ABSTRACT
Over the last 15 years or more, the metaphor of scaffolding has played an important role in discussions of the teacher’s activity during effective instructional exchanges in the classroom (Berk & Winsler, 1995; Cazden, 1988; Hogan & Pressley, 1997; Rosenshine & Meister, 1992; Wong, 1998). Central to the scaffolding metaphor are the two notions of support and relinquishment. Scaffolded instruction supports the child’s construction of new understandings, but does so in a manner that allows for the eventual removal of that support. Such instruction has been seen as a powerful force in helping children to take ownership of new knowledge and procedures. In addition, scaffolded instruction is seen as having the potential to meet the needs of individual children during group activities, by accommodating learning style and knowledge gaps, and thereby, to level the “playing field” (Day & Cordon, 1993).
