Foundations
A psychologist who argued that cognitive development is fundamentally shaped by social interaction and cultural context.
Who is Lev Vygotsky?
Represents tasks a learner can complete only with assistance from a more knowledgeable individual.
What is the Zone of Proximal Development?
This instructional strategy involves temporary support that is gradually withdrawn as competence increases.
What is scaffolding?
This type of speech is used by children to guide their own thinking and problem-solving.
What is private speech?
This classroom structure emphasizes peer interaction as a driver of learning.
What is collaborative learning?
This concept describes how mental functions originate in social activity before becoming internalized.
What is internalization?
This term refers to the gap between independent performance and assisted performance.
What is the ZPD?
This process describes the gradual removal of instructional supports.
What is fading?
This stage occurs when private speech becomes internal thought.
What is inner speech?
This instructional strategy pairs students of differing ability levels to enhance learning.
What is peer tutoring?
Culturally derived tools, such as language and symbols, that mediate thinking.
What are psychological tools?
This individual provides guidance that allows the learner to progress through the ZPD.
Who is the more knowledgeable other (MKO)?
This teaching method involves demonstrating a task while verbalizing the thought process.
What is modeling(or think-aloud strategy)?
This function of language supports self-regulation and planning.
What is self-directed speech (or private speech)?
This teaching approach situates learning in meaningful, real-world social contexts.
What is situated learning?
Explains how learning is embedded within cultural and historical contexts.
What is sociocultural (or cultural mediation)?
This instructional approach targets tasks just beyond a learner’s current ability to maximize growth.
What is ZPD-based instruction (or guided learning within the ZPD)?
This form of instruction uses questioning, prompting, and feedback to guide student thinking.
What is guided instruction?
This concept highlights how language serves as a primary tool of intellectual adaptation.
What is linguistic mediation?
This error occurs when teachers provide answers rather than guide students through the learning process.
What is over-scaffolding (or lack of productive struggle)?
Emphasizes that higher mental functions first appear between people before appearing within the individual.
What is the interpsychological to intrapsychological transition?
This error occurs when instruction targets tasks outside the learner’s ZPD, making learning ineffective.
What is cognitive overload or misaligned instruction?
This occurs when scaffolding is poorly timed, either removed too early or maintained too long.
What is ineffective scaffolding (or improper scaffolding)?
This developmental shift reflects the transformation of social dialogue into internal cognitive processes.
What is internalization of language?
This approach integrates cultural background and prior knowledge into instruction to enhance learning outcomes.
What culturally responsive teaching?