Cognitive Development and Social Construction

Which one of the following statements best describes Vygotsky’s concept of internalization?

• With age, children acquire more sophisticated problem solving skills, largely because their parents and teachers give them increasingly more challenging problems to solve.

• Through their social interactions with other people, children acquire ways of mentally approaching and thinking about challenging tasks.

• As children grow older, they develop an increasing ability to think about events in abstract rather than concrete terms.

• Over time, children acquire greater self-confidence about their ability to deal with the world.

Which one of the following issues reflects a fundamental difference between Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theories of cognitive development?

• Whether preschoolers are cognitively ready to handle complex, adultlike tasks

• How much children require adult guidance to make cognitive gains

• Whether social interactions are important for cognitive development

• Whether challenging tasks promote cognitive development

Which one of the following scenarios best reflects the basic idea of social construction of meaning?

• Four students in a study group divide the day’s reading assignment into four sections. Each student reads a section and then teaches the material to the other group members.

• When a student borrows a classmate’s marker without asking and then forgets to put the cap back on, leaving it dried out and useless by the following morning, her teacher reminds her of one of the class rules: “Respect other students’ property.”

• A teacher assigns a laboratory activity using cumbersome equipment that students can only use successfully by working in pairs.

• Two students discuss possible interpretations of the proverb “A stitch in time saves nine.”

Which one of the following teachers is using reciprocal teaching?

• Mr. Armando has students work in pairs, testing each other's knowledge about a topic.

• Before a test, Ms. Bievers has each student describe the strategies he or she plans to use while studying.

• Working with a small group, Mr. Bromley gives each student a chance to ask questions of other group members regarding a section of text they are reading.

• When students ask questions about things they don't understand, Ms. Cromwell asks if classmates can answer those questions before answering them herself.

From a Vygotskian perspective, scaffolding serves what purpose in instruction?

• It supports children as they perform difficult tasks.

• It lets children learn by watching others.

• It keeps school tasks within children's actual developmental levels.

• It gives children an idea of what they need to do to get good grades.

If you wanted to take a Vygotskian approach to teaching students a new study strategy, you would be most likely to:

• Wait until students are at least 11 or 12 years old and thus capable of abstract thought.

• Explain how the human memory system works and relate the strategy to effective memory processes.

• Initially work collaboratively with students in applying the strategy, gradually withdrawing your support as they become more proficient in using it.

• Show students how little they can remember when they use their current, ineffective strategies, thereby motivating them to learn the new strategy.

Which one of the following pairs of concepts reflects the general idea that challenge is important for cognitive development?

• working memory and central conceptual structure

• disequilibrium and ZPD

• conservation and internalization

• self-talk and inner speech

Which one of the following is the best example of a cognitive tool?

• A jigsaw in a woodworking class

• Use of country-western music in an aerobics class

• The concept of (π) in a geometry class

• Use of natural lighting in a studio art class

Which one of the following statements most accurately describes Vygotsky's theory of cognitive development?

• Cognitive development progresses through four distinct stages; each stage is characterized by increasingly more complex thought and language.

• Children progress, in part, by working on difficult tasks with the assistance of more competent individuals.

• Language and thought, although closely intertwined in the first few years of life, become increasingly distinct entities.

• Children's cognitive growth should be judged on the basis of their actual developmental level, not on the basis of their level of potential development.

Vygotsky proposed that thought and language are:

• Closely connected at all stages of life

• Largely independent until the elementary school years and closely connected thereafter

• Largely independent before age two but closely connected thereafter

• Closely connected early in life and become increasingly independent with age