Scaffolding the "Scaffolding" Metaphor: From Inspiration to a Practical Tool for Kindergarten Teachers

The present research aims shifting 'scaffolding' from an inspiring metaphor to a practical tool to be used by kindergarten teachers when conducting scientific activities. It identifies scaffolding strategies that three experienced kindergarten teachers, ones acknowledged as excelling in science teaching, implicitly used when conducting science activities. For this end 20 whole-day observations were recorded in each of the three kindergartens and transcribed verbatim. The scaffolding strategies were identified through an inductive analysis performed on the observations and through the relevant literature. The strategies yielded from the analysis were grouped into affective and cognitive domains, each divided into categories and subcategories. The complete set of identified strategies was termed the scaffolding scheme. The scaffolding scheme can assist kindergarten and primary school teachers, as well as researchers, in analyzing scientific activities conducted in the kindergarten and judging how efficient the employed strategies are, what strategies to eliminate, and what other strategies might be needed.