This paper adds to a discussion initiated by Askew (2007) about two contrasting views of scaffolding; as a "tool for results" and a "tool-and-result". The wider study the article is drawn from took place in four primary classrooms with Pasifika students within a low socioeconomic setting. Two classroom episodes drawn from one of the teacher's classroom illustrate the two different perspectives of scaffolding. These are presented and the learning which evolves from each episode about how discussion and interaction affords mathematical learning are discussed. The paper illustrates that when scaffolding was used as a "tool for results" the learning afforded was restricted. However, when the students were scaffolded within a tool-and-result perspective the mathematical knowledge and ways of doing and talking mathematics were generative. (Contains 1 table and 1 footnote.)