Scaffolding - How We Approach Problem Solving

Scaffolding is how you approach problem solving with your child. Think about a four year old who is struggling with a new type of puzzle or a nine year old plodding through difficult math homework. Scaffolding is the language you use to help them through the problem solving process, it is your approach. Here, it becomes important to realize there are effective and ineffective ways to help children problem solve. Effective ways move the child toward independently problem solving. They encourage the child to work on and learn. Ineffective ways can bring the work to a screeching halt. Let's focus here on the effective ways.

Whether they are four and working on puzzles or nine and tackling math, the following ways tend to be helpful.

• Give hints and suggestions rather than answers and directives. Even if you have the answers, let them grapple a bit. Yes, give them clues so they can keep going and hints so they can find the way but let them find as much as they can on their own.



• Corrections shouldn't feel like corrections. Fine to ask them to reconsider, even okay to point out things to change but let them have the final say and put your correction in hearable language. Rather than, "No, that's the wrong piece." Try "Hmm, maybe that piece is long. What do you think?"



• The problem solving process far outweighs the product. This is a hard one for the Type A parent but the product, the end result, what they turn in isn't as important as how they get there. Encourage them to take charge, let them make the decisions, help them to break down tasks to managable parts and learn to work from an outline, gradually learn the benefit of practice and study. Learning to problem solve in a broad way is so much more important than the outcome of one task.



• It is their project not yours. Again, hard for the Type As out there. When a child turns in a project or finishes a task, for them to feel really proud of the outcome, they need ownership of the process. This means they weigh the options and make the decisions.



• Expect it to be a warm and positive experience. If your children don't feel good about problem solving with you, the first place to check is your approach and language (not their attention span and motivation).



• Be flexible in the amount of help you give. The rule is give more help as they struggle, less as they succeed. If the goal is independent problem solving you want to constatnly be moving in that direction.



• Ask how they want to be helped. Be sure the way you are giving help, is the way they'd like it. When learning to read aloud, they may not want you giving every word they struggle on for more than 5 seconds. They may just want the beginning sound or they may want 10 second or they may not want your help at all. Check in with them and let them lead.



• Remain available. Even if they are having success and don't want your help, stay available. Children who bump into real frustration, if not able to sort through may give up and be done all together. Stay available.

Building Vocabulary

Once they are talking, there are many ways to build a child's vocabulary.

• Continue giving running commentary - Talk about all the things they are doing and seeing. Be sure to include functional definitions and a adjectives.
• Continue echo expansion - When they say "More juice." Model back "You'd like more apple juice, please?" Keep their language intact and ad on. Model longer phrases and more descriptive language.
• Plan-Do-Review - If you are going to the pumpkin patch this weekend, before you go get out the pictures from last year and discuss the details or check out a few books from the library about pumpkin patches. This is the "plan" part. While at the pumpkin patch give them running commentary about all that is happening. This is the "do" part. After, talk about what was their favorite thing to do or discuss the day when you get the pictures printed. This is the "review" part. Children are benefitting from having the language before, during and after.
• Encourage emotion language - Label their and your emotions. Talk about the causes and consequences of emotions. Discuss how people calm and how people cope.
• Play word games - For the beginner, this includes "I spy" and rhyming games. As they get older, this is 20 questions, telephone and Mystery Garden.
• Practice following directions - By two years old we expect two-step directions, by three years old three-steps. A three-step directions is "Go to the kitchen, get your shoes and bring them to the front door." If you are unsure, play the Crazy Directions game. This is where you say things like "Find the cat, kiss his nose and jump up and down. Ready, go." This is more fun and serves the same purpose.
• Give a vocabulary word a day - There are many websites and calendars to build vocabulry and the idea is to present and discuss a new word each day with you child. See how often you can each use it.
• Continue to read aloud - Plan to do this long past the point they are reading to themselves. Yes, it is nice to give them time for that but plan to do both. Everyday have some time spent reading independently and some time spent reading aloud.