Zone of proximal development

(1896–1934) The concept of the zone of proximal development was originally developed by Vygotsky to argue against the use of academic, knowledge-based tests as a means to gauge students' intelligence. He also created ZPD to further develop Jean Piaget's theory of children being lone and autonomous learners. Vygotsky spent a lot of time studying the impact of school instruction on children and noted that children grasp language concepts quite naturally, but that math and writing did not come as naturally. Essentially, he concluded that because these concepts were taught in school settings with unnecessary assessments, they were more difficult for learners. Piaget believed that there was a clear distinction between development and teaching. He said that development is a spontaneous process that is initiated and completed by the children, stemming from their own efforts. Piaget was a proponent of independent thinking and critical of the standard teacher-led instruction that was common practice in schools. Alternatively, Vygotsky saw natural, spontaneous development as important, but not all-important. He believed that children would not advance very far if they were left to discover everything on their own. It is crucial for a child's development that they are able to interact with more knowledgeable others: they are not able to expand on what they know if this is not possible. The term more knowledgeable others (MKO) is used to describe someone who has a better understanding or higher ability level than the learner, in reference to the specific task, idea, or concept. He noted cultural experiences where children are greatly helped by knowledge and tools handed down from previous generations. Vygotsky noted that good teachers should not present material that is too difficult and "pull the students along." He proposed a question: "if two children perform the same on a test, are their levels of development the same?" He concluded that they were not. However, Vygotsky's untimely death interrupted his work on the zone of proximal development, and it remained mostly incomplete. ==Definition==

Since Vygotsky's original conception, the definition for the zone of proximal development has been expanded and modified. The zone of proximal development is an area of learning that occurs when a person is assisted by a teacher or peer with a higher skill set. Any function within the zone of proximal development matures within a particular internal context that includes not only the function's actual level but also how susceptible the child is to types of help, the sequence in which these types of help are offered, the flexibility or rigidity of previously formed stereotypes, how willing the child is to collaborate, along with other factors. This context can impact the diagnosis of a function's potential level of development. ==Scaffolding==

The concept of the ZPD is widely used to study children's mental development as it relates to educational context. The ZPD concept is seen as a scaffolding, a structure of "support points" for performing an action. This refers to the help or guidance received from an adult or more competent peer to permit the child to work within the ZPD. Although Vygotsky himself never mentioned the term, scaffolding was first developed by Jerome Bruner, David Wood, and Gail Ross, while applying Vygotsky's concept of ZPD to various educational contexts. Scaffolding is a process through which a teacher or a more competent peer helps a student in their ZPD as necessary and tapers off this aid as it becomes unnecessary—much as workers remove a scaffold from a building after they complete construction. "Scaffolding [is] the way the adult guides the child's learning via focused questions and positive interactions." This concept has been further developed by Mercedes Chaves Jaime, Ann Brown, among others. Several instructional programs were developed based on this interpretation of the ZPD, including reciprocal teaching and dynamic assessment. For scaffolding to be effective, one must start at the child's level of knowledge and build from there. In mathematics, proximal development uses mathematical exercises for which students have seen one or more worked examples. In secondary school some scaffolding is provided, and generally much less at the tertiary level. Ultimately students must find library resources or a tutor when presented with challenges beyond the zone. Another example of scaffolding is learning to drive. Parents and driving instructors guide driving students along the way by showing them the mechanics of how the car operates, the correct hand positions on the steering wheel, the technique of scanning the roadway, etc. As the student progresses, less and less instruction is needed, until they are ready to drive on their own. The concept of scaffolding can be observed in various life situations and arguably in the basis of how everyone learns. One does not (normally) begin knowing everything that there is to know about a subject. The basics must be learned first so one can build on prior knowledge towards mastery of a particular subject or skill. == Implications for educators ==

Various investigations, using different approaches and research frameworks have proved collaborative learning to be effective in many kinds of settings and contexts. Teachers should assign tasks that students cannot do on their own, but which they can do with assistance; they should provide just enough assistance so that students learn to complete the tasks independently and then provide an environment that enables students to do harder tasks than would otherwise be possible. In the context of adults, peers should challenge each other in order to support collaboration and success. Utilizing student's ZPD can assist especially with early childhood learning by guiding each child through challenges and using their student collaboration as a tool for success. Meyer used the concepts of Cognitive Evolutionary Pressure and Cognitive Empathetic Resonance to provide a theoretical underpinning for how and why the zone of proximal development arises, and this also has implications for how scaffolding can best be used. ==Challenges==

Scaffolding in education does have some boundaries. One of the largest hurdles to overcome when providing ample support for student learning is managing multiple students. While scaffolding is meant to be a relatively independent process for students, the initial phase of providing individual guidance can easily be overseen when managing large classrooms. Thus, time becomes a critical factor in a scaffolding lesson plan. In order to accommodate more learners, teachers are often faced with cutting parts of lessons or dedicating less time to each student. In turn, this hastened class time might result in loss of interest in students or even invalid peer-teaching. Cognitive abilities of the student also play a significant role in the success of scaffolding. Ideally, students are able to learn within this zone of proximal development, but this is often not the case. Recognizing students' individual abilities and foundation knowledge can be a challenge of successful scaffolding. If students are evidently less prepared for this learning approach and begin to compare themselves to their peers, their self-efficacy and motivation to learn can be hindered. These hurdles of scaffolding and the zone of proximal development are important to acknowledge so that teachers can find solutions to the problems or alter their teaching methods. ==See also==