog.prepscholar.com/vygotsky-scaffolding-zone-of-proximal-development
• https://dataworks-ed.com/blog/2017/05/differentiation-and-scaffolding-before-teaching/
• https://www.gcu.edu/blog/teaching-school-administration/what-scaffolding-education#:~:text=Scaffolding%20refers%20to%20a%20method,how%20to%20solve%20a%20problem.&text=Students%20might%20work%20together%20in%20small%20groups%20to%20help%20each%20other.
• https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261619027_Tools_for_Scaffolding_Students_in_a_Complex_Learning_Environment_What_Have_We_Gained_and_What_Have_We_Missed