CONCEPT
Internalization (Bruner)
The developmental process by which externally provided support becomes internal capability — the specific cognitive event that scaffolding exists to produce and that the withdrawal test exists to detect.
Internalization is Bruner's name for the process that converts scaffolded performance into independent capability. It does not happen automatically. It unfolds through a specific developmental sequence: the learner performs the task with support, the support is gradually reduced, the learner encounters the task with less support than before, struggles, and either succeeds — internalizing the capability — or fails, at which point the scaffold temporarily returns at a calibrated level before withdrawing again. The sequence is iterative. It requires multiple cycles of support and withdrawal, each building incrementally on the last. Without internalization, supported performance remains supported performance; the learner can produce the output only with the scaffold present. With internalization, supported performance becomes capability the learner carries forward into contexts the scaffold does not reach.
In The You On AI Field Guide
Internalization is the payoff of scaffolding. Without it, the six functions produce an impressive performance and leave the learner unchanged. With it, the performance becomes a platform for further development. The child