Lev Vygotsky's Zone Of Proximal Development

EDFE101 ASSESSMENT 3- MAJOR ESSAY

How can Vygotsky’s notion of the ‘Zone of Proximal Development’, and the related concept of ‘scaffolding’, be used to provide appropriate education and support to the full range of students in the classroom?

The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is a concept by Lev Vygotsky that provides appropriate education and support to the full range of students in the classroom. This concept requires teachers or ‘experts’ to assist students in achieving a higher level of knowledge, one that the students would not be able to achieve by themselves. Scaffolding is a similar concept in the sense that it also utilises experts boosting, as well as guiding students into a higher level of learning. With the importance and positive implications of these two concepts being highlighted over time, teachers and experts have increasingly used the zone of proximal development, and the related concept of scaffolding, in order to guide the development and learning of children and students. This essay will define and discuss both the zone of proximal development and scaffolding in greater depth, as well as their significance in assisting learning and development in the full range of students within the classroom.

The theory of the zone of proximal development arose from the work of Lev Vygotsky and he defined it as “the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance, or in collaboration with more capable peers” (Vygotsky, 1978, pg. 86) In the classroom, this would refer to the distance between the students actual development in problem solving on their own, and their capabilities i...

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...chers need to be sensitive to all of their needs and readiness, as the ‘full range’ of students in the classroom may not all have the same zone of proximal development. Experts have to be aware of the child or students capabilities in specific tasks, as some tasks even with the help of a guide may be to difficult to overcome. In teaching mathematics for example, “students who have had less experience with an area, a field, or a domain will need more scaffolding than those students who have had more experience with that field or domain. They may need more sequenced supports, more attempts and more opportunities to revise to develop expertise” (Christmas et al., 2013, pp. 375). In order for students to receive the appropriate amount of support within the classroom, the scaffolding must be flexibly designed in order to meet the needs of the ‘full range’ of students.