Module 2: Contextual Perspectives

Question 1

bioecological model

Answer 1

the perspective suggesting that multiple levels of the environment interact with biological potential to influence development

Question 2

chronosystem

Answer 2

the environmental events and transitions that occur throughout a child’s life, including any socio-historical events

Question 3

contextual perspective

Answer 3

a theory that considers the relationship between individuals and their physical, cognitive, and social worlds

Question 4

ecological systems theory

Answer 4

Urie Bronfenbrenner’s theory stressing the importance of studying a child in the context of multiple environments, organized into five levels of external influence: microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem

Question 5

exosystem

Answer 5

the larger contexts of the community, including the values, history, and economy

Question 6

macrosystem

Answer 6

cultural elements such as global economic conditions, war, technological trends, values, philosophies, and a society’s responses to the global community which impact a community

Question 7

mesosystem

Answer 7

larger organizational structures such as school, the family, or religion

Question 8

microsystem

Answer 8

immediate surrounds including those who have direct, significant contact with the person, such as parents or siblings

Question 9

scaffolding

Answer 9

a process in which adults or capable peers model or demonstrate how to solve a problem, and then step back, offering support as needed

Question 10

sociocultural theory

Answer 10

Vygotsky’s theory that emphasizes how cognitive development proceeds as a result of social interactions between members of a culture

Question 11

zone of proximal development (ZPD)

Answer 11

the difference between what a learner can do without help, and what they can do with help