A Summary of Research Exploring Hard and Soft Scaffolding for Teachers and Students Using a Multimedia Supported Learning Environment

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to summarize and synthesize findings from a line of research investigating the potential of scaffolding for supporting student inquiry about illstructured social problems. Specifically, we implemented a problem-based, studentcentered instructional unit (Decision Point!) with 11th grade general history students in our partner teachers ’ classroom on three separate occasions. In this paper, we use data obtained from these implementations to address the following questions: Can we design scaffolds to assist students with engaging in ill-structured content more deeply so that they can perceive the complexity of ill-structured problems?; Can scaffolds assist students with considering alternative perspectives and arriving at problem solutions?; Can scaffolds assist students with handling the cognitive demands required of disciplined inquiry?; How can we support teachers in providing more effective soft scaffolding for students? Student-centered learning activities are designed to provide students with opportunities to take a more active role in their learning by shifting the responsibilities of