When putting together a puzzle with her son, mim selects a puzzle that is slightly too difficult for him to put together alone and adjusts the support offered to her son to fit his current level of performance. mim is engaging in

In this example, Mim is engaging in scaffolding. This is a term most often used when referring to methods of teaching. A teacher uses scaffolding by introducing a new concept or concepts, and then steps back to allow the students to work on the concepts. The teacher can then offer help as the students are working.