Support for children with special educational needs (SEN) in inclusive classrooms, in many countries, continues to be provided by teaching assistants (TAs). Whilst they frequently take responsibility for instruction, they are rarely adequately trained and prepared. As TAs have ample opportunities for individualised and group interactions, this paper recommends scaffolding as the key theory to inform their practice
report on outcomes from recent research in which we have
worked with the metaphor of ‘scaffolding’ to address questions about the
nature of English as a Second Language (ESL) education.
*from Abstract* Maybin, Janet; Mercer, Neil and Stierer, Barry (1992). 'Scaffolding': learning in the classroom. In: Norman, Kate ed. Thinking Voices: The work of the National Oracy Project. London: Hodder & Stoughton, pp. 186–195.