Vygotsky believed that knowledge construction happens when the individual learner interacts with others around them.

The zone of proximal development is the difference between what a learner can do without help and what the learner can do with guidance from a more knowledgeable individual. Through guidance and collaboration, this is where students learn to build on what they already know to achieve a higher level of understanding or further knowledge

Mercer (2013) argues that argumentation is a key skill in collaborative scaffolding, and if students are not taught to critically discuss perspectives and opinions, they will not develop the transformative process necessary for true scaffolding to occur.

Modeling is a large component of successful scaffolding. If modeling is rushed or not personalized by being simplified for each learner, students will likely not reach their potential for expanding their knowledge and building the transferrable skills necessary for successful collaboration and application of their learning in multiple contexts