Although the prolific Russian psychologist, Lev Vygotsky, first proposed his sociocultural theory of learning almost 60 years ago, it has since been rediscovered and applied to modern instructional environments, especially those utilizing technology.

Unlike behaviorists, Vygotsky was less interested in manipulating the environment, and more focused on the social interactions between individuals of different cognitive ability levels. Vygotsky believed that human learning was an inseparable function of this cultural context.

One of his more famous techniques for teaching problem-solving (which Bruner later termed scaffolding) required a teacher or other higher ability individual to provide limited and sequential assistance, and then gradually encourage students to work independently. Vygotsky identified the Zone of Proximal Development as the nexus between the inability to solve problems alone and the successful performance under the guidance of an expert.

Cognitive apprenticeship is a recent instructional strategy derived from Vygotsky's sociocultural theory. The technique utilizes an overview and statement of instructional expectations, followed by a model demonstration of the tasks to be learned, and then independent practice. As the tasks become increasingly demanding, students eventually reach a point beyond which they cannot succeed without coaching from the instructor. After guiding students through successful completion of the tasks, the instructor gradually reduces the coaching, allowing the students to perform on their own.

Scaffolding is a term that still gets a great deal of attention in the scholarly literature, especially concerning technology-rich learning environments. To better operationalize your understanding of the term, I'd like you to conjure a brief instructional scenario that illustrates the principle of scaffolding in action. One general caveat--your scenario must involve the utilization of technology in some meaningful way.

Please post your fictional scenario in our course discussion forum as a short paragraph (no longer). We will discuss them next week as a group. Please read the scenes posted by your classmates beforehand.