What term describes the temporary support provided by a teacher or older peer to help a child master a task?

What term describes the temporary support provided by a teacher or older peer to help a child master a task?

• A. Anxious attachment
• B. Scaffolding
• C. Temperament
• D. Goodness of fit

Answer: (B)

Scaffolding describes the temporary support a more knowledgeable person provides to help a child perform a task just beyond what they can do independently. A teacher or older peer offers guidance, prompts, modeling, and feedback, then gradually removes those supports as the child develops competence, until the child can do the task alone. This concept is tied to the Zone of Proximal Development, where learning grows most effectively with guided assistance. For example, when a child is learning to read a complex sentence, a teacher might first read it aloud, point to words, ask guiding questions, and gradually release responsibility so the child can read more independently. The other terms refer to different ideas: anxious attachment concerns insecurity in relationships; temperament is about the child’s inherent patterns of mood and reactivity; goodness of fit is about how well the environment matches the child's temperament.

Scaffolding describes the temporary support a more knowledgeable person provides to help a child perform a task just beyond what they can do independently. A teacher or older peer offers guidance, prompts, modeling, and feedback, then gradually removes those supports as the child develops competence, until the child can do the task alone. This concept is tied to the Zone of Proximal Development, where learning grows most effectively with guided assistance.

For example, when a child is learning to read a complex sentence, a teacher might first read it aloud, point to words, ask guiding questions, and gradually release responsibility so the child can read more independently.

The other terms refer to different ideas: anxious attachment concerns insecurity in relationships; temperament is about the child’s inherent patterns of mood and reactivity; goodness of fit is about how well the environment matches the child's temperament.