Zone of Proximal Development
The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), first proposed by Lev Vygotsky, refers to a range of capacity from what a person can do without assistance to what they can do with the assistance of a more capable other.
One might consider this the "stretch" zone, or where we are trying to next pull our students' understanding and skill set.
Some key points worth remembering:
- Keeping tasks near the bottom of the ZPD (or below it) will not lead to new learning. Thus, asking students to complete tasks they are already capable of doing without assistance (while our end goal for some new skill sets or knowledge in our classes) will not help them continue to learn and grow.
- Asking students to complete tasks beyond their ZPD - those things they cannot complete, even with assistance - will most likely lead to frustration and quitting.
- While the more capable "other" can be a textbook or information online, typically it is a person. And collaborative learning and scaffolding are key to Vygotsky's theory about how learning happens.
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Why does it work?
Consider the ZPD like working out in a gym: Reps with the same weight you can already lift is unlikely to increase your strength and agility. Reps with weight you cannot lift, even with a spotter, are too far beyond your capacity to even try. For the best strength-building, it's best to challenge your ability with just a little more than you are used to handling, optimally with someone nearby to assist and coach.
So it is with our cognitive development in the ZPD. We build and create new understandings and connections when asked to stretch a beyond our current capacities, but not so far that we are unable to complete what's in front of us.
Key to this approach is the introduction of scaffolding: The experienced other (in this case, the instructor) crafts supports to put in place as new information or skills are being learned. As the learner begins to gain competence with the information, the scaffolds are gradually removed and the learner's ZPD has now shifted upward - the originally challenging task is now one they can complete without assistance.
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How can I use it in teaching?
- At the beginning of the semester, consider giving a pretest or assignment that assesses both what students should know coming in to the course as well as key standards you intend for them to have learned by the end of the semester.
- For students lacking some pre-requisite skills or knowledge (per a pre-test), build small online modules for them to complete in order to learn or refresh those skills. Consider making new course submissions contingent on this completion, but be sure to emphasize that the requirement is in place to ensure students' best learning and success in your class.
- For more complex assignments that might challenge students' upper ZPD bounds, be sure to offer scaffolding: Break the assignment into pieces with feedback, templates for guidance, and rubrics to inform the specific standards you would like for students to work toward.
- Include group interactions as part of the learning experience: Students will naturally vary in ZPD ranges; some will be able to serve as the "more knowledgable other" in a group. Group work need not be formal; in-class activities or informal study groups can be structured for students to work together yet submit their own independent work.
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What does the research show?
A study wherein students were given either Ready-to-Learn tasks (within upper ZPD bounds) or Unready-to-Learn tasks (beyond ZPD bounds) found that students gained better mastery of English and Math content when given tasks in the Ready-to-Learn realm - across student types (more- and less-successful students) and across assignment types (homework and in-class; Baker, Ma, Zhao, Wang, & Ma, 2020).
A study on nursing instruction found that use of Vygotksy's principles surrounding the ZPD was critical to student learning, and that the 3 ZPD strategies of differentiating instruction, providing instructional scaffolding, and building a positive learning environment assist in optimizing student learning (Kantar, Ezzeddine, & Rizk, 2020).