Zone of Proximal Development

In Catching Readers Before They Fall, the basics of the Vygotskian Theory was highlighted. There are three major ideas in the Vygotskian Theory: zone of proximal development, understanding that language is the key, and sociocultural aspect of teaching and learning. My focus for this blog is the zone of proximal development.

Vygotsky "defines the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) as where the child can do it with your help." When teaching we want to find the ZPD because this is where students have the highest potential for learning. So how do you find ZPD you ask? Well, believe it or not.....you may have already found it but just haven't realized it!! Visualize a target or dart board. The bullseye or center is the zone of actual development (ZAD). This is where the student can do the task on his own. The student is in complete control and is able to complete the task without any assistance. "The ZAD includes all that you know, your background knowledge, and all the tasks you are able to perform independently."  This could be an assignment that you give the student to complete at his desk because you know that he is able to complete it without any assistance. Right outside of the bullseye on the dart board there is another ring, this is the zone of proximal development (ZPD). In the ZPD, this is where you teach or model a new skill because the student cannot do it on his own but can do it with your assistance or guidance. You want "activities that challenge children but that can be accomplished with sensitive adult guidance."  The last ring is called Out of Reach. And you've got it!!!! These are skills or tasks that the student cannot do even with guidance. These are skills that are too advanced for the student or the student may need to learn other skills before this particular one.

Let's go back to ZPD. While in the ZPD, you need to focus on explicit modeling and a gradual release of responsibility. "Teachers must keep independence as the goal." This means that after modeling and demonstrating, you have to back off and lessen the amount of help that you have been giving. This may be guided practice. As children gain more control performing the task given, they are moving closer and closer to independence (which is pushing these tasks closer to the bullseye on the dart board). The goal for the teacher to be able to pull tasks and skills from the Out of Reach circle into the ZPD with modeling, demonstrating, and guided practice. Then after instruction and less guidance allowing the students to gain more control of the tasks or skills they will be able to push them into the ZAD where they can do these own their own.