Author: Laura Schmidli. Editor: Maria Widmer.
Published on March 4, 2026.
Many instructors have collected a final paper or project, only to be disappointed that students missed the mark. This can stem from the gap between a complex prompt and students’ ability to organize the work and learning required. Breaking down complex tasks and providing temporary support structures is an educational practice known as scaffolding. Scaffolding can benefit instructors by improving students’ final products, particularly for lower-performing students who struggle with complex assignments (Peng et al., 2022; Young et al., 2025). Studies also show that meaningful scaffolding reduces stress for most students by helping them avoid procrastination and consistently make progress toward a goal (Lopez et al., 2023). In a study of several semester-long research projects, one first-year student reported that:
I didn’t expect to develop… a learning process and I think I surprised myself by being able to pull this off by the end of the semester… it’s not just looking through Google and finding whatever you can. It’s really about spending time doing it” (Manarin et al., 2016, p. 15).
What’s Effective?
Scaffolding involves deconstructing complex assignments into smaller, manageable parts situated within a purposeful context and sequence (Tabak & Reiser, 2022). Each part is then supported with guidance and feedback that helps students accomplish work slightly beyond their current ability. Over time, this support fades, encouraging students to take on more responsibility as they gain confidence and competence (Young et al., 2025). Including self-reflection within a scaffolded process can help students inventory their progress and synthesize their learning for broader application.
1. Sequence Iterative Checkpoints
Rather than simply dividing an assignment into smaller parts that students later combine into a whole, scaffolding requires that an instructor plan checkpoints that build on each other within an authentic context (Tabak & Reiser, 2022). For example, with a writing assignment an instructor could model a process where students generate several pitches and then discuss with peers to select and refine the strongest thesis. This checkpoint then builds to additional steps that provide additional peer feedback, instructor or expert feedback, and opportunities for revision and reflection.
L&S Instructor Example: Structuring a Real-World Process
Alfonso Morales, Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor, Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture
What Do I Do? Students in my Marketplaces and Entrepreneurship class work in groups to respond to a real-life Request for Proposals (RFP). In order to complete this within just a few weeks, students work in groups with the support of graduate students, they complete several structured components outlined by the real RFP, and they get feedback to revise those components along the way.
Why Do I Do It? In my classes, I try to program learning activities that help students understand principles and practices. In this case, breaking down the RFP process is an important practice that urban planning and landscape architecture professionals have to engage in. Professionals either need to create RFPs or respond to them.
What Impact Does It Have on Students? Students get exposure to professional evaluation of their work in class, and presentation to a second set of professionals and so students are more deeply engaged in the learning process because of the double move: engagement in a real practice, and critique from actual professionals. Further, later in the semester, a team of strong students was assigned to respond to another RFP for a food organization in Malawi, Southeast Africa. They took their learning from our class to work with professionals in that country, getting more real-world experience to share back with the class.
What Changes Might I Make in the Future? I think I want to do it again as is and get more evaluation. It had been several years since I was in the classroom regularly and students and conditions change. So I’ll do it again and perhaps do a specific evaluation and adjust from there.
Guiding Questions
- What authentic disciplinary or professional practices (like responding to an RFP) are relevant to your course?
- Considering your own major assignments, where could you replace a standalone deadline with a feedback loop that requires students to refine their ideas based on feedback before moving forward?
2. Target Support Based on Student Needs
While the ideal form of scaffolding provides personalized support for each student, truly individualized support is often logistically prohibitive as it requires significant instructor time and energy. Adaptive learning technology and AI-enabled tools may make personalization at scale easier in the future. At present, a few design strategies can help instructors differentiate learning to support students at various levels: providing optional guidance for students who need it, using partner and group work, and including incremental instructor feedback (Tabak & Reiser, 2022).
Regular instructor and peer feedback is particularly important. In a longitudinal study of semester-long writing assignments in Political Science, student outcomes were better in courses that provided consistent formative feedback from instructors and peers to help students construct complex arguments (Young et al., 2025).
