Scaffolds and Language: How you can Help without Hovering
Throughout my years in the classroom, parents expressed their concerns about how they can support their child’s learning. They, want to guide the process of learning - whether it be riding a bike or multiplication - without jumping in too deep and taking over. They want to allow plenty of space for trial and error, for discovery. They want to use language that builds confidence and helps children overcome challenges.
When a skill isn’t coming easily to a child and frustration is building, the experience can feel chaotic and borderline miserable. When you are juggling homework, another child crying, and dinner, telling them the right answer is the quick and easy option.
But parents want to know how many different prompts and questions to give before they give the answer, and if they should even give it. Where do we draw the line? Other than modeling how to do the problem and giving the answer, what else do we say? How do we help?
When a kid misidentifies numbers and letters, how do we correct them, while ensuring they still feel confident?
In the classroom, we call the process of bridging what a child can do to what he can’t do “scaffolding.”
I first learned this term in my freshman year of college in my favorite course - childhood development. Lev Vygotsky, a famous Russian psychologist, believed that learning happens through social interactions. He also developed the concept of “the zone of proximal development," or ZPD.
The ZPD is the space between what a learner can do without help and what a learner is not yet capable of doing even with support. The ZPD is what a child is capable of doing with a peer, mentor, or “knowledgeable other.” This is where social interaction and scaffolding comes into play!
Scaffolding, when you think of a building with scaffolds on it, helps someone reach a higher level. With scaffolds, you help a child understand concepts they are not yet capable of on their own.
If a child reaches frustration even with the help of another, or with scaffolds in place, then that skill is outside of their ZPD.
In other words: back up!
Vygotsky’s theories have dramatically impacted classroom practices. Finding a child’s zone of proximal development allows teachers AND parents to find the “sweet spot” for their learning. Not too hard, not too easy, but JUST right! We can use a variety of scaffolds to bridge that learning over time.
It can be tricky to determine if you are working within a child’s zone of proximal development, but it’s a crucial step.
Scaffolding can include activities, resources, language, visual aids, and more. You can build contextual understanding with background knowledge (pre-teaching). You might allow a child to listen to a story rather than reading it, or using technology to write. There are so many ways we can scaffold for young learners depending on what the end goal of the activity is.
The goal of scaffolding is to eventually remove it because the child will be able to complete the skill or task.
Scaffolding is commonplace in the classroom, and it’s probably something you do all the time at home without thinking about it! I want to make it even easier for you to put in place scaffolds when helping your child at home.
Scaffolding works to:
Keep momentum going when learning something new
Build confidence in a young learner, and reduces anxiety
Helps you see what exactly your child needs more assistance with, and what your child is able to do on their own (when coupled with observation!).
When your child is having trouble with a task, here are some language prompts you might try.
If these sound general, it’s because they are. You can apply these to many subjects and situations.
Repeat their frustration, and say, “is that right?” This will help you clarify their frustration without putting words in their mouth.
Ex: “Math feels hard to you tonight, is that right?” While this feels like a redundant thing to say, it will validate your child’s feelings in the hopes that they will say more specifically what feels hard.
"Tell me more about that."
"What else could you do?"
"What do you notice?"
"Hmm, what could you do next?"
"Why do you think this happened?"
"What if you ____?"
Here are some general tips when helping your child with homework or a new skill:
Model the task and think aloud your process.
Show how you might break down the task into smaller chunks. Use a post-it to make a mini-check list.
Give wait time. Wait longer than you think you should before turning a page, asking a question, and responding to (small amounts) of frustration. When you ask a question, pause (a significant pause) before following up. Kids NEED this time for verbal processing.
Get down on their level and keep your voice calm and kind, but confident.
Notice the positive and praise it. Replace vague praise like “good job” and replace it with specific commentary on exactly what you want to reinforce. Ex: “Look at all the shapes you used in that drawing!”
Before giving your feedback, think: “what is my goal here? What are we trying to accomplish?” focusing on too many things with your feedback will be overwhelming for you and your child.
WATCH what they are doing. If they are erasing, watch what they are erasing. Practice observing your child to learn patterns.
LISTEN to what they are saying. Repeat what they say to affirm that you are actually paying attention to them. What seems small to you isn’t small to them if they keep bringing it up. They also might be having a hard time articulating the actual problem, but try your best not to put words in their mouth or jump to conclusions).
As a skill gets stronger, reduce the amount of scaffolding and support. Keep yourself busy for longer periods of time without checking in, give fewer prompts, etc. This will depend on the activity.
Back off. Don’t sit right next to them, but chop vegetables at the counter across from them. Give some space to avoid the temptation to do it for them or correct every mistake. You want them to learn to trust themselves and their own intuition, not rely on you to see their errors or find validation.
Remember that if your child makes mistakes, your child’s teacher will be able to see that and address learning gaps. Perfect homework is not always good - especially if there is a struggle going on.
If there is a lot of whining and you sense a power struggle, move away and don’t get sucked in. If necessary, put the work away and email the teacher to give them a heads up that there was an issue. They will be able to sit with your child to review the concept with them.
Resist the urge to create a perfect project or writing piece. Your child’s teacher is familiar with the work your child does, and it doesn’t help him or her address any issues if there are no errors at all.
At the end of the day, we are all exhausted and want to complete our parenting responsibilities, including (or especially) homework. We want it done so we can end the whining, eat dinner, and watch Survivor (again).
By getting overly involved we take away our kids opportunities to work through challenges. By ignoring not helping or telling them not to do it, we send the message that it’s not important. We want to help without hovering.
Think about how you can scaffold the task for them - bridge the gap between what they ARE doing, with what they can’t do yet.
Helping a child learn something new is not easy. Even when we model it for them, complete the task with them, sit right by them, kids will struggle sometimes. Don’t forget that struggle is good for the brain and a key element in learning.
I’d love for you to share with me a specific struggle your child is facing that you could use help scaffolding. Please share below!
