The dynamics of scaffolding

In this article we have reinterpreted a relatively standard definition of scaffolding in the context of dynamic systems theory. Our main point is that scaffolding cannot be understood outside the context of a dynamic approach of learning and (formal or informal) teaching. We provide a dynamic systems model of learning and teaching in which the notion of scaffolding plays a central role. The model is illustrated with a study of the math learning of five children in a school for special education. The model predicts various non-linear properties of learning and teaching phenomena, which need to be tested in further empirical research. In order to explain scaffolding and learning processes observed in real contexts, the basic dynamic model must be embedded in a broader model, that of embodied and socially situated dynamics of concern-governed action. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.