FTCE Professional Education Practice Exam

Which educational strategy involves scaffolding to help learners achieve higher cognitive understanding?

1. Cooperative learning

2. Differentiated instruction

3. Constructivist approach

4. Inquiry-based learning

The correct answer is: Constructivist approach

The constructivist approach is centered on the idea that learners construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world through experiences and reflection on those experiences. Scaffolding, a key element within constructivism, refers to the support provided by educators to help learners progressively build their skills and understanding. By offering guidance, resources, or tools tailored to the learner's current competency level, teachers can facilitate deeper engagement with content and concepts. This strategy empowers students to take ownership of their learning process while gradually increasing the complexity of tasks and expectations. Through this process, learners can move from relying heavily on external support to becoming more autonomous and confident in their cognitive abilities, ultimately leading to higher levels of understanding and critical thinking. In contrast, while cooperative learning, differentiated instruction, and inquiry-based learning all support student engagement and development, they do not emphasize scaffolding in the same foundational way as the constructivist approach. Cooperative learning focuses on collaboration between peers, differentiated instruction tailors learning experiences to individual student needs, and inquiry-based learning encourages exploration and questioning, but the scaffolding concept is most deeply rooted in constructivist principles.