Instructional Technology and Online Pedagogy
WGU D660 – INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY AND ONLINE PEDAGOGY
CXN1 TASK 1 TEMPLATE | QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS |
2026/2027
D660 Instructional Technology and Online Pedagogy CXN1 Task 1
TEMAPLATE
1. A teacher builds an online vocabulary quiz that awards immediate
points and badges for every correct response. Which learning theory
most directly underpins this design?
A. Constructivism
B. Connectivism
C. Social constructivism
D. Behaviorism
ANSWER : D. Behaviorism
Behaviorism holds that observable responses are strengthened through
reinforcement, which is exactly what instant points and badges provide.
Page 1 of 63
, Instructional Technology and Online Pedagogy
2. Which theorist is most closely associated with the Zone of Proximal
Development?
A. B. F. Skinner
B. Lev Vygotsky
C. Jean Piaget
D. Robert Gagné
ANSWER : B. Lev Vygotsky
Vygotsky described the ZPD as the gap between what a learner can do
alone and what they can do with guidance from a more knowledgeable
other.
3. In an online module, scaffolding is best described as:
A. Grouping learners strictly by ability level
B. Temporary support that is gradually removed as the learner gains
competence
C. Permanent supports that remain in place for every future task
D. Releasing the ANSWER key before learners attempt a task
ANSWER : B. Temporary support that is gradually removed as the
learner gains competence
Scaffolds such as hints, templates and worked examples are faded
deliberately so the learner eventually performs independently.
4. Connectivism, proposed by George Siemens and Stephen Downes,
views learning primarily as:
A. The memorization of facts stored in long-term memory
B. The ability to form and navigate connections across networks of people
and information
C. The internal restructuring of schemas without outside input
D. A conditioned response to environmental stimuli
ANSWER : B. The ability to form and navigate connections across
networks of people and information
Connectivism treats knowledge as distributed across networks, so
knowing where to find and connect information is central to learning in a
digital age.
Page 2 of 63
, Instructional Technology and Online Pedagogy
5. Students build a shared class wiki on local water issues, negotiating
meaning and revising each other's entries. This activity best reflects:
A. Programmed instruction
B. Behaviorism
C. Social constructivism
D. Classical conditioning
ANSWER : C. Social constructivism
Social constructivism emphasizes that knowledge is co-constructed
through dialogue and collaboration with others.
6. Cognitivism focuses mainly on:
A. Mental processes such as attention, encoding, memory and retrieval
B. Unconscious drives and early childhood experience
C. Observable behavior and its consequences only
D. Learning that resides in social and digital networks
ANSWER : A. Mental processes such as attention, encoding, memory
and retrieval
Cognitivist approaches study what happens inside the mind as
information is processed, stored and recalled.
7. In Piaget's theory, fitting new information into an existing schema
without changing that schema is called:
A. Equilibration
B. Reinforcement
C. Accommodation
D. Assimilation
ANSWER : D. Assimilation
Assimilation incorporates new experiences into existing mental
structures; accommodation changes the structure itself.
Page 3 of 63
, Instructional Technology and Online Pedagogy
8. A learner discovers that a new idea does not fit what they already
believe and revises their mental model. Piaget would call this:
A. Extinction
B. Chunking
C. Accommodation
D. Assimilation
ANSWER : C. Accommodation
Accommodation occurs when an existing schema must be modified or a
new one created to handle conflicting information.
9. Albert Bandura's social learning theory emphasizes that people learn
largely by:
A. Responding to unconditioned stimuli
B. Navigating distributed digital networks
C. Trial and error with no outside influence
D. Observing and imitating the behavior of models
ANSWER : D. Observing and imitating the behavior of models
Bandura showed that observation, attention, retention, reproduction and
motivation allow learning without direct reinforcement of the learner.
10. A teacher records a screencast solving an equation step by step
before learners try similar problems. Which concept from social
learning theory is being applied?
A. Cognitive disequilibrium
B. Operant extinction
C. Modeling
D. Negative reinforcement
ANSWER : C. Modeling
Demonstrating the target behavior for learners to observe and imitate is
modeling, a core mechanism in Bandura's theory.
