Zone of proximal development
[2] Vygotsky argued that a child gets involved in a dialogue with the "more knowledgeable other" and gradually, through social interaction and sense-making, develops the ability to solve problems independently and do certain tasks without help.
Piaget was a proponent of independent thinking and critical of the standard teacher-led instruction that was common practice in schools.
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.
[6] He noted cultural experiences where children are greatly helped by knowledge and tools handed down from previous generations.
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.
[11] 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.
[13] The concept of the ZPD is widely used to study children's mental development as it relates to educational context.
[14] This refers to the help or guidance received from an adult or more competent peer to permit the child to work within the ZPD.
[4] According to Wass and Golding, giving students the hardest tasks they can do with scaffolding leads to the greatest learning gains.
Several instructional programs were developed based on this interpretation of the ZPD, including reciprocal teaching and dynamic assessment.
As they learn to convey their thoughts in a more effective way, they receive more sophisticated feedback, therefore increasing their vocabulary and their speaking skills.
Various investigations, using different approaches and research frameworks have proved collaborative learning to be effective in many kinds of settings and contexts.
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.
In order to accommodate more learners, teachers are often faced with cutting parts of lessons or dedicating less time to each student.
[25] 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.
