Scaffolding involves:

• The teacher helping the learner to go further than they can go on their own.
• The teacher helping the learner to achieve something more quickly than would be possible if they were left to their own devices.
• The teacher taking a learner to a certain point, which they could not have accessed, or would have had difficulty accessing, on their own, before letting them take over.

Here are six examples of scaffolding strategies, two each for paired discussion, group discussion and whole-class discussion.

Paired Discussion Scaffolding Strategies

Strategy One – Question Sequence

Provide each pair with a set of questions related to the topic.

Ask them to work through the list, discussing each question in turn.

They should make notes as they go, creating a reference they can use later.

This method has three scaffolding aspects to it.

First, the question sequence helps scaffold learners’ discussions by leading them through a series of mini discussions.

Second, the list of questions is a visual reminder for learners, acting as a scaffold that helps them stay on track during the activity.

Third, by creating notes, the learners are capturing their ideas and storing them, ready for future reference. The notes become a concrete scaffold the learners can refer back to, when the discussion is over.

Strategy Two – Bloom’s-Based Questions

Give pairs some stimulus material and ask them to read through it. This could be anything, as long as it is connected to the topic you want learners to discuss.

When learners have finished reading, give them a set of comprehension questions to discuss. Anything between two and five is sufficient, depending on your learners and how confident they are.

Add an additional question at the end that is from higher up Bloom’s Taxonomy: analysis, synthesis or evaluation is ideal.

This is the more challenging question.

The strategy scaffolds the learners’ interaction with the material by leading them through a series of lower-order questions (based on comprehension) before directing them to the more challenging question.

You can adapt the strategy based on your knowledge of your learners.

For example, your more-able learners may need fewer, or no, comprehension questions.

Or you might know that your learners tend to discuss more effectively when they are given freedom, leading you to use some synthesis questions that are open-ended and creative.

Group Discussion Scaffolding Strategies

Strategy One – Join the Group

If you have a group of learners who particularly struggle with discussion activities (and it is not possible for them to work with pupils who are more skilled, or you have tried this, and it has been unsuccessful) then you can try sitting with them and being a full member of their discussion.

Playing this role requires some skill.

You do not want to take over or inhibit your learners.

You are aiming to provide just enough input to make things easier for the group but not so much that it stops being a discussion.

This strategy takes the onus of starting and sustaining the discussion away from those learners who find such tasks difficult.

This frees them up to think about the topic.

In addition, through your interventions, you can ensure the discussion is steered toward areas about which you know the learners have prior knowledge, helping them to engage and experience success.

Strategy Two – Discussion Frame

Provide each group with a discussion frame.

This is a table with two columns.

The first column contains words, phrases or pictures connected to the discussion topic.

The second column is blank.

Each group is expected to talk about the various words, phrases and pictures during their discussion.

One person should be picked as a scribe. They job is to make notes in the blank column, capturing what is said by members of the group.

In this strategy, the frame is the scaffold. It serves three purposes.

First, it directs the discussion, giving learners a series of things to discuss.

Second, it prompts learners to see connections between the different things.

Third, it becomes a concrete reminder of the discussion by virtue of what the scribe writes down.

Whole-Class Discussion Scaffolding Strategies

Strategy One – Spider Diagram First

Before your whole-class discussion, create a spider-diagram about the topic.

Leave this spider-diagram on the board for the duration of the discussion.

It gives learners plenty of information they can revisit.

By pooling the resources of the class (lots of different learners will make contributions to the spider-diagram) and supplementing this with knowledge from the teacher (the learners may miss some important things) you can create a high-quality scaffold that all learners can see and refer to while you lead them in a discussion.

This method works particularly well because of the visibility of the scaffold. You can also leave space and then continue adding to the diagram during the discussion.

You can be the scribe, or you can ask a learner to do the role.

If the latter, it may be a good task for someone who does not feel confident speaking as this is an alternative way for them to be involved.

Strategy Two – Good, Bad and Reasonable Discussion Videos

Film yourself and a colleague engaged in a discussion.

Produce three short pieces, the first of which exemplifies bad discussion, the second of which shows discussion of a reasonable quality, and the third of which demonstrates high-quality discussion.

Show these to your learners and talk them through before you start your whole-class discussion.

They will help pupils understand what they need to do to discuss well.

The method requires some preparation.

In its favour is the fact that, once you have made the videos, you can use them over and again, year after year.

It is akin to modelling and it is fair to say that, in general, the two concepts (modelling and scaffolding) are very close; two branches of the same tree.

You can use this technique to support learners with paired and group discussion as well. One way to extend it is to challenge learners to produce their own videos. This pushes them to think carefully about the nature of discussion and what makes a discussion good.