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Thomas, Davis, & Kazlauskas
thinking skills. With the correct scaffolding, students can be encouraged to work at the higher
levels of Bloom’s revised taxonomy in both the knowledge and cognitive dimensions from the
commencement of the first year of their IS studies.
The next section expands on the concept of scaffolding to help students develop critical thinking
skills.
Scaffolding
Holton and Clarke (2006, p.131) define scaffolding as “an act of teaching that
(i) supports the immediate construction of knowledge by the learner; and
(ii) provides the basis of independent learning of the individual.”
They propose that it is only by the teacher providing the scaffolding that the independent learner
is supported. Walton and Archer (2004) say that scaffolding provides learners with parts of the
task that may be beyond their capacity initially. This allows learners to focus on the aspects of the
task that they can manage, while still keeping an understanding of the task as a whole. Scaffolding
is related to Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development (Rieber, 1987). Vygotsky believed
that there are some problems that children can solve on their own and others that they will not be
able to perform even with help. Between these two extremes, we find the problems that the child
can solve with the help of the teacher, parent, or fellow students. This is true of university students
too. Group activities and scaffolding provided by an expert in the form of guidance or support
are therefore important in helping students to develop their ability to work independently
(Jelfs, Nathan & Barrett, 2004).
Holton and Clarke (2006) relate scaffolding in teaching to scaffolding in building construction.
They say that workers are able to reach places that are otherwise inaccessible by placing a structure
against the building to support them. By scaffolding students’ learning and cognitive processes,
lecturers are able to stimulate new learning and enable students to reach new heights.
Ramsden (2003, p123) maintains that “thoughtful teachers understand that highly structured initial
experiences provide students with confidence and a sense of purpose; these experiences tend
to make subsequent freedoms all the more fruitful and exciting.”
Scaffolding should also make tasks meaningful by building on the knowledge and abilities that
learners already possess (Walton & Archer, 2004). If scaffolding is implemented appropriately, it
allows learners to gradually assimilate relevant principles and become independently responsible
for their own learning (Sharma & Hannafin, 2004). As the students progress in their learning, the
scaffolding provided by the teacher is removed, but the cognitive processes learnt should remain,
enabling students to apply their learning and cognitive skills independently to new problems.
Scaffolding through Questioning or Prompting
One method of scaffolding is through the use of questioning or prompting. Questions can be
asked to identify the logic and/or the origin of an idea and to prompt the student into thinking
about supporting or conflicting evidence or the implications of their ideas (Sharma & Hannafin,
2004).
When students first tackle a problem we might ask questions like:
• What are the important ideas here?
• Can you rephrase the problem in your own words?
• Have you come across other problems that might help you solve this one?
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