L&S Instructor Example: Guiding Analysis of Research Literature
Lauren Riters, Professor, Department of Integrative Biology
What Do I Do? I ask students to dive into original scientific literature by reading classic, current, often conflicting, research papers related to how hormones, the environment, and brain interact to control behavior. Before each class students dissect the readings using a guided critique sheet that provides tools and structure to set the stage for meaningful in class discussion. In class we progress from small group analysis to group presentations to full-class discussions, moving each week to higher levels of analysis with the course culminating in a final paper in which students propose a study to fill a gap that they have identified in the scientific literature.
Why Do I Do It? My goal is to move students beyond a textbook understanding of Behavioral Neuroendocrinology and to build scientific literacy, critical thinking skills, intellectual independence, and curiosity. By reading multiple scientific articles, students learn the structure, language, and conventions of primary research articles, making this literature less intimidating and more accessible. Scaffolding assignments, pre-class preparation, and small group discussion build peer support and active participation, and the final paper allows students to showcase their critical skills while learning more about a topic that is meaningful to them.
What Impact Does It Have on Students? Students leave class with skills that allow them to distinguish strong from weak scientific evidence; essential skills in a world in which they are flooded with scientific “facts” through social media, podcasts, and other channels. These important life skills allow students to make informed decisions related to health (do plastics disrupt my endocrine system?), environment (does light from my screen disrupt my hormones?), and lifestyle (how do exercise-induced hormones affect learning and memory?).
What Changes Might I Make in the Future? Given the increasing presence of AI in the learning environment, I plan to incorporate activities that teach students to use AI thoughtfully as a tool for learning and research in a way that enhances their critical consumption of scientific literature.
Guiding Questions
- What reusable templates or rubrics could you create to provide students with immediate direction while they work independently?
- In the steps of a major assignment in your course, where is expert feedback essential for helping students shape their final product? Where can peer feedback be more effective?
3. Incorporate Student Reflection
Reflection can help students develop an understanding of their own skills, thinking, and learning. Within a scaffolded assignment, reflection prompts students to inventory their progress, which facilitates a more seamless transition toward independent work (Young et al., 2025). Additionally, reflection is essential for assignments that require higher-order thinking including “the development of theory, the formulation of action plans, or the resolution of uncertainties” (Looi & Wu, 2015, para. 5). The additional step of reflection encourages students to not only complete tasks but also internalize disciplinary thinking practices.
L&S Instructor Example: Reflecting on a Writing Process
Abigail Letak, Assistant Teaching Professor in the English Department and Associate Director of Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC)
What Do I Do? In my course, English 505: Rhetoric of Wellness & Self-Care, the final project is a highly scaffolded writing assignment that asks students to use (1) rhetorical analysis of social media content, (2) peer-reviewed sources, and (3) readings and content from class to write a thesis-driven argumentative paper about a subtopic of their choosing within the broad umbrellas of “wellness” and/or “self-care.” The various components (submitting a topic, identifying sources, proposing an argument, drafting, peer review, a 5-minute presentation, and the final draft) add up to 40% of the overall course grade, but no single component is worth more than 15%. When students submit their final draft, they must include a “cover memo” (or “writer’s memo”) in which they reflect on how they incorporated feedback they received along the way, what they found most challenging about the project and how they navigated that challenge, as well as whether they feel proud of the final draft and why.
Why Do I Do It? I was always so frustrated as a student when my professors would just say that the final project for a course was “a research paper on a topic of your choosing” without any further guidance. The hidden curriculum is so real, and some students may know what that instructor wants, but many won’t. I scaffold every high-stakes assignment I give my students not only through lower-stakes components, but also in-class check-ins where they can reflect on their progress, note challenges they’re facing, and identify next steps. Reflection is such a key part of the writing process!
What Impact Does It Have on Students? Many of the students noted in their course evaluations how helpful it was that the project was broken up into manageable parts, and I got the sense that it helped reduce overwhelm at what was, admittedly, an intimidating assignment. The cover memos students submitted with the final draft were so thoughtful and demonstrated to me that the project helped students learn about themselves—as writers and thinkers—not just about course content. Which I love!
