Child Growth and Development Review (CGDR) Practice Test

Scaffolding is the term that describes the support given to a child to assist them in completing a task they are not able to do independently. This concept is based on the idea that children learn best when they receive help tailored to their current level of understanding and skill. Just as physical scaffolding provides structural support to construction workers, educational scaffolding offers temporary support to learners, allowing them to accomplish tasks that would be too challenging for them to complete alone.

The goal of scaffolding is to gradually remove the support as the child develops greater competence and independence in the task at hand. This process encourages children to build confidence and internalize new skills, ultimately promoting their growth and development.

While modeling involves demonstrating a behavior or task for the child to imitate, it does not necessarily provide the direct support or guidance that scaffolding does. Reinforcement refers to the use of rewards or punishments to increase or decrease a behavior, which is a different concept from providing support for task completion. Encouragement involves offering verbal praise or support but may not include the structured assistance that scaffolding entails.