Responsive Teaching
What is Responsive Teaching?
Responsive Teaching is a student-centered philosophy of teaching that prioritizes responsiveness to students rather than adherence to a program. Teachers use a variety of resources to meet the needs of the students in their class, and their instruction changes from year to year based on the academic and social-emotional needs of their current students. Though all teachers work to meet the New Jersey Student Learning Standards, a responsive teaching philosophy supports the research-based idea that the single most impactful factor in student learning is a skilled teacher. Teachers conduct both informal and formal assessments to get to student their students' strengths and areas of growth. Teachers then analyze a range of data to plan for whole-class, small group and individual instruction that will address grade level standards, while targeting student needs. Oftentimes, grade level standards are addressed via whole-class instruction, while small group and individual instruction is used to meet students where they are along a continuum of learning and support their work toward the next step along the progression of learning.
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Click here to read more about the importance of responsive teaching in meeting the needs of all learners.
What is the connection between Responsive Teaching and ZPD?
Vygotsky developed the idea of the Zone of Proximal Development, which is the theory that each child has a zone of actual development, a zone of proximal development (the "learning zone") and content that is currently too far out of reach. Teachers use the principles of Responsive Teaching to determine students' current zone of proximal development and teach in to it, helping the learner to move forward along their trajectory of growth.
