BEd Bachelor of Education Bachelor of Education Learning and Development Principles 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which theorist introduced the concept of 'scaffolding' to describe adult support that helps children reach higher levels of understanding?
- Jean Piaget
- Lev Vygotsky
- Jerome Bruner (Correct answer)
- Albert Bandura
Correct answer: Jerome Bruner
Jerome Bruner coined the term 'scaffolding' to describe the support provided by a more knowledgeable person to help a learner achieve tasks within their Zone of Proximal Development.
Question 2: A child who can sort objects by color but struggles to sort by both color and shape simultaneously is likely in which Piagetian stage?
- Sensorimotor
- Preoperational (Correct answer)
- Concrete operational
- Formal operational
Correct answer: Preoperational
The preoperational stage (ages 2–7) is characterized by centration, where children focus on one attribute at a time and cannot yet perform multi-attribute classification.
Question 3: According to Bronfenbrenner's ecological model, which system directly involves the child's immediate environment such as home and school?
- Mesosystem
- Exosystem
- Microsystem (Correct answer)
- Macrosystem
Correct answer: Microsystem
The microsystem includes the immediate settings in which a child directly participates, such as family, school, and peer groups.
Question 4: Which learning theory emphasizes that new knowledge is built upon prior knowledge structures called schemas?
- Behaviorism
- Constructivism (Correct answer)
- Humanism
- Connectivism
Correct answer: Constructivism
Constructivism, rooted in Piaget's work, holds that learners actively construct understanding by integrating new information with existing cognitive schemas.
Question 5: A student repeatedly practices math drills until automaticity is achieved. This approach best reflects which learning principle?
- Discovery learning
- Meaningful reception learning
- Operant conditioning (Correct answer)
- Social learning
Correct answer: Operant conditioning
Operant conditioning (Skinner) explains skill automaticity through repeated reinforced practice that strengthens stimulus-response connections.
Question 6: Which developmental milestone is typically achieved first in a child's language acquisition?
- Using two-word phrases
- Babbling (Correct answer)
- Naming familiar objects
- Producing full sentences
Correct answer: Babbling
Babbling (cooing and consonant-vowel combinations) typically emerges around 6 months, preceding word naming, two-word phrases, and sentence production.
Question 7: Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences challenges traditional IQ measures primarily because it argues that intelligence is:
- Entirely genetically determined
- A single measurable general factor
- Plural and domain-specific (Correct answer)
- Fixed after early childhood
Correct answer: Plural and domain-specific
Gardner proposed at least eight distinct intelligences (e.g., linguistic, spatial, musical), arguing that intelligence cannot be reduced to a single g-factor.
BEd Bachelor of Education Bachelor of Education Learning and Development Principles 2
Which theorist introduced the concept of 'scaffolding' to describe adult support that helps children reach higher levels of understanding?