Pedagogical Theory and Practice
Domain 2 - Pedagogical Theory and Practice. This domain tests whether you can connect learning theory to concrete classroom decisions: how learners build knowledge, what makes feedback work, and how a lesson's structure follows from its aim.
Core concepts
- Vygotsky's zone of proximal development. Tasks just beyond independent reach, supported by temporary scaffolds that are withdrawn as competence grows.
- Piaget's stages. Concrete operations (roughly 7–11) need manipulatives; formal operations allow hypotheses and abstract proof.
- Bloom's revised taxonomy. Remember → understand → apply → analyse → evaluate → create. Objectives and questions should climb, not stay at recall.
- Formative assessment. Elicit evidence, interpret it, adjust the next step; feedback must say what to do next, not just how good the work was.
- Direct instruction vs. inquiry. Novices usually need worked examples and explicit modelling; experts benefit more from open discovery.
Worked example
Pupils fail a multi-step equation, 3(x − 2) + 4 = 19. Which scaffold? Diagnose first: ask them to read the expression aloud and show the first step. If they cannot verbalise the order of operations, scaffold the plan (undo +4, divide by 3, …). If they expand wrongly, scaffold the procedure with a worked example and a faded second one. If they simply rush, the issue is metacognitive - use self-check prompts. Choosing the scaffold before diagnosing is the commonest error.
Traps
- Naming a theorist without linking the idea to a classroom action.
- Treating group work as automatically "constructivist".
- Feedback that is evaluative ("good try") rather than forward-looking.
- Confusing formative assessment (during learning, ungraded) with summative assessment.