Abstract
Learning takes place in a particular social context and in interaction with others. One of the tools of mediation between the learner and the subject to be learned is talk. In a teacher training context, it is through the use of particular talk that trainers can guide and scaffold their trainees towards learning, and the basic premise is that thinking and higher cognitive development occur through social interaction. At the same time, the talk must be studied in its very specific educational and cultural context. It is challenging to describe and evaluate scaffolding since there are many dimensions of the teaching and learning context which influence the success of the scaffolding process. This research paper reports on a study which analysed the talk between trainer and trainee in a post-observation feedback conference. Using Maybin, Mercer, and Stierer’s six features of scaffolding as a basic framework, the author describes two excerpts from two feedback sessions. The talk is deconstructed with reference to the context in order to describe what scaffolding looks like in a particular pre-service teacher training context.