Vygotsky's zone of proximal development (ZPD).
According to Vygotsky, a child’s zone of proximal development is where development takes place: it is the gap between the child’s current competence level (what they can already do independently) and their potential development level (what they could do with guidance from someone else).
Vygotsky believed that when a student is in the zone of proximal development for a particular task, providing the appropriate assistance will give the student enough of a "boost" to achieve the task.
To assist a person to move through the zone of proximal development, educators are encouraged to focus on three important components which aid the learning process:
The presence of someone with knowledge and skills beyond that of the learner (a more knowledgeable other).
Social interactions with a skillful tutor that allow the learner to observe and practice their skills.
Scaffolding, or supportive activities provided by the educator, or more competent peer, to support the student as he or she is led through the ZPD.
The more knowledgeable other (MKO) is somewhat self-explanatory; it refers to someone who has a better understanding or a higher ability level than the learner, with respect to a particular task, process, or concept.
Although the implication is that the MKO is a teacher or an older adult, this is not necessarily the case. Many times, a child's peers or an adult's children may be the individuals with more knowledge or experience.
According to Vygotsky (1978), much important learning by the child occurs through social interaction with a skillful tutor. The tutor may model behaviors and/or provide verbal instructions for the child. Vygotsky refers to this as cooperative or collaborative dialogue.
The child seeks to understand the actions or instructions provided by the tutor (often the parent or teacher) then internalizes the information, using it to guide or regulate their own performance.
The ZPD has become synonymous in the literature with the term scaffolding. However, it is important to note that Vygotsky never used this term in his writing, and it was introduced by Wood, Bruner and Ross (1976).
Scaffolding consists of the activities provided by the educator, or more competent peer, to support the student as he or she is led through the zone of proximal development.
Support is tapered off (i.e. withdrawn) as it becomes unnecessary, much as a scaffold is removed from a building during construction. The student will then be able to complete the task again on his own.
It is important to note that the terms cooperative learning, scaffolding and guided learning all have the same meaning within the literature.
Maria just entered college this semester and decided to take an introductory tennis course. Her class spends each week learning and practicing a different shot. Weeks go by, and they learn how to properly serve and hit a backhand.
During the week of learning the forehand, the instructor notices that Maria is very frustrated because she keeps hitting her forehand shots either into the net or far past the baseline. He examines her preparation and swing. He notices that her stance is perfect, she prepares early, she turns her torso appropriately, and she hits the ball at precisely the right height.
However, he notices that she is still gripping her racquet the same way she hits her backhand, so he goes over to her and shows her how to reposition her hand to hit a proper forehand, stressing that she should keep her index finger parallel to the racquet. He models a good forehand for her, and then assists her in changing her grip. With a little practice, Maria's forehand turns into a formidable weapon for her!
In this case, Maria was in the zone of proximal development for successfully hitting a forehand shot. She was doing everything else correctly, but just needed a little coaching and scaffolding from a "More Knowledgeable Other" to help her succeed in this task.
When that assistance was given, she became able to achieve her goal. Provided with appropriate support at the right moments, so too will students in classrooms be able to achieve tasks that would otherwise be too difficult for them.
The zone of proximal development is an internal process which cannot be empirically tested or observed, making the theory less scientific.
Dunn and Munn (1987) found social interaction in play enhances cognitive development, which provides evidence that scaffolding helps children learn.
Vygotsky’s ZPD can be applied to educational contexts in order to help children learn intellectual concepts, therefore it has validity.
Chomsky believed learning language was an innate human trait where we are predisposed to acquire linguistic skills, therefore socialisation is over emphasised by Vygotsky.
Define what is meant by a zone of proximal development (ZPD). (1) January 2017
Evaluate Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development (ZPD) as an explanation of cognitive and language development. (8) January 2018
Explain, using Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development, two reasons why Charlotte came to this conclusion in her investigation. (4) October 2018