Oh yes, ZPD - the Zone of Proximal Development.
It almost sounds like something eerie from the Twilight Zone, doesn't it?
For a learner, there is the area of knowledge which they clearly already possess. Beyond that, there's a foggy gray area, then there's their maximum potential. The ZPD is that middle part, where we, as teachers, are to guide our students so that they DO reach their goals/ maximum potential.
There are 2 misconceptions associated with ZPD according to the article we read. One being that it is the same thing as scaffolding, and the other that it is similiar to Krashen's notion of i + 1.
What are your thoughts? The article argues that scaffolding is assisted performance, while in ZPD, you only help the child achieve a goal rather than aid in their development. But, isn't achieving a goal aiding in development?
Katie,
ReplyDeleteI think you being up a good question about the ZDP. It does seem like the gray area between a learner knows and their potential. From the article I understood that the ZDP can be used as a model of the developmental process. It is a tool to create conditions for learning to help students with specific forms of development. The article says that it measures the distance between the actual development level and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving. So to answer your question I believe the Zone of Proximal Development definitely aids in language development. Scaffolding aids in development also but is more of a strategy for learning.
Tara, I think you really added to Katie's thoughts. You both had interesting points. ZPD can be confusing, especially when connected with learning strategies. I think that's where the line needs to be made to make it clearer to understand the difference. Like Tara said, I think scaffolding is more of a general strategy used in all aspects of learning and it's a strategy, whereas the ZPD is more of a maximum potential for one specific concept being learned (language).
ReplyDelete