Chapter 4: Optimally Guided Instruction

Genuinely educative experiences challenge learners to move beyond current competencies, in a context where the learner has the support to engage with the challenge. This chapter sets out a notion of ‘optimally guided’ instruction, that is teaching which is designed to best support learning by offering a balance between challenge and support to actively engage learners without frustrating them or wasting their study time. A key idea explored in the chapter is that of scaffolding learning. The term scaffolding is often used loosely in teaching, with any kind of study support for learners labelled as a scaffold. However, genuine scaffolding needs to be carefully matched to the needs of specific learners and has a dynamic aspect – that is, the extent of scaffolding is modified in response to a learner’s ongoing development. The notion derives from ideas first proposed by the psychologist and polymath Lev Vygotsky, which can be glossed as advising teachers to find out what the learner is ready to tackle next – and structure learning accordingly. This chapter explains the theoretical ideas that underpin scaffolding as a technique and explains and exemplifies how genuine scaffolding can be designed to progress learners in their development.