A knitting tale: reflections on scaffolding.

Laura, nearly 6, recently engaged in a challenging and rewarding learning experience. She learned how to "chain knit." She had received a beautiful, small, hardwood knitter as a Christmas gift. One wintry Saturday morning, she asked her father, Jim, if they could do some knitting. When he agreed, she enthusiastically explained how she planned to "make a lot of knitted things" and sell them to earn money for a desired toy.

While Jim had some experience with other simple forms of knitting and knot-tying, neither he nor Laura had knitted in this way before. Therefore, the first thing Jim did, after getting the knitter and the crochet hook out of the box, was to read the instructions. A diagram illustrated the recommended way to cast on the yarn and showed the simple, repetitive actions required to make each stitch. The diagram also revealed that the end result would be a long, knitted "tail" that would emerge from the hole at the bottom of the wooden knitter. Laura watched eagerly as her father began to experiment.

Jim was about to help Laura learn to knit by using a common natural teaching technique, "scaffolding," that is perhaps the most effective form of instruction. The term was coined 20 years ago by Harvard psychologist Jerome Bruner and his colleagues (Wood, Bruner & Ross, 1976) as they interpreted and developed the theory of Russian psychologist L. S. Vygotsky. This way of teaching, however, has probably been used for millennia by good teachers and their young apprentices.

"Scaffolding" occurs when a more experienced person supports the efforts of a less experienced learner through careful, individualized instruction of a new skill. It is the sensitive, responsive transfer of skills and knowledge, via physical or verbal interaction, from one who is motivated to share to one who is motivated to learn. Most important, this way of teaching preserves the learner's initiative and his or her natural dispositions for curiosity, interest and personal power (Katz, 1985).

The example of Laura and her father illustrates the components of successful scaffolding.

"Let's see," Jim said. "It looks like you tie the yarn to the needle, and then push it down through this hole, 'til it comes out the bottom." He tied on the yarn, and then handed it to Laura. Guided by suggestions from her father, Laura slowly pushed the yarn through the knitter and then untied it from the needle.

"Now, it looks like we need to take the yarn and wrap it once around each of these metal loops," remarked Jim. He did this, carefully matching the configuration shown in the instructions. Laura watched intently. "Next, you hold the yarn like this, put the needle through the bottom loop, and then pull it over the top, like this," he said, as he performed these actions. He took several more stitches in this manner, rotating the knitter a quarter-turn after each stitch. Laura watched, and then exclaimed, "I want to do it!"

Complementary Motivations and Goals

Both the learner and the teacher must be motivated. The learner must want to learn something and the teacher must want to assist. To begin, both must be willing to extend themselves, experiment, make mistakes and try again. Successful scaffolding requires shared understanding, stated or understood, about what the learner wants to accomplish. This mutual understanding, which has both cognitive and social-emotional components, has also been called "intersubjectivity" (Rogoff, 1990; Wertsch, 1984). The adult may have a learning goal in mind for the child, but he also must be sensitive to the child's own intentions and goals. (For example, when a child simply wants to learn a more satisfying way draw a dog's ears, the teacher probably should not lecture on canine physiology or technical artistic perspective.) Vygotsky (1962) called this immediate potential for learning with some assistance, the child's "zone of proximal development." A child's zone of proximal development, for any skill or understanding, includes skills or problems that the child is able to master with some assistance from a more experienced teacher (Rogoff, 1990).

At first, Laura's father let her complete the part of the knitting process that seemed to him most obvious and important: lifting the yarn over each loop with the needle. He was not sure if she would be able to do this successfully, but he thought it might be a good first step. As Laura made her first attempts, Jim handled all of the other required tasks. He held the knitter in position for her so she could see what she was doing and work the needle freely, and he turned the knitter after each stitch.

Offering "Just Enough"

Assistance

While the teacher may already know much about what the learner wants to learn, she nevertheless provides assistance to the learner only as needed. She may ask, "What can I do to help you?" Or she may simply observe the learner's intentions and attempts, smoothly interjecting support when needed to successfully complete the process. Sometimes, the teacher may need to demonstrate an entire sequence or process, and then encourage the learner to try one part of it.

The keys to offering "just enough" help are: 1) sensitively observing the child's words and actions, 2) making accurate inferences about the child's intentions and 3) assisting only as needed and adjusting help according to the child's reactions (Bruner, 1985). Also, the child must, in large part, "direct the adult's assistance' (Rogoff, 1991) and assume increasing responsibility for problem-solving and task completion. This back-and-forth process is the essence of scaffolding.

