Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development allows a teacher to gage how much
their students have learned with the use of scaffolding. Just like my unit on
magnets, the students had a basic understanding of what magnets were, but
through exploration and experiences they expanded this knowledge.
Active Engagement in Learning!
Role playing, storytelling, drama
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Scaffolding
As a teacher, I always use scaffolding as a teaching tool. A student can only build on what they already know. If the student does not have any prior knowledge about the topic then I provide them with those experiences so they may relate concepts with experiences. The more students discuss, read about, see pictures of, and experiment with the concept, the more they learn it.This is very true with my first grade students. Every year I would teach my first grade class about magnets. At the beginning of the unit, all of my students had the same basic knowledge. Most of them say they used magnets to hold up items on their fridge. As the unit progressed the students were exposed to more terms and activities regarding magnets. These experiences built off my students prior knowledge and added to it. By the end of the unit, the students were able to identify the north and south pole on a magnet as well as what made them repel and attract.
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I just followed your posting of scaffolding and Vygotsky's ZPD, and read again the interpretation of these concepts slightly different from what was originally meant. "Wells (1999) saw the zone of proximal development as operating not only within the student but also within a group or the class as a whole," calling this "the communal zone of proximal development"(Richard-Amato,p. 83). As your students are learning from you as a group, I think Well's concept of communal ZPD is at work with your students in your class, revealing more fun-filled learning experience. Thanks for sharing your explanatory and exploratory teaching style.
ReplyDeleteVygotsky's (ZPD) and his conception of what an individual can accomplish when working in collaboration with others versus what he/she could have accomplished without collaboration with others.
ReplyDeleteAccording to some of the articles i read online and also from the book in Chapter 3 scaffolding as been identified as being especially effective for second language learners. I don't have any experience with scaffolding but I will definitely use it as a teaching tool when i get in to the classroom. Thank you Fina for sharing your experience.
Reading about Vygotsy's theory, I was more focused on the idea that he says learning precedes of maturation. I just struggle with that thought and can't get a clear picture of that theory. Maybe I need some "Meaningful Social Interaction" so that I can get a clearer picture and understanding. I seem to understand, or I think I understand Piaget more when he says that maturation precedes learning.
ReplyDeleteLet me try here. Vygotsky was a developmental and child Psychologist. From his perspective, children learn and gradually reach the different levels of maturation (psychologically, perhaps). Thus, learning precedes (comes before) maturation. Hope it helps.
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