“They don't really know what we're talking about”

Teachers play a pivotal role in scaffolding pupils' learning, but scaffolding does not always unfold as intended. This study explores how pupils in Danish lower secondary school co-construct and navigate misaligned teacher scaffolding during project work. Drawing on Cultural-Historical Activity Theory, Positioning Theory, and research on classroom dialogue and scaffolding, we analyse how teachers shape pupils' information literacy practices, both through dialogic interactions and in pupils' negotiations of teachers' practices. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, including participant observations, audio-recorded classroom dialogue, and interviews with 8th grade pupils, our findings illustrate how attempted scaffolding can become misaligned due to the entanglement of teacher authority, pupils' motives, and positioning in (dialogic) practice. We identify three recurring teacher positions: the teacher as blind guide , barrier , and auditor – each influencing pupils' agency and learning trajectories in different ways. We argue that a nuanced understanding of these dynamics is crucial for understanding and fostering dialogic scaffolding practices in increasingly complex educational settings.