Scaffolding Student Learning: Forest Floor Example

Core Ideas Through instructional scaffolding, students move toward independent learning. The forest floor is an important bridge between aboveground living vegetation and soil. The topic of forest floor is not typically covered in the university curriculum. Instructional scaffolding employs a variety of instructional techniques that move students progressively toward stronger understanding and greater independence in the learning process. The objective of this study was to develop a scaffolding instructional module focused on forest floor for the second‐year Introduction to Soil Science course at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada. The scaffolding module included a campus‐based lecture; online multimedia material in the Forest Floor educational resource; campus‐based, instructor‐led demonstrations of forest floor description and classification; campus‐based, collaborative, hands‐on activity; written instructions provided in the laboratory manual; an individual written assignment; and a self‐guided activity (or quest) performed on the university campus aided by a mobile game application. These forms of support were gradually removed as students developed independent learning strategies, culminating in the self‐guided activity that led students to a forest on the university campus to practice their newly developed skills in forest floor description and classification. The scaffolding components were developed to foster intellectual inquiry and analysis, group problem‐solving, and the application of knowledge to complex issues in a real‐life setting. This could serve as a model for future educational design in post‐secondary courses in the natural sciences.