Instructional scaffolding: The effective use of teacher-student dialogue

The purpose of this study was to analyze teacher-student dialogue in order to establish the existence of scaffolded instruction and to establish categories to represent the scaffolded dialogue. Also, the teacher talk within the established categories was analyzed for shifts in the levels of supportiveness from much teacher support to little teacher support. Categories of instructional scaffolding paralleled cognitive growth as the four students in the study moved from other-regulated behaviors to increased self-regulated behaviors.; This qualitative descriptive study focused on four first-grade students in an early intervention reading and writing program called Reading Recovery{dollar}sb{lcub}rm TM{rcub}{dollar} (Clay, 1979). The research questions guiding the study were investigated during the writing portion of a daily one-on-one lesson. Data were collected from March to May on four Reading Recovery students. Lessons were video-taped and teacher-student dialogue was transcribed verbatim. Teacher talk was parsed into idea units in order to investigate the presence of instructional scaffolding. Eight categories emerged as the study progressed which represent various degrees and types of instructional scaffolds. The established categories of instructional scaffolding present in the writing lesson did comply with Halliday's (1975) categories for natural language learning.; An increase in self-regulated behaviors of the students in the study indicated that cognitive shifts in the level of operations occurred as the study progressed. Bruner's (1966) benchmarks for cognitive growth paralleled behaviors of the four students in the study.; Writing is a powerful analytic tool that requires students to think critically while developing a systematic approach for dealing with print. Scaffolded teacher dialogue that is temporary and adjustable in nature (Cazden, 1983) allows students to work within a supportive social context which encourages and extends opportunities for self-regulated behaviors to emerge.