| Vygotsky's socio-cultural theory emphasizes that development of intelligence includes learning how to use tools in the context of one's culture. Scaffolded instruction embodies the socio-cultural perspective to learning by characterizing it as a process that occurs through co-participation and social interaction between instructors and students. According to Vygotsky, the ultimate aim of instruction is to help students attain self-directedness and independence in learning.;Scaffolded instruction was investigated in this multiple case study of three sections of a pre-service teacher technology skills course. Instructional sequences were video-taped across a semester, following which self-efficacy surveys and stimulated recall interviews were conducted. Analysis of Patterns in Time was used to identify generic scaffolding strategies. It was found that scaffolded instruction comprised at least half of instructional time in the pre-service technology skills course; and scaffolding strategies were adapted by instructors according to students' entry level of self-efficacy. In these cases, self-efficacy for using specific software programs was positively associated with attainment of general self-efficacy, which in turn was related to increased self-efficacy for technology integration.;Use of scaffolded instruction provides a means for personalizing support to adapt to diverse student needs. Current software training research has focused largely on behavioral modeling methods which offer limited advice about how social interaction between instructors and students contributes to the development of computer self-efficacy. Scaffolded instruction addresses a gap in current literature, and is an important method for technology skills training that should be further explored. |
