Gradually withdrawing adult support
At the heart of scaffolding is teachers’ careful attention to timing the withdrawal of their support. As children increas- ingly direct their attention appropriately, persist in chal-
lenging tasks, and use language to engage others or seek help, they increase their ability to act indepen- dently. As they do, teachers turn over more of the regulat- ing responsibilities to the children’s control,
while monitoring their progress and interven- ing when necessary to provide appropriate support.
Scaffolding chil- dren’s learning requires skillful removal of adult assistance. According to Salonen, Vauras,
and Efklides (2005, 2) teachers must pay careful attention to “the learner’s moment-by-moment changing indepen- dent functioning.” After observing a successful exchange between Tricia and Lucy, Melissa withdrew, but she stayed close. She encouraged the children to ask for help should they need it, let them know where to find her, and moni- tored their interaction.
Withdrawing adult support from infants, toddlers, and preschoolers requires continual monitoring by adults. The younger the child, the more inconsistent self-regulation skills will be. This inconsistency means adults need to be even more careful about how quickly they withdraw sup- port and pay careful attention to determine whether it is appropriate to intervene again. When an infant takes her first toddling walk across a room, she is not ready to walk independently without adult supervision. Similarly, infants
and toddlers who have learned to routinely self-calm need
increased adult support when they are ill or in unfamiliar surroundings. At every age, learning self-regulation happens within children’s everyday experiences with trusted adults who regulate their own thinking, attention, emotion, behav- ior, and motivation.