What Changes Might I Make in the Future? I’d love to incorporate even more opportunities for reflection into earlier components of the project, probably during class time. At the same time, the more components or pieces you add, the more you risk creating the overwhelm you’re trying to avoid. It’s such a tough balance!
Guiding Questions
- What are the unstated thinking habits that students struggle to grasp in your discipline? How could a reflection prompt help students identify these?
- How might you use self-reflection to help students inventory their progress and consider their next steps mid-way through an assignment?
Challenges and Opportunities for the Future
Integrating technology has great potential for providing personalized learning at scale. For example, adaptive learning homework platforms can help students keep track of concepts they struggle with and provide additional practice and support. In a 2025 meta-analysis, investigators hypothesized that technology-based scaffolding would outperform instructor and peer support, but found that these technologies have not yet surpassed the effectiveness of instructor-led scaffolding. A key recommendation of this research is to “deeply integrate technical scaffolds with teacher guidance” (Gou et al., 2025, p. 10).
Currently, generative AI chatbots are more readily accessible to students and instructors than specialized educational technologies (e.g., adaptive learning platforms or education-specific chatbots). Can these more commonly available but less specialized chatbots help instructors scale scaffolded assignments? Generative AI chatbots could be used by instructors to adapt assignments or exam questions for students, gaining efficiency and personalization at scale. Students could also use chatbots to personalize their own learning experiences. One recent study indicates that purposeful, guided student use of generative AI within a scaffolded assignment can be more effective than peer review in helping students understand criteria of good writing (Richmond & Nicholls, 2025). However, it is essential to carefully consider which learning objectives can be served by using a chatbot; for example, students who use a chatbot may lose opportunities to develop collaborative meaning-making and communication skills (Bae & Bozkurt, 2024).
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References & Further Reading
Bae, H., & Bozkurt, A. (2024). The untold story of training students with Generative AI: Are we preparing students for true learning or just personalization? Online Learning, 28(3), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v28i3.4689
Gou, P., Li, W., & Teng, T. (2025). How can scaffolding effectively promote students’ problem-solving ability: A meta-analysis. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-025-01022-9
Looi, C., & Wu, L. (2015). Reflection and preflection prompts and scaffolding. In J. M. Spector (Ed.), The SAGE encyclopedia of educational technology (Vol. 2, pp. 611-613). SAGE Publications, Inc. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483346397.n253
Lopez, S., Hsu, J., & Halpin, P. (2023). Students prefer final projects that are scaffolded to avoid procrastination and negative impact on mental health. Physiology, 38(S1), 5731598. https://doi.org/10.1152/physiol.2023.38.S1.5731598
Manarin, K., McGrath, A., & Carey, M. (2016). Original undergraduate research in classroom contexts: Student perceptions of a scaffolded approach. Collected Essays on Learning & Teaching, 9, 11–18. (116668641). https://doi.org/10.22329/celt.v9i0.4402
Peng, J., Yuan, B., Sun, M., Jiang, M., & Wang, M. (2022). Computer-based scaffolding for sustainable project-based learning: Impact on high- and low-achieving students. Sustainability, 14(19), 12907. https://doi.org/10.3390/su141912907
Richmond, J. L., & Nicholls, K. (2025). Using generative AI to promote psychological, feedback, and artificial intelligence literacies in undergraduate psychology. Teaching of Psychology, 52(3), 291–297. https://doi.org/10.1177/00986283241287203
Tabak, I., & Reiser, B. J. (2022). Scaffolding. In R. K. Sawyer (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of the learning sciences (3rd ed., pp. 53–71). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108888295.005
Young, L. D., Ratchford, M., Bourland, L. L., & Budrytė, D. (2025). An assessment of scaffolding in senior capstone courses. Journal of Political Science Education, 0(0), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/15512169.2025.2546352
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