( 1976) during their studies examining the role of tutoring in children’s problem-solving. The metaphor for scaffolding in learning was first developed by Wood et al. Scaffolding has been traditionally characterized as a supportive process to enhance student learning. Therefore, this multiple case study aims to explore how instructors conceptualize and apply scaffolding in their online courses in a higher education setting. Yet, research on how instructors conceptualize scaffolding and what their scaffolding practices look like in their online courses is lacking. Earlier research on scaffolding in online learning has shown that scaffolding supports students’ confidence with the task (e.g., Oh & Kim, 2016), metacognition skills (e.g., Kim & Lim, 2019), motivation and self-regulation (e.g., Gormley et al., 2012), and engagement (e.g., Cho & Cho, 2016 Smallwood & Brunner, 2017). The concept of scaffolding emanates from the field of early childhood development (Wood et al., 1976) however, scaffolding quickly started being used in K-12 environments (Belland, 2014 Many, 2002 Mertzman, 2008) and higher educational settings (Bannert et al., 2009 Pifarre & Cobos, 2010 Reingold et al., 2008). Therefore, providing scaffolding is crucial in online courses to sustain students’ interest and overcome the challenges, which will in turn help students achieve their learning objectives. Attrition occurs because students face multiple challenges from familiarizing themselves with the online environment to lack of just-in-time instructor support or social support from their peers (Darby & Lang, 2019). ![]() ![]() Despite the significant growth in online education, student attrition is higher in online courses than in face-to-face courses (Darby & Lang, 2019). For instance, according to the National Center for Education Statistics ( 2019), the percentage of learners enrolled in any online course went up 2.9% from fall 2016 to fall 2017 and the percentage exclusively enrolled in online courses increased from 12.8 to 32.9%. Online courses around the globe continue to increase due to their flexibility and convenience, including working at a preferred pace, accessing various resources and courses, and providing affordable educational opportunities (Davidson-Shivers et al., 2018).
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