Jim positioned the incoming yarn against the next loop and held it firmly, providing the needed tension. After Laura made each stitch, he tugged on the leading end of the yarn as it came out of the knitter. While doing all of these things, he occasionally offered suggestions and encouragement to Laura: "O.K., you need to come down from the top, like this. That's it. Get your needle inside the bottom loop, and then pull it up over the top one. Good!"

Laura struggled to make each stitch. She kept making adjustments as she searched for the best way to grasp the needle. Having just learned to make the stitches himself, Jim knew that it took a considerable amount of finger strength and control. But Laura persevered, working diligently to get each loop over. As she worked, Jim watched her closely. He made small adjustments in his positioning of the knitter, so that Laura could perform her part more easily.

Mutual Trust and Risk-Taking

Both teacher and learner must know and trust each other well enough to communicate effectively, either verbally or nonverbally. Learners will be more likely to take risks and try new things if they believe that the teacher will not criticize or diminish, but will instead provide support and assistance as needed. The teacher must be willing to relinquish control and power, giving to the learner the opportunity to try, even at the risk of failure. The teacher must trust the learner to accept responsibility for the thing to be learned, and also trust the learner to accept support. Skillful teachers carefully manage this "balance of sensitivity and challenge" (Rogoff, 1990).

Jim found that for a while, he needed to remind Laura each time to reposition the needle in a certain way before attempting a stitch. "Remember," he gently emphasized, "come down from the top. " A few times, Laura pulled the yarn over the loop too forcefully, causing all of the loops to slip off the knitter. Jim figured out an easy procedure for getting the loop back on and starting over. "Oops! " he would say, "let's get that loop back on there and try it again.

Using Language To Provide

Structure

The teacher provides guidance, using directions and verbal labels that the learner at least partly understands (Wertsch, 1979). In this way, the teacher reveals to the child the specific actions or elements that are critical to the particular learning process. She provides a "bridge" between familiar skills or information, and those that may be less familiar but are necessary to solve the problem. Sometimes, the teacher gives the child a prompt to help him remember what comes next. These reminders make learning more efficient and attainable. Guiding words, and the ways they are used, offer a structure that can be remembered and used (what Vygotsky called "inner speech") when the learner later reproduces and practices new skills independently.

Gradually, Laura's actions became smoother and more routine. She noticed her skill was improving. "I'm doing it better!" she exclaimed.

"You sure are!" her father agreed. Jim then discovered that if he moved around to a chair in front of Laura, facing her, rather than sitting beside her, he could hold the knitter without interfering with her knitting actions.

Careful Observation and

Feedback

By playing close attention to the learner's intentions, actions and attempts, the teacher will gain important information about how to respond appropriately. The teacher should notice any hesitation, and offer encouragement. A new effort or a small success can be appropriately recognized only if it has been observed! Likewise, it is often necessary for learners to carefully observe their teachers' actions or words, so that they can try to imitate them (Bruner, 1985; Rogoff, 1990).

As Laura continued to stitch with the needle in her right hand, she began holding the incoming yarn down against the knitter with her left thumb. -It works better if I hold it down," she remarked. Her father had been performing this task for her, so he carefully eased his thumb back to make room for hers. He found that he was no longer holding the incoming yarn against the knitting loop.

Soon, Laura asked her father to stop holding the incoming yarn at all. "I can hold it myself," she said, adjusting her hand to both position the yarn properly and hold it against the knitting loop. Jim again gave way, now releasing the yarn entirely from his right hand. Laura continued to make the stitches and position the incoming yarn. Jim held the knitter in front of Laura, turning it after each stitch, tugging the knitted yarn from the bottom after each stitch. He was no longer giving her verbal reminders or instructions. Laura's knitting speed increased, and her motions became smoother.

Withdrawing Assistance

The teacher gradually relinquishes support and control as it becomes clear that the learner can take over parts of the process, or at the learner's direct request. Responsibility for managing the problem is thus gradually transferred from the adult to the child (Rogoff, 1990). The child's problem-solving gradually progresses from "other-regulated," through "shared-regulated" to "self-regulated" (Wertsch, 1979). Each release" by the teacher and each catch" by the learner is celebrated by both (sometimes noisily!).

Within a matter of minutes, Laura assumed each of the remaining tasks her father had been performing. First, she said, "I'll turn it." She began rotating the knitter after each stitch, positioning it for the next. Then Jim suggested that she tug the knitted yarn at the bottom Of the knitter. She agreed. He found that he had to remind her a few times to "tug" as she began to go on to the next stitch. Soon, he was simply holding the knitter in front of her, as she performed all of the other actions, in the proper order, with the very satisfying result that her knitting-all her own-was disappearing into the hole of the knitter! "It looks like a spider web!" she exclaimed.

