“It’s our polite nudge in the ribs to help you and your team stay organised and on task.”
This week’s subject is: Responsive teaching and scaffolding.
Element 1.2.2: Educators respond to children’s ideas and play and extend children’s learning through open-ended questions, interactions and feedback.
When children share their ideas, theories or interests during play, how intentionally do educators respond in ways that extends children and young people’s thinking, deepen their learning and empower them to take an active role in shaping the educational program and their experiences at the service?
Responsive teaching and scaffolding, requires educators to actively respond to children’s ideas and play while intentionally scaffolding their learning through meaningful interactions, open-ended questions and feedback. Rather than directing learning from the outside, educators engage in relational pedagogy, where learning is co-constructed with children through responsive interactions, thoughtful questioning and shared decision-making. This approach recognises children as capable learners and ensures the program and interactions build upon their existing strengths, knowledge and interests.
When reflecting with your team, consider the quality practices educators implement to embed responsive teaching and scaffolding in ways that strengthen children’s agency and promote meaningful learning opportunities in all interactions across service delivery.
Critically reflect with your team to consider how educators:
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- observe and document children’s play, learning and interactions to identify strengths, interests, ideas and learning dispositions.
- use the assessment and planning cycle to recognise opportunities to extend children’s learning.
- engage with families, both formally and informally, to gain insight into children’s backgrounds, experiences and cultural contexts, supporting continuity of learning.
- use “teachable moments” to introduce new ideas and concepts, extending children’s learning, in both planned and spontaneous contexts.
- meaningfully respond to children’s displays of learning dispositions, with genuine interest, providing encouragement and use open-ended questioning to spark further inquiry.
- are consistently attuned and responsive to children’s verbal and non-verbal communication, and how do they follow children’s lead to support and extend play and learning.
- acknowledge and encourage children’s theories, questions and problem-solving attempts.
- respond to children’s interests and ideas by intentionally planning and introducing resources, experiences and challenges that extend learning and support deeper exploration.
- ensure children’s ideas and contributions meaningfully influence the program.
- use intentional teaching strategies to scaffold children’s learning and development, extending their thinking and promoting curiosity and inquiry.
- engage in sustained shared thinking through conversations and collaborative exploration with children.
- use open-ended questioning to encourage children to predict, reflect, analyse and explain their thinking, i.e., “What do you think will happen next?” “Why do you think that worked?”.
- intentionally introduce new concepts, perspectives and vocabulary while modelling mathematical and scientific language and concepts to extend children’s understanding and support emerging STEM pedagogy.
- foster collaborative learning and peer scaffolding by providing opportunities for children to share ideas, negotiate roles, and solve problems together through shared experiences.
- utilise teachable moments or initiate discussions to scaffold children’s awareness and knowledge about personal safety.
- plan and create opportunities for children to lead long-term projects, involving collaboration, research and inquiry based on their identified interests.
- model and promote a respectful, child safe culture, ensuring children’s views are consistently valued and listed to, including their right to say “no”.
Exploring the exceeding themes for Standard 1.2:
Exceeding theme 1: Practice is embedded in service operations:
Services move beyond “Meeting” the NQS, when responsive teaching and scaffolding is consistently evident across the daily operations of the service, not just in isolated moments or individual educator practice. This means:
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- All educators and the educational leader demonstrate a shared, deep understanding of what high‑quality responsive teaching and scaffolding looks like and how it contributes to positive outcomes for children.
- All educators are consistently deliberate, purposeful and thoughtful in responding to children’s ideas, using open‑ended questions, meaningful interactions and timely feedback throughout routines, play, transitions and group experiences.
- Pedagogical practices that support responsive teaching are aligned with the service philosophy and the principles and practices of the approved learning frameworks. Educators can clearly articulate how these guide their interactions with children, ensuring decisions about scaffolding learning are deliberate, purposeful and consistently support children’s learning, development and wellbeing.
Exceeding theme 2: Practice is informed by critical reflection:
Responsive teaching and scaffolding should be continually informed by both individual and collective critical reflection that drives improvement and innovation. This includes:
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- Educators engage in regular, intentional critical reflection about how their interactions with children influence learning, engagement and wellbeing. Reflection may occur through professional dialogue, team discussions, analysis of documentation, and consideration of research and theory related to early childhood pedagogy.
- Critical reflection goes beyond reviewing practice, involving questioning assumptions, analysing outcomes, and considering alternative approaches informed by research, theory and the approved learning frameworks.
- Educators critically reflect on whether practice promotes equity, inclusion and social justice, including how teaching strategies support children with diverse strengths, abilities and needs to participate meaningfully in the program.
- Insights gained through reflection lead to identified improvements to practice, strengthening how educators respond to and extend children’s ideas and thinking.
- Agreed improvements are shared and embedded across the service, demonstrating that critical reflection directly informs decision-making and drives continuous quality improvement.
Exceeding theme 3: Practice is shaped by meaningful engagement with families and/or the community:
Exceeding practice in responsive teaching and scaffolding is shaped by ongoing, meaningful engagement with children’s families and the broader community. Educators recognise families as key partners in children’s learning and actively draw on their knowledge and perspectives to inform pedagogical practice. This may be evident when:
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- Educators actively seek and value family input about children’s interests, strengths, experiences and learning aspirations to inform how they facilitate and extend children’s learning, development and wellbeing.
- Families and community members are welcomed as genuine partners, with their knowledge, priorities and perspectives influencing program decisions, planning and educators’ pedagogical approaches.
- Engagement practices reflect the unique cultural, geographical and social context of the service community, ensuring responsive teaching practices are relevant and meaningful for the children and families attending the service.
- Partnerships with families support continuity of learning and wellbeing, strengthening children’s sense of identity, belonging and connection between home, community and the service.
Services demonstrating exceeding practice show that responsive teaching and scaffolding are intentionally embedded, continuously informed by critical reflection, and strengthened through meaningful collaboration with children, families and the broader community. When these themes are clearly evident, practice moves beyond routine implementation of the NQS and reflects a consistently high-quality, reflective and community-responsive pedagogy, where educators intentionally extend learning and create rich environments in which children’s curiosity, ideas and voices genuinely shape the educational program.
Resources:
Guide to the NQF- Element 1.2.2: Responsive teaching and scaffolding, Exceeding guidance for Standard 1.2: Practice
Quality Area 1- Supporting agency: Involving children in decision-making
EYLF- Practices- Responsiveness to children
Within System7 go to Quality Area 1/Module 5 to submit self-assessment notes and if required, open a QIP issue if you identify any areas of improvement.
The Desktop has a range of resources to assist services with educational program and practice. These include Educational Program Policy, Educational Program and Practice Procedure, Program Template, Critical Reflection Template, Assessment of Learning Summary, Assessment and Planning Cycle Audit, Observation Record and much more.
Resources, NQS Element, Regulation and System7 links:
The Desktop – The Desktop
National Quality Standard – QA 1/ 1.2.2- Responsive teaching and scaffolding
National Regulations – 73, 74, 76, 155, 156
System7 Module – QA 1/ Module 5
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