Nicole Bieno’s Updates

Assignment #2: Zones of Proximal Development

Our brains are primed for social connection and communication, and the majority of evidence suggests that the development of linguistic skills are a product of nurture, and being exposed to specific sounds. Given that we are social animals, I think it is safe to say that learning language is part of our nature. However, it is not guarenteed to be easy or without need for conscious intervention. Neuroscience is able to show us how much of our brain is activated when we use language, and this is useful for a couple reasons. First, it can help us see what someone might be struggling with. Also, it can help us collect data and monitor physical changes in the structures of the brain as we grow. This is important in cases where the language learning difficulty may be a disorder with a neurological root. Because of neuroplasticity, it is hard to say that neuroscience can conclude anything about what the brain innately does, and I do not think trying to do so would further our ability to constructively facilitate learning.

I studied Lev Vygotsky's theories in most of my education classes for my teacher training. His most imapactful theory is called the Zone of Proximal Development, which claims that learning is a series of constructions that work by building on eachother and making associations in order to successfully learn. The zone of proximal development refers to skills that the someone does not yet have, but has the ability to gain. For example, if a child grew up on a farm they likely have experience working with plants. Farming is established prior knowledge. This child is trying to learn how to do multiplication, and the teacher is looking for the best way to approach the lesson with this child. If the teacher knew about Vygotsky's theory, they would look at the child's current understanding (of plants) and use this to associate the concept of multiplication (the zone of proximal development) and make a connection between those two zones. If the child successfully gains multiplication skills, they widen their zone of proximal development to more complex skills. This theory states that the child is much more likely to gain knowledge of multiplication if the teacher uses rows of plants and counting them like a grid as the example. Vygotsky would say it is essential to see the connection between what you are trying to learn and the understandingings you already have. According to Vygotsky, we are unlikely to learn something we have no connection to because it is not in our zone of proximal development.Teacher's commonly call the application of this theory "scaffolding" and is considered a necessary part of an inclusive classroom. Vygotsky's theory also paved the way for student-centered learning movements. I use his theory every day when I teach, and it is why I was taught to have a good understanding of my students' background before I try to teach them something new. Vygotsk's theory is not comprehensive, and does not consider things like neurological differences in attention or different abilities. However, it remains influential and useful for our current goals in education. 

Vygotsky, Lev. 1934 (1986). Thought and Language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.. pp.110–111, 112–113, 127, 126, 135, 136, 142, 149–150, 171, 173, 166–167, 150. || Amazon || WorldCat

Saul, Mcleod. (2023).Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development and Scaffolding, www.simplypsychology.com.