Teaching is not just a matter of standing in front of a class and distributing knowledge to a group of learners. Teaching is a much more complex procedure that requires educators to consider a variety of educational components in order to maximize a learner’s true potential. Teachers are responsible for catering to the needs of a group of learners with a range of needs, and therefore have an obligation to meet the needs of learners with differing levels of ability, knowledge, understanding, pre-exposure and background using a variety of strategies including scaffolding. Teacher’s also need to consider the varying speed at which students learn, and then be able to provide for all learners regardless of their learning pace and ability as well as understanding the development of a learner’s understanding in education environments and then being able to adapt the learning activities to meet the needs of their students. This essay will discuss teaching concepts including the concept of The Zone of Proximal Development as well as scaffolding concepts to assist with learning.
The Zone of Proximal Development is an educational concept developed by Russian psychologist, Lev Vygotsky defined as “the distance between the actual development level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under guidance or in collaboration with a more capable peer” (McKellin et. al, 2011) which “stems from the identification of a strong need for adaptation of the learning activities, both traditional classroom and modern e-learning ones, to the present state of a learner’s knowledge and abilities” (De Marsico, Sterbini and Temperini, 2013.) The concept of the Zone of Proximal Devel...
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...rrissey, A. and Brown, P. (2009). Mother and toddler activity in the zone of proximal development for pretend play as a predictor of higher child IQ. Gifted Child Quarterly, 53(2), pp.106--120.
Journal
Rubinstein-Avila, F.
Scaffolding Content and Language Demands for "Reclassified" Students
In-text: (Rubinstein-Avila, 2014)
Bibliography: Rubinstein-Avila, F. (2014). Scaffolding Content and Language Demands for "Reclassified" Students. Voices from the Middle, 20(4), pp.32-33.
Journal
Shabani, K., Khatib, M. and Ebadi, S.
Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development: Instructional Implications and Teachers' Professional Development.
In-text: (Shabani, Khatib and Ebadi, 2010)
Bibliography: Shabani, K., Khatib, M. and Ebadi, S. (2010). Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development: Instructional Implications and Teachers' Professional Development. English language teaching, 3(4).
5. Gibbons, Pauline. Scaffolding language, scaffolding learning: teaching second language learners in the mainstream classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2002. Print.
A contemporary of Piaget from the 1930’s, Lev Vygotsky ( a Russian psychologist and philosopher) was generally connected with the social constructivist theory. He underscores the impact of cultural and social settings in learning and supports a discovery model of learning. This kind of model places the educator in a dynamic role while the students' mental capacities naturally develop through multiple paths of discovery (Lev Vytgosky, n.d.).
She is able to do very well in math but has trouble in reading due to English being her second language. It is possible that the student grasp math, by being taught from her culture, or family. The zone of proximal development allows her to learn from things independently, which the teacher tries to do during her lessons, to allow children read and understand a story individually. Student A can also accomplish learning by interacting with the teacher, which helps her learn and sound out
This reading reminded me about how Vygotsky’s theory is mostly based on the interactions and influences help children to learn. I really do believe this theory is very accurate, because students can learn from each other. If a teacher is having trouble explaining a complex topic to a student, another student can explain it in more relatable way. Also, I was fascinated when I read about what cultural tools, were and how they related to Vygotsky’s beliefs. Learning about what cultural tools were, helped me to broaden my understanding of how crucial cultural tools are to student’s learning process. Also, the chapter did a great job of elaborating on how these tools can help to advance and grow in the understanding of student’s thinking process. Another aspect of this reading that interested me was the elaboration on private speech and the Zone of Proximal Development. Each of the definitions displayed help me to advance my own thinking on what it was and how it is used in regards to the education of students. The description of what private speech and how it is basically the inner narration of their thinking process helped me to understand how this aspect can help with students learning. Also, the Zone of Proximal Development helped me to make a connection to both what is and how it relates to private speech as well. The Zone of proximal development plays a crucial role in the
Thomas, Wayne P., and Virginia P. Collier. "Two Languages are Better Than One." Educational Leadership (Dec.97-Jan.98): 23-26.
Shabani, K. Khatib, M. Ebadi, S. (2010). Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development: Instructional Implications and Teacher’s Professional Development. 3(4), December, 2010. English Language Teaching: Tehran, Iran. Retrieved from http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/elt/article/view/8396
Humans are, by nature, filled with curiosity. We incessantly seek to learn about the universe. Not surprisingly, we simultaneously strive to learn about ourselves. What is our place in the world? How do we grow into the people we are meant to be?
