What is scaffolding?

• A. A physical structure in the classroom
• B. Direct control with no fading
• C. An instructional technique where a person guides the learning and gradually transfers responsibility to the child
• D. A method of grading

Answer: (C)

Scaffolding is an instructional approach where a more knowledgeable person guides the learner through a task, providing supports such as prompts, modeling, or guided practice, and then gradually removes those supports as the child becomes more capable, transferring responsibility to the child. This aligns with the idea of the learner’s zone of proximal development—learning happens with appropriate support that fades over time, until the child can do the task independently.

So the best description matches this guided-with-support-and-fade process. The other options miss the core idea: a physical structure isn’t about teaching; direct control with no fading stops once the support is removed, which isn’t scaffolding; and grading isn’t related to instructional support.