Scaffolding
Scaffolding can be described as a teaching technique which provides a temporary support to child learners until they can stand on their own. The expert who is the teacher or the facilitator sets an example for the learners and guide them closely until such time that they can grow on their own. Puntambekar, S. (2009) cited the definition of Vygotsky (1896-1934) of scaffolding that learning begins not in the cognitive level but in social interactions. Vygotsky as cited by Puntambekar added that in a scaffolding, the expert set the tasks that are beyond the learners’ capability. It is then in the hands of the expert to facilitate how the learners will bridge the gap between their actual capacity and their potential capacity.
Puntambekar (2009) explained that the adult or the expert has a crucial role in this kind of instruction because they do not only motivate the learners to achieve a certain goal but they provide all the needed support like providing hints just to facilitate the learners to move forward in their tasks. As expected, the teacher must be knowledgeable about the content of the instruction and has a lot of techniques to be able to guide the students properly without spoon feeding. Scaffolding is a learning process that according to Vygotsky (1896-1934) is in need of a lot of social interaction. Puntambekar (2009) also cited Bruner (1975) in a definition that scaffolding is like the parent and child interaction where the teacher has the moral, social, and cognitive power to facilitate the learning process of a young learner. On the other hand, this kind of instruction is not applicable in a situation where a teacher deals with numerous students in one classroom because the environment does not allow a more intimate interaction between the learner and the expert. The crowded environment does not allow a rich social context which supposedly triggers the cognitive learning process. Scaffolding has a dialogic nature therefore, the ratio of expert and the learners should be considered in using this technique.
Reading Comprehension Skill
People read to understand things and issues. A person does not read for the purpose of reading alone. Thus, reading is always a way to comprehend. However, there are cases where a student can be a strong reader but weak in comprehension. Casper, Catton, Westfall (1998) cited Gunning (1996) in an explanation that there are three main theories in understanding reading comprehension. First is the schema theory. In this theory Gunning (1996) explained that it is a combination of the readers’ stored knowledge and the text that they are reading. In the process of reading, the stored knowledge of the reader interacts with the text that leads to a better comprehension.
The second theory of reading comprehension is the Mental Model theory where the reader creates an image of her or himself based on the text that she or he is reading. Gunning (1996) explained that this process usually occur when readers are reading fiction. In this theory, Puntambekar (2009) cited some incites from Perkins (1991) that the readers’ misconception of important concepts that are related to the text has a crucial impact on how the text is understood. It is then important for the teachers to ask the students to explain what they read in their own understanding to pinpoint the misconceptions.
The third theory of reading comprehension is the Proposition theory which encourages the reader to plot the idea of the text by identifying the main topic and the sub topics according to their understanding. It is in this manner that the teacher will have an idea how far the student understood the reading.
Overall, reading and comprehension should always go together. Reading without comprehension is just a test of how students memorized the phonetics.
References
Casper, M., Catton, J., & Westfall, S. (1998). “Comprehension: Theories and Strategies.” Dominican University. Retrieved from
http://www.dominican.edu/academics/education/about/madaliennepeters/compprehension
Puntambekar, S. (2009). “Scaffolding.” education.com. Retrieved from http://www.education.com/reference/article/scaffolding/