The purpose of this assignment is to explain the impact of English language learners in the classroom. As a foreign student, English language learner in the United States faces multiple challenges for achieving academic success. To successfully complete a task, they need to master both English as a language and how it is used in core content classes especially when they are an adult. When trying to assist in instructing English language learners, they usually have many concepts and language abilities that they need to master, as do the teachers that are trying to teach them. With the incorporation of the concepts and approaches to identify and assess the issues and concerns that we have learned in our classroom instruction, such as lesson preparation,
Despite of the fact that Piaget (1969)'s theories are not that updated, his contributions to the field still manage to influence many human development experts. He divided children's cognitive development into four stages. There are specific mental and physical abilities that kids get to master as they go along their natural learning process. Piaget described children as natural scientists who assimilate knowledge of the world by interacting with their surroundings. These interactions not only boost children's intelligence but foster language acquisition as well. Piaget's cognitive development stages are as follows: from birth to two years of age (sensor-motor stage), from two to seven (pre-operational stage), from seven to twelve (concrete
n the world of Vygotsky, a child was not a product of the environment, instead the child interacts with the environment by making choices, which moderates or influences the effect of the environment on the child. Lev Vygotsky stages of development were not defined by age or biology, the basis behind his theory was unerstanding social and cultural experiences of a child, and how they affect the the child's development. A philosophy of Vygotsky’s theory was the zone of proximal development (ZPD), this is the difference between what a child is able to solve on its own based on the stage of cognitive development, and what a child can learn with the help or experience of another person. Vygotsky believes the skill of knowledge comes from mastering new social situations where learning is shared with others. He also believed that experiences should be shared in social settings, and placed a large emphasis on the quality of group work within the cognitive development process. Within group work, children's language is encouraged to develop, through conversation, questioning and sharing cognitive content with their peers. Vygotsky believed that "social interaction enables the child to develop the intellectual skills needed for logical reasoning and thought." (Grossman, S. 2008) Through language and communication, children learn to evaluate the world and change their actions accordingly.
There are five ways in which Piaget’s theory of cognitive development and Vygotsky’s theory of the Zone of Proximal Development. The very first way that teachers can use these theories to teach constructively is by providing scaffolded instruction within the ZPD for their students (292). In other words, a teacher must be able to assist children in achieving a goal that may be slightly too difficult for them to reach alone. An example of this would be if a teacher had decided that her class should do an experiment on how well plants grow based on the amount of water they receive, she could challenge her students to make a hypothesis about what they think will happen. This teacher could allow her students to individually plant their seeds and then guiding her students to predict or hypothesize what they believe will happen if one plant gets more water than another. This example directly correlates with Vygotsky’s idea of ZPD because
Childhood play is an important part of every child’s development. This behavior starts in infancy, they begin to explore their world through play. Play behavior serves as an indicator of the child’s cognitive and social development. Research on play and development is essential to helping caregivers understand the importance of childhood play. I will be focusing on the psychological aspects of childhood play behavior and its relation to cognitive development.
Classrooms of today are full of students with varying learning abilities and styles, therefore teachers are put in a position to involve each of their students equally so that everyone has the greatest chance of success in their learning. There are many different ways teachers are able to set up the learning environment in order to maximise teaching and learning and cater for the diverse needs of their students. I will attempt to discuss in detail some of these strategies and unpack the potential advantages and difficulties that follow.
I believe this as well, that children are constructive but are not experts at most skills and will therefore need some guidance from a caring adult. “The Zone of Proximal Development is the range of abilities that a person can perform with assistance, but cannot yet perform independently. Providing children with the appropriate assistance and tools gives them what they need to accomplish the new task or skill”. This is called scaffolding. “It’s important for people to realize that the zone of proximal development is a moving target”. Which means it is consistently changing as the child grows older. This is why I like to challenge children and present them with tasks that aren’t easily achieved on their own, but with some guidance and slight assistance, it is capable of accomplishment. Vygotsky believed that this would progressively advance the learning process as I too
Vygotsky believes that social interaction will help with children to be more knowledgeable in society. He felt that culture teaches people how to think and ways to learn and memorize. He used zone of proximal development to engage with the level of performance a child can co-exist and achieve with someone with more knowledge. The Zone of Proximal Development provides that a child can independently accomplish specific tasks with guidance and encouragement from a knowledgeable adult. It is known that no child can exceed the zone of proximal. Vygotsky suggests a child’s environment is a vital contributor to development and learning. Children learn when they are left alone. In Vygotsky theory language is very important; the use of word helps enhance their cognitive