At what stage do students start demonstrating independence in the 5 Levels of Scaffolding?

Students begin to demonstrate independence after they have completed all preceding levels of scaffolding. The 5 Levels of Scaffolding are designed to provide structured support as learners engage with new content. Initially, in the Modeling phase, the teacher demonstrates the task or concept, allowing students to observe the process with guidance closely tied to direct instruction. As students move through the Guiding phase, they receive more support and practice but are still heavily reliant on instruction.

Independence emerges after students have experienced interaction with the material through guided practice and have progressively internalized the skills or concepts. This learning culminates in the final stage where students are expected to apply their knowledge and skills autonomously, showing that they can perform tasks independently without the need for scaffolded support. Thus, it is at this point, after all preceding levels have been navigated, that true independence in learning is observed.