Scaffolding is temporary, well-matched support for a task a learner cannot yet complete independently. In 1976, Wood, Bruner and Ross used the term to describe how a tutor controls parts of a problem beyond a child’s present ability while leaving the child actively involved.
When someone is first learning to solve an equation, a teacher might prompt them to “keep the unknown on one side”, then reduce the prompts until the learner can choose the next step unaided. If the prompt never disappears, the guided task may be completed without independent capability developing. With no support at all, the difficulty may sit beyond a useful learning range.
Scaffolding is not doing the work for someone: it preserves the parts the learner can carry. Nor is it simply a permanent tool, which may continue to extend ability. Adjustment and withdrawal belong to the design of a scaffold. Good support is not maximal support; it becomes accurately smaller as capability grows.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.1976.tb00381.x
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