Jee and Anggoro (2019) explain relational scaffolding in the following quote.
"Relational scaffolding involves guiding a student through comparisons between observable phenomena and corresponding modeled events (e.g., comparisons between observations of sunrise, midday, and sunset, and models of a space-based perspective of the Earth-sun system)."
The key element in relational scaffolding appears to be the guided comparison component based on the two studies by Jee and Anggoro (2019).
For more information on the scaffolding method, see this Vanderbilt University link (no guarantees that outside links will be permanent).
Connections
Publications (many free downloads)