Scaffolding is often ascribed to the Russian Psychologist Lev Vygotsky (1978)

Vygotsky’s theory of instruction emphasizes the need to offer instruction that exceeds a child’s current ability; this mechanism is termed scaffolding.

Vygotsky believed that the purpose of teaching was to help children develop skills that they had yet to grasp; thus, instruction must precede development rather than follow it.

According to Vygotsky’s theory, the ZPD describes the area between a child’s current and future ability. The ZPD is a hypothesized construct that describes the range of children’s abilities from what they are capable of doing to what they are unable to do on their own. When teaching, teachers should encourage child learning by using activities and supporting strategies that enable a child to accomplish a task with the assistance of another peer or teacher. It is important while scaffolding that teachers ask questions and give tasks that target a child’s current developmental level. As children begin to master skills on their own, teachers adjust their teaching strategies accordingly so that the children continue to advance.