Things To Know Before Scaffolding
These are some vital things that parents should know before partaking in the process of scaffolding with their toddler. These tips will ensure that more learning and knowledge is acquired.
“Scaffolding represents the kind and quality of cognitive support that an adult can provide for a child’s learning, which anticipates the child’s internalization of mental functions” (Hammond & Gibbons, 2005, p, 9).
What Is Your Role During Play?
Parents should be a guide, a play partner, and a supporter during their toddler’s play sessions.
Being an interactive play partner rather than being bossy and inflexible can help ensure that your child leads and enjoys their play. For example, you can ask your child, “Do you want some company?” If they say “no”, let them play independently.
1. Which Play Supporter To Be
The Play Partner
A parent who follows their child’s lead and instructions within their play. They sometimes respectfully suggest additional play materials to help provoke more learning.
The Observer
A parent who listens, watches, comforts, and observes their child while they play.
The Cheerleader
A parent who shows support through being vocal, enthusiastic, and encouraging.
The Provoker
A parent who asks their child open-ended questions to provoke new thinking. They also model new skills and ideas while playing with their child.
2. Which Open-ended Toys To Offer?
The toys and play materials provided to your child should provoke discovery, offer mild challenges, spark exploration and imagination, and extend deep thinking and new learning.
Open-ended toys and materials are the best for fostering creativity, discovery, problem-solving, new language, new skills, and independence.
3. At What Stage To Offer Help?
Parents can indirectly help their children by placing a variety of open-ended toys in the home and letting their children choose what to play with. Wait until your child has tried the toys and had enough time to play independently.
When scaffolding
Use provocative hints rather than giving your child the complete answer.
Ask a few open-ended, thought-provoking questions to help your child work through their issue.
Pull back after the demonstration so your child can try independently.
Celebrate your child’s successes and efforts with meaningful praise and encouraging comments.
Ask, “Please tell me about what you made.”
“What is this sign for”?
“Which one of your towers is taller, the Blue one or the Red one?’.
“You also added some people; what are they doing?”
“Why are you being so careful as you place the block down”?
“How did you know that the tower would not fall?”
“You made a zoo; what animals did we see when we went to the zoo?”
“Why do you think that happened?”
4. How To Observe My Child?
Throughout the day, take some time to watch your child while they are busy playing, looking at books, interacting with someone, or being focused. Watch and listen to what your child is saying and how they are playing. This form of observation can help parents learn more about what their toddler knows and how to support their learning better.
Please observe your child’s actions, how they play, and how they use their thinking skills.
Please observe your child’s skill development, perseverance, and performance on age-appropriate developmental tasks.
Please learn what challenges and areas your child needs more help in and time to develop.
Please observe how your child constructs knowledge and draws conclusions about things.
Please listen to your child’s oral language and sounds.
5. What Milestones To Look For?
Knowing your child's skill level and overall development can help you guide them better. Knowing a bit about a toddler’s developmental stages can help parents be more understanding, more supportive, and better at scaffolding, which can help your toddler master more skills and learning.
Scaffolding questions for 18-20 months
Challenging questions: “How would you?”
Information question: “What are you making with the blocks?”
Action-based questions: “You used such a bright Yellow color for your sun.”
Elaborate questions: “Wow, tell me more about your train?”
Label questions: “What is this part called?”
Scaffolding questions for 22-30 months
Elaborate on questions: “Wow, tell me more about why you made the tree Green”?
Label questions: “What is this part called?” or “What is this part of your structure called”?
Reflect on their process questions: “I wonder why you made this?”?.
Vocabulary questions: “Yes, you used 6 Yellow squares; what other shapes do you have?”
Challenge questions: “Why did you decide to put the Green car over there?”
6. My Child’s Development Level
Doing a Developmental Assessment with your child can help you identify which skills they can do and need help with, and how best to support their development to improve any weak skills.
Let’s get started!!
.