Teacher
Question of the Week
Q: What is the significance of Vygotsky's zone of proximal development, ZPD, and how does it relate to scaffolding?
A:
Lev Vygotsky was a Russian psychologist who contributed significantly to education
by explaining the concept of mediation and the zone of proximal development,
which relates directly to scaffolding,
part of cognitive apprenticeship.
His work incorporates that of Piaget, and Feuerstein's work today on cognitive
modifiability is based largely on Vygotsky's contributions.
(This link
will take you to more resources on Vygotsky.)
Teaching in the ZPD
How do the ideas of mediation and the ZPD (zone of promimal development) relate
to teaching adults? Mediation might be considered as individualized instruction
given by the professor, tutor, or mentor. It is a bit like the Socratic method
in that the mediator asks a question to lead the student to discover or derive
the answer using his or her thinking abilities. The inquiry process is one that
the student internalizes, becoming more and more independent in learning as
he or she applies the same method when working alone or with peers on assignments.
The
lecture based class can present questioning in a broad sense that stimulates
and inspires students, demonstrates "thinking aloud", and uses visuals
to support speech, while the individual assignments might be designed with varying
levels and abilities in mind. Scaffolding is one way to attempt to reach all
levels (see below). A few other methods for including all students in the lecture
might be use partners in class to discuss a question raised or to share notes,
or engage students in small group activities that support the lecture topic.
Examples to Illustrate the Concept of ZPD
An example of an application of ZPD is seen in the design of many of the informal
reading inventories given by reading specialists. The students read lists of
words at different levels, from easy to too difficult, and also read passages
and answer comprehension questions that begin at an accessible level and progress
to very difficult. The results specify an independent, an instructional and
a frustration level for the student in decoding (reading words) and comprehension.
The
instructional range involves that zone in which the student is really
learning. The ZPD is a zone in which enough challenge is provided for the
upper level for the student, but the lesson is not overly frustrating. So the
high pole of the ZPD is the range in which the student is receptive to challenging
levels of knowledge and skills, higher than those demonstrated as mastered.
Receptivity precedes expression.
Scaffolding
may include any of the following: giving students hints, providing information
to guide them, such as prompts written on index cards, demonstrating the task
at hand and exemplifying the type of thinking required for mastery by "talking
aloud" during lecture, and beginning practice with easier material. Once
the student has learned the material and skills, s/he has reached independent
mastery, and it is appropriate to move on to higher levels. If the student is
still having difficulties, an error analysis to determine the cause is appropriate.
How does one engage students at the highest levels while providing support for
undeveloped or deficient skills? This is the heart of teaching students with
learning differences. Because students with ld have average to above average
intelligence, it is important to appeal to their higher level reasoning or insights,
while allowing scaffolding or compensation for the problem areas involving perceptual
processing.
Uneven
abilities will occur in all classes, not only between students but within students;
such variation is just more exaggerated for students with extreme cognitive
strengths and weaknesses. Gardner's
model of Multiple Intelligences explains this fact of different abilities
well.
Perhaps an
example of applying these ideas would be sharing enthusiasm for the lecture
topic in your class during lecture, explaining the concepts and ideas verbally,
using a diagram to illustrate the ideas, plus providing a list of key vocabulary
terms that support the theory. The sharing of ideas fulfills the students' need
to reach ahead for motivation and inspiration, and the diagramming and vocabulary
provide support for those who may have language processing difficulties.
Another way to provide for different intra-abilities is to allow students time to formulate questions and answers in class discussions. Remember, a student may have good receptive language and is able to understand you quite well, but it is possible for the same individual to have expressive language timing delays, which means it will take him or her more time than peers to organize language prior to responding. Creating a trusting climate helps encourage students to participate verbally.
Some
teachers provide reading assignments at varying levels of readability. This
would take more time to identify, but perhaps providing choice among several
articles for one assignment may be the easiest way to do this.
In Summary...
A practical way to apply ZPD is to try to do the following:
1. Provide for tutors in your class to facilitate individualized instruction
whenever possible.
2. Teach using multi-sensory methods, so those with a variety of strengths and
weaknesses receive the important information through either a verbal or a visual
mode.
3. When thinking through your lesson, ask yourself:
How will I engage students at the upper levels enthusiastically without overwhelming
them?
What is the instructional zone of my class?
Where might difficulties occur, and how could I provide support?