Peer Scaffolding During EFL Reading Activities: A Sociocultural Perspective

The purpose of this study was to identify the types of peer scaffolding used by Thai EFL students while completing reading activities. Pre-test, post-test and reading test procedures were implemented to measure the impact of peer scaffolding on students’ reading comprehension. The peer scaffolding checklist was employed to identify the types of peer scaffolding the EFL students used in the reading classroom. This study found that the EFL students gained higher post-test mean scores after engaging in reading activities along with peer scaffolding strategies. The beginner and elementary EFL students mostly used procedural assistance, whereas the intermediate EFL students frequently used sharing and questing as peer scaffolding. These findings may provide sociocultural theoretical and pedagogical implications for EFL teachers when supporting peer scaffolding and assisting EFL students to develop reading comprehension. 

Inclusion of a music learner with ASD through play-full intersubjectivity

Through a case study of Jad (pseudonym), a music learner with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), I sought to understand his experiences as he engaged in peer scaffolding activities of a choral ensemble. The study illuminated the role of intersubjectivity (or shared understanding) in socially mediated music learning within an environment of inclusion. Through inclusive, play-full, intersubjective attunement of younger children to Jad, he increasingly took on a role as an empathetic teacher-helper, initially with his younger sister, then with other young children, then with the entire ensemble. Jad also increasingly displayed musical agency through physical movement during music-making, contributing to others’ understanding and musical agency. The findings describe intersections of play with intersubjectivity, focusing on learner attunement to affect and emotion in fostering an inclusive music education experience. Making space for peer scaffolding and playfulness within this music learning environment fostered shared understanding and empathy among all learners, including one with ASD.

A Dual-Scaffolding Framework Integrating Peer-Scaffolding and Cognitive-Scaffolding for an Augmented Reality-Based Educational Board Game: An Analysis of Learners’ Collective Flow State and Collaborative Learning Behavioral Patterns

The design and application of educational board games have been emphasized in game-based learning. The integration of educational board games and augmented reality (AR) can help provide extensive cognitive-scaffolding for learners. This study proposed a dual-scaffolding framework that integrated peer-scaffolding and cognitive-scaffolding for an AR educational board game. This study also conducted an empirical analysis to evaluate this framework. Forty-four college students participated in this study. The researchers investigated these learners’ flow, acceptance, and their collaborative learning behavioral patterns with the sequential analysis. Moreover, this study explored the correlation of flow and acceptance and investigated learners’ behavioral pattern differences between high collective flow groups and low collective flow groups (collective flow referred to the mean of flow from group members). The results showed that there was a positive correlation between learners’ flow and acceptance. These learners’ behavioral patterns also showed that both peer-scaffolding and cognitive-scaffolding facilitated their problem-solving process. Moreover, the study found that high collective flow groups had more reflection and analysis behaviors than low collective flow groups in game-based learning.

Peer Scaffolding in Promoting Critical Thinking Engagement

This study investigates the potential of the peer scaffolding technique in promoting students’ critical thinking engagement. It was conducted using a quantitative descriptive research design. A problem-solving approach was applied in designing the learning activities in Facebook. The Facebook discussion transcripts were analysed using content analysis and social network analysis techniques. The findings showed that offering feedback and offering opinion from the Content dimension were the dominant types of peer scaffolding techniques among students, whereas, for students’ critical thinking engagement, Clarification was the dominant level. Meanwhile, the correlation analysis showed a high and significant relationship between the peer scaffolding applied and the level of critical thinking engagement, compared to the peer scaffolding received and the level of critical thinking engagement. The peer scaffolding patterns applied in promoting high levels of critical thinking engagement were offering cues and offering explanations. In conclusion, peer scaffolding techniques should be utilised in learning, as they encourage students to enhance their critical thinking engagement through the interaction process.

Applying Peer Scaffolding to Enhance the EFL Vocational Students’ Speaking Skills

The preliminary study showed that the students at English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in the vocational higher education context found the speaking skills as the most difficult ones to learn. The students also declared that unsupportive English learning atmosphere in the class used to make the students reluctant to speak. This phenomenon also leads the students to have lack of confidence to speak English in the class. Thus, the researcher conducted experimental research using Peer Scaffolding approach using Vygotsky’s theory to check whether it improves the students’ speaking skills. The research involves 156 vocational college students in the second semester of Multimedia Study Program at Politeknik Negeri Media Kreatif Jakarta. After analyzing the data taking from the assessments, interviews, and observation field notes during the study; the findings confirm that the peer scaffolding enhances the speaking skill performances. As the results expose that the peer scaffolding builds the more supportive learning conditions in which the students can give mutual help to improve the speaking exposures, the peer scaffolding is recommended as one of the alternatives to improve the students’ speaking skills.