Enabling Students to Seek Computer-based Scaffolds for Solving Mathematical Word Problems

Abstract

Scaffolding can develop a student’s ability to internalize new information on the basis of prior knowledge. However, it assumes that all students are novices and likely limits students’ way of thinking. Therefore, this paper incorporates the concept of help seeking in the usage of scaffolds, so that students can think as a whole before using scaffolds. The authors preliminarily designed an activity flow of seeking scaffolds. Furthermore, a trial study was conducted to investigate students’ behaviors of choosing and using scaffolds. The result showed that the activity flow encouraged students to make attempts first without the limitation of scaffolds. Yet, it was also found that students lacked the ability to use scaffolds appropriately, suggesting further improvement.