As he held the knitter and watched Laura work, Jim felt surprised at the transformations that had taken place in less than an hour. Laura was now performing a complex task with rapidly increasing skill - a task about which she had little knowledge or confidence only minutes before. He thought to himself, "This is a lot of learning for one day! Perhaps we should take a break and work some more later. "

Immediately, Laura surprised him again by saying, "I can hold it all by myself!"

Jim replied, "You can? That seems like it might be pretty hard." He understood how the successful completion of the task hinged upon holding the knitter in proper position. Perhaps this was just one thing too many for Laura to master in one day, at such an early stage in her knitting career. (Or, just perhaps, he was reluctant to let go of his role of teacher!)

Give and Take

Each partner must be willing and able to take, or relinquish, control of the learning process at appropriate times. This interactive learning process is like a special dance that requires sensitivity to one's partner. The child learns to do some part of the task, and this new understanding then becomes a part of the teacher-learner dialogue. Using this now-shared knowledge as a base, the child may ask, "What comes next?" or the adult may suggest, "Now try this! " (Bruner, 1985). These steps help to advance the child's zone of proximal development. The ultimate goal is mutually understood: the learner will assume complete control of the process as soon as he or she is able and feels comfortable.

After a moment's consideration, Jim decided that Laura might as well try holding the knitter by herself. He slowly released it to her grasp. To his surprise, Laura managed this final transition with ease! She quickly invented an original, and quite effective, way to hold the knitter as she smoothly positioned the yarn and the needle for each stitch. Jim was duly impressed. "That's great!" he said.

Jim sat quietly next to Laura as she knitted intently. He silently reveled in the independence she displayed in acquiring this complex skill, and he marveled at the learning experience they had just shared. He continued to watch Laura work, occasionally offering a word of encouragement or a reminder When she seemed unsure.

Encouraging Practice

Repetition results in refinement, ease of use, more pleasure and, sometimes, even the discovery of new variations for a familiar pattern (Piaget, 1962). This kind of practice is a naturally occurring, often playful, process when children acquire a new skill. (Picture the young toddler who walks excitedly to the point of near exhaustion. Or the older child who forgoes dinner to practice a recently learned musical piece.) The teacher may contribute by simply watching and appreciating the child's accomplishments. Or she may continue to provide small amounts of support, verbal or indirect, when the child becomes hesitant or forgets what to do. Such assistance may be actively requested by the child, whose renewed sense of personal power and autonomy is not diminished by just a little more help from the trusted teacher.

Conclusion

The principles of scaffolding can be used with learners of all ages and developmental levels. Scaffolding can be used to support skill and knowledge acquisition in many learning domains: physical skills like knitting; language and literacy acquisition at home or in school (Schickedanz, Chay, Gopin, Sheng, Song & Wild, 1990); social customs, such as manners at family meals (Valsiner, 1984); number concepts (Saxe, Gearhart & Guberman, 1984); thinking and social skills, acquired through make-believe play (Berk, 1994); how to solve a problem or play with a new toy (Pratt, Kerig, Cowan & Cowan, 1988; Radziszewska & Rogoff, 1988; Rogoff, Malkin & Gilbride, 1984). Scaffolding can be intense, as with Jim and Laura's knitting project, or more intermittent, as when an observant early childhood teacher notices and becomes briefly involved with a child's social problem-solving during free play, and then smoothly withdraws to observe another child across the room.

Most early childhood educators are convinced that child-initiated learning, including free exploration and play, is a key component of developmentally appropriate education. Less well understood, and less often promoted, are developmentally appropriate forms of adult assisted learning. The process of scaffolding, as described in this article, is certainly one of these appropriate forms of teaching.

Classroom teachers can look for opportunities to provide scaffolding when children need assistance with self-initiated learning activities. Alternatively, teachers using one-on-one or small-group learning activities can plan "scaffolded situations" that allow each child to extend current skills and knowledge to a higher level. Examples of such activities include adult-guided small groups for the observation and description of the properties of magnets, or regular one-on-one consultations with children about their journal writing.

Children can receive scaffolding from a variety of more experienced learners (parents, other adults or children) in many domains of learning. If teachers create opportunities for learning and strive to develop their scaffolding skills - carefully observing, becoming attuned to the child, developing trust, allowing the child to influence the teacher's assistance, providing understandable structure when needed and letting the child assume control at the appropriate moments - the possibilities for constructive, mutually enjoyable learning are unlimited!

References

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