What concept, developed by Lev Vygotsky, involves providing varying levels of support to learners to help them develop skills?

The concept developed by Lev Vygotsky that involves providing varying levels of support to learners is known as scaffolding. This term refers to a teaching method that aims to support and assist learners as they develop new skills and knowledge. The idea is that as learners begin to grasp a new concept, the educator offers help, guidance, and resources tailored to the learner's current level of understanding.

Scaffolding involves giving assistance in a way that gradually diminishes as the learner becomes more competent, allowing them to achieve independence in their learning. This approach ensures that learners are not overwhelmed but are still challenged enough to grow their skill set. It highlights the importance of teacher-student interactions where the educator adapts their support based on the learner's needs.

While the zone of proximal development is related to scaffolding, as it defines the range of tasks that learners can perform with assistance versus those they can do independently, scaffolding specifically describes the supportive actions taken by educators to bridge that gap in learning. Concepts like growth mindset and constructivist learning are important in education but do not specifically address the mechanism of support that scaffolding provides in the learning process.