Final answer:
Vygotsky would say that Atlas's mother is providing him with 'scaffolding', which is structured assistance that helps a learner accomplish tasks beyond their independent abilities.
Step-by-step explanation:
Eight-month-old Atlas, assisted by his mother, who encourages him vocally and provides little pushes when he gets stuck climbing stairs, is given what Lev Vygotsky would refer to as scaffolding. Scaffolding is a term in educational psychology that describes the process through which a more experienced individual provides structured assistance to a learner to accomplish a task. The support provided by Atlas's mother helps him perform a task beyond his independent abilities and is gradually removed as his competence increases. This concept is closely related to Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), which is the difference between what a learner can do without help and what he or she can achieve with guidance and assistance.