Assistance in Overcoming Educational Difficulties Utilizing Reflective-Activity Approach in the Context of Distance Learning: The Case of Mitya

Abstract

The article describes a case of providing counseling help in overcoming educational difficulties in the Russian language to a sixth-grade student, who was considered underachieving by teachers, utilizing the reflective-activity approach in the context of distance learning. The material of the case analysis shows the importance of supporting the student’s agency in educational activities and its crucial role in the conditions of distance learning both for overcoming learning difficulties and for the overall development of the child. For a qualitative analysis of remote consulting sessions, a multidimensional model of the zone of proximal development was used, that established the foundation for the dynamics of the vectors used by the counselor to initiate change.

Keywords

• distance learning
• reflective-activity approach
• educational difficulties
• underachieving children
• subject position
• cooperation
• meaningful activity
• reflection
• zone of immediate development
• vector of development