According to Mercer (1994: 102), the concept embodies two key features of
human learning and development. The first is that learning with assistance is a
common and important feature of human mental development. The second is that the
limits of a person’s learning or problem-solving ability can be expanded by providing
the right kind of cognitive support. This, as Wood (1988: 13) emphasizes, leads to a
different view of ‘readiness’ from that offered by Piagetian Theory. While, for Piaget,
learning presupposes a certain degree of development, Vygotsky (1978: 84) stresses
that learning and development go hand in hand from the child’s very first day of
existence and claims that the only ‘good learning’ is the one which is in advance of
development, as it helps children develop through their ZPD (ibid: 89).
In order to describe the special kind of support which adults or more capable
peers can offer to children in order for them to develop within their ZPD, Bruner
(1978) used the term ‘scaffolding’. The unique characteristic of this process, as
Maybin et. al. (1992: 188) stress, is not only that it enables a learner to accomplish a
task which she would not have been able to manage on her own but, also, that it is
help which is intended to bring the learner closer to a state of competence which will
enable her eventually to complete such a task on her own. Gregory (1990) refers that
successful ‘scaffolding’ involves the following features: a) a reduction in the degree
of freedom; i.e. reducing the size of the task for the child and ‘filling in’ the rest; b)
keeping the child ‘in the field’ and motivated; c) marking critical or relevant features;
d) ‘modelling’ an idealized version of the task. Such a process presupposes an
asymmetry in the roles of teacher and learner (Rommetveit, 1985) which, however,
follows a course of development. As Edwards and Mercer (1987: 201) stress, the
successful process involves a gradual handover of control from teacher to learner as
the learner becomes able to do alone what could previously be done with help. Mercer
and Fisher (1993) suggest that such an appropriate discourse strategy should be
carefully employed so as to offer pupils the kind of help they consider appropriate
without discouraging them from seeking their own solutions to problems as,
according to Fisher (1993), ‘Help which is too much or too soon can easily discourage
pupils from making efforts for themselves, whilst help which comes too late can lead
to frustration and loss of interest’. It is worth emphasizing that the ability for
independent problem-solving which the learner acquires when she cooperates with
more knowledgeable others is not limited to the execution of similar tasks only but, as
Wood (1988: 82) stresses, helps the learner internalize the instructional process itself
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