Page 4 of 63
WGU D660 – INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY AND ONLINE PEDAGOGY
CXN1 TASK 1 TEMPLATE | QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS |
2026/2027
D660 Instructional Technology and Online Pedagogy CXN1 Task 1
TEMAPLATE
1. A teacher builds an online vocabulary quiz that awards immediate
points and badges for every correct response. Which learning theory
most directly underpins this design?
A. Constructivism
B. Connectivism
C. Social constructivism
D. Behaviorism
ANSWER : D. Behaviorism
Behaviorism holds that observable responses are strengthened through
reinforcement, which is exactly what instant points and badges provide.
Page 1 of 63
, Instructional Technology and Online Pedagogy
2. Which theorist is most closely associated with the Zone of Proximal
Development?
A. B. F. Skinner
B. Lev Vygotsky
C. Jean Piaget
D. Robert Gagné
ANSWER : B. Lev Vygotsky
Vygotsky described the ZPD as the gap between what a learner can do
alone and what they can do with guidance from a more knowledgeable
other.
3. In an online module, scaffolding is best described as:
A. Grouping learners strictly by ability level
B. Temporary support that is gradually removed as the learner gains
competence
C. Permanent supports that remain in place for every future task
D. Releasing the ANSWER key before learners attempt a task
ANSWER : B. Temporary support that is gradually removed as the
learner gains competence
Scaffolds such as hints, templates and worked examples are faded
deliberately so the learner eventually performs independently.
4. Connectivism, proposed by George Siemens and Stephen Downes,
views learning primarily as:
A. The memorization of facts stored in long-term memory
B. The ability to form and navigate connections across networks of people
and information
C. The internal restructuring of schemas without outside input
D. A conditioned response to environmental stimuli
ANSWER : B. The ability to form and navigate connections across
networks of people and information
Connectivism treats knowledge as distributed across networks, so
knowing where to find and connect information is central to learning in a
digital age.
Page 2 of 63
, Instructional Technology and Online Pedagogy
5. Students build a shared class wiki on local water issues, negotiating
meaning and revising each other's entries. This activity best reflects:
A. Programmed instruction
B. Behaviorism
C. Social constructivism
D. Classical conditioning
ANSWER : C. Social constructivism
Social constructivism emphasizes that knowledge is co-constructed
through dialogue and collaboration with others.
6. Cognitivism focuses mainly on:
A. Mental processes such as attention, encoding, memory and retrieval
B. Unconscious drives and early childhood experience
C. Observable behavior and its consequences only
D. Learning that resides in social and digital networks
ANSWER : A. Mental processes such as attention, encoding, memory
and retrieval
Cognitivist approaches study what happens inside the mind as
information is processed, stored and recalled.
7. In Piaget's theory, fitting new information into an existing schema
without changing that schema is called:
A. Equilibration
B. Reinforcement
C. Accommodation
D. Assimilation
ANSWER : D. Assimilation
Assimilation incorporates new experiences into existing mental
structures; accommodation changes the structure itself.
Page 3 of 63
, Instructional Technology and Online Pedagogy
8. A learner discovers that a new idea does not fit what they already
believe and revises their mental model. Piaget would call this:
A. Extinction
B. Chunking
C. Accommodation
D. Assimilation
ANSWER : C. Accommodation
Accommodation occurs when an existing schema must be modified or a
new one created to handle conflicting information.
9. Albert Bandura's social learning theory emphasizes that people learn
largely by:
A. Responding to unconditioned stimuli
B. Navigating distributed digital networks
C. Trial and error with no outside influence
D. Observing and imitating the behavior of models
ANSWER : D. Observing and imitating the behavior of models
Bandura showed that observation, attention, retention, reproduction and
motivation allow learning without direct reinforcement of the learner.
10. A teacher records a screencast solving an equation step by step
before learners try similar problems. Which concept from social
learning theory is being applied?
A. Cognitive disequilibrium
B. Operant extinction
C. Modeling
D. Negative reinforcement
ANSWER : C. Modeling
Demonstrating the target behavior for learners to observe and imitate is
modeling, a core mechanism in Bandura's theory.
Page 4 of 63
