How to Teach the Zone of Proximal Development
The zone of proximal development is a theory developed by psychologist Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934). The "zone" is the gap between what a child knows how to do independently and what he can do if given support from someone who has mastered that particular task or concept. In education, teachers must work within a child's zone of proximal development to help him learn to do more things independently by assisting him within his zone of prior knowledge. To show teachers how to do this, help them understand the concept and how to practice it.
Instructions
-
-
1
Explain the concept of what a student can do independently. Sometimes this is referred to as prior knowledge; it is the group of knowledge and skills that a child had when she entered your classroom this morning. Let's say, for example, that a child came into your classroom knowing how to read a book that was level 1. This means that she possesses all the skills necessary to read that book entirely on her own, without any help from you or another person.
Prior knowledge can also refer to things that students know how to do in non-education settings, or experiences they have had in their lives.
-
2
Explain the concept of "scaffolding." When a teacher scaffolds in a classroom, it is similar to a construction worker building a scaffold on the side of a building. A scaffold is a large, stair-like structure that helps the construction worker climb up the building and complete its construction. In the classroom, a scaffold is a set of activities designed to help a student move through increasingly difficult tasks in order to master new skills. When teachers plan their lessons, they need to plan activities that will help carry their students from point A to point B; in other words, to help them go from what they know now to what they should know when they finish your class.
-
-
3
Show them how to scaffold. In a classroom, the teacher should set up a lesson plan to include some guided practice (where the teacher assists the students in doing a new activity or skill) and some independent practice (where the students practice the skill on their own after learning about it). In a math class, for example, you might scaffold a lesson by presenting information on multiplying fractions and showing a few examples where you multiply fractions on the chalk board. Then you put a few more fraction-multiplication problems on the board and ask the students to help you solve the problems by talking them through the process as a group. Finally, you give the students a few more problems where they have to multiply fractions on their own. In this way, you took the students from not knowing anything about multiplying fractions to knowing how to do it on their own; you brought them through the zone of proximal development.
-
4
Connect learning to prior knowledge. In the fraction example above, students came into the classroom not knowing how to multiply fractions. They would, however, have had some previous experience with fractions in general. So you would remind them of their knowledge of fractions before teaching them to multiply fractions. In this way, you begin with a topic that is comfortable to them (fractions in general) and ease them into an uncomfortable or new topic (multiplying fractions). You help them get through the zone of proximal development by starting with what they know, then adding to it something that you know, and finally bringing them to the point where they now know what you know without your help.
-
1
