Vygotsky zone of proximal development reference

Vygotsky created the concept of the zone of proximal development, often abbreviated as ZPD, which came to be a central part of his theory. Language is the way that a child communicates with others after they are born and they continue to learn by interacting with those around them. Building on his idea of social interaction as the basis for learning, he broached the value of a mentor or teacher in the life of a student.

Zone of proximal development example

See also: Andragogy Theory — Malcolm Knowles. Vygotsky declared some controversial statements that went against prominent educational research at the time. He dismissed the idea that there was no ideal age for learning and instead introduced ideal stages for learning, a similar opinion as Piaget. He also explained that the cognitive growth increased less for students with a higher intelligence than a lower intelligence when they entered school.

He coined this term relative achievement, a method that highlights the departure point of student learning and not just the end result. Students benefit directly from the social interactions in class, and ideally, reach their learning potential with the help of their teacher.

Zone of proximal development pdf

Vygotsky consistently defines the zone of proximal development as the difference between the current level of cognitive development and the potential level of cognitive development. He maintains that a student is able to reach their learning goal by completing problem-solving tasks with their teacher or engaging with more competent peers.

Vygotsky believed that a student would not be able to reach the same level of learning by working alone. As a student leaves his zone of current development, he travels through the zone of proximal development towards his learning goal. Learning occurs in the zone of proximal development after the identification of current knowledge. The potential development is simply what the student is capable of learning.