VietTESOL International Convention 2025

Writing is a critical yet challenging skill for gifted high school students, especially as it is a compulsory component assessed annually in the National Competition for Selecting Excellent Students. This study investigates the effectiveness of scaffolding, a pedagogical approach elaborated in the works of Walsh (2011), Richards (2015), and Gibbons (2002), who adapt and apply Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory to language teaching contexts. Specifically, the research explores how scaffolding strategies enhance writing skills among 70 grade 11 students at Hung Vuong High School for the Gifted during the 2024–2025 academic year. The study focuses on a range of essay types that require critical thinking and coherent argumentation, including opinion, discussion, problem analysis, and evaluative formats such as advantages and disadvantages essays. Scaffolding strategies such as modeling, guided practice, peer collaboration, and constructive feedback were implemented to improve key components of essay writing, including thesis development, paragraph organization, coherence, and language accuracy. Over a 12-week intervention period, data were collected through pre- and post-intervention writing assessments and student interviews. Writing assessment results were analyzed statistically, while thematic analysis was applied to the interview data. The findings indicate that scaffolding significantly improves both writing performance and learner confidence, underscoring its value as an effective teaching method for developing advanced writing proficiency in gifted learners. These results support the broader adoption of scaffolding techniques to foster high-level writing skills in gifted education contexts.
Key words: Scaffolding, essay writing skills, gifted students, pedagogical strategies, writing proficiency