Theoretical Framework
Scaffolding theory was first introduced in the late 1950s by Jerome Bruner, a cognitive
psychologist. He used the term to describe young children's oral language acquisition. Helped by
their parents when they first start learning to speak, young children are provided with informal
instructional formats within which their learning is facilitated. In writing instruction, typically
support is presented in verbal form (discourse). The writing tutor engages the learner's attention,
calibrates the task, motivates the student, identifies relevant task features, controls for frustration,
and demonstrates as needed (Rodgers, 2004). Through joint activities, the teacher scaffolds
conversation to maximize the development of a child's intrapsychological functioning. In this
process, the adult controls the elements of the task that are beyond the child's ability all the while
increasing the expectations of what the child is able to do. Speech, a critical tool to scaffold
thinking and responding, plays a crucial role in the development of higher psychological processes
(Luria, 1979) because it enables thinking to be more abstract, flexible, and independent (Bodrova
& Leong, 1996). From a Vygotskian perspective, talk and action work together with the
sociocultural fabric of the writing event to shape a child's construction of awareness and
performance (Dorn, 1996).
Scaffolding, as instructional support, can help learners achieve goals or finish tasks that
they cannot accomplish on their own but can do with the help from other people or tools.
Scaffolding has effectively promoted learning among different learners, for various learning goals,
and in diverse learning environments (Beed, Hawkins, & Roller, 1991; Chang et al., 2001; Davis,
1996; Hogan & Pressley, 1997; King, Staffieri, & Adelgais, 1998; Palincsar, 1998). It was also
proved to be effective in helping learners construct concept maps. For example, Chang and her
colleagues (2001) provided students in one of the experimental groups with a partially finished
expert map in computer-based concept mapping. The existing nodes and links in the partially
finished map serve as scaffolding to students by reducing their cognitive load and providing a
referent structure. The findings indicated that seven grade students in this group outperformed their
peers who did not receive such scaffolding in a biology achievement test. Given its success in
enhancing students’ performance in various tasks, including creating concept maps, scaffolding is
a promising solution to enhancing students’ performance in constructing quality relationships
between concepts.
Scaffolding can be provided in a variety of ways. To find out which kind of scaffolding
can help improve students’ performance in concept linking, it is necessary to understand the
possible 3 reasons that cause the difficulty. Many factors may account for the difficulty that
students have in linking concepts, for example, lack of understanding of the subject matter or/and
deficiency in concept mapping knowledge and skills (Fisher et al., 1990; Hsu, 2004; Kinchin,
2000). In addition, unfamiliarity with the words or phrases that are used to describe relationships
between concepts may also result in the problem. It has been found that rather than using accurate
terms to describe relationships between concepts, novices often use “ambiguous terms”, such as
“is connected to”, “is related to”, or “involves”, which do not illustrate the nature of relationships
between concepts (Jonassen, 1996, p. 109). Although no field study has been conducted, several
authors (Fisher et al., 1990; Jonassen, 1996) suggest that providing students with linking words or
phrases may help improve this situation. Thus, in this study concept linking words or phrases will
be provided to students as scaffolding and the effects that it has on students’ performance in
concept linking will be examined.
Conceptual Framework
Variables
Independent: Effectiveness of Scaffolding Instruction
Dependent: Assess the Academic Performance of Students
INPUT
Scaffolding Instruction
to Assess the Academic
Performance of
Students
PROCESS
OUTPUT
Data Gathering
through
observation and
giving scaffolding
assessment
Effectiveness of
Scaffolding
Instruction in the
Academic
Performance of
Students