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ZPD

Lev Vygotsky introduced the concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD), which refers to the difference between what a learner can do independently and what they can achieve with guidance and collaboration. This document discusses applications of ZPD, including how it applies to collaborative problem solving between peers. It also reviews literature that has expanded the concept of ZPD to include knowledge co-creation through peer-to-peer learning and "swarming" where tacit knowledge becomes explicit through narrative and collaboration.

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Jenny Vega
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164 views

ZPD

Lev Vygotsky introduced the concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD), which refers to the difference between what a learner can do independently and what they can achieve with guidance and collaboration. This document discusses applications of ZPD, including how it applies to collaborative problem solving between peers. It also reviews literature that has expanded the concept of ZPD to include knowledge co-creation through peer-to-peer learning and "swarming" where tacit knowledge becomes explicit through narrative and collaboration.

Uploaded by

Jenny Vega
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 17

COLLABORATIVE

PROBLEM-SOLVING
AND ZONE OF
PROXIMAL
DEVELOPMENT
Lala Mamedov
KA702
Overview
 Lev Vygotsky and ZPD
 Concept introduction
 Examples
 Scaffolding
 ZPD in literature
 Institutional creativity
 Cognitive effects of and with computer technology
 Peer-to-peer learning for social transformation
 Symmetrical ZPD
 Expanding ZPD to peer-to-peer collaboration
 Swarming
 Knowledge co-creation
 Summary
 References
About Lev Vygotsky
 Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934): Russian
social-constructivist psychologist
 Main Concepts
 Higher and lower mental functions
 Cognitive-Mediation Theory
 Zone of proximal development (ZPD)
Zone of proximal
development
 Definition: ‘…the distance between the actual
developmental level as determined through
independent problem solving and the level of potential
development as determined through problem solving
under adult guidance or in collaboration with more
capable peers’ (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 86)
 Zone of Proximal Development describes the human
development as a s socially mediated activity.
 Cognitive apprenticeship
 Examples
 Birdhouses and mom reading
 Two 8 yr old pupils at the same actual level of knowledge:
different speed of assisted problem-solving: different ZPDs
 There is no single point at which the child had
developed the skill but didn’t have it before.
Zone of Proximal
Development
ZPD: Summary
 Development level is not a point but a range
 From complete mastery of lower level skills
and knowledge to the upper limit
 Actual – potential: in between is present
 Zone is dynamic
 Each knowledge domain has its own zone
 Varies per person
 Society and adult cooperate in creating tools
for development: More Capable Peer or
Adult
 Intermental to intramental
Scaffolding
 Not Vygotsky’s term but his concept:
dynamic, adaptive support and adult
mediation of child’s learning
 Term introduced by Jerome Bruner:
"vicarious consciousness"
 Support just above the level of construction
 Has to be within ZPD
 Vygotsky: Social pretend play provided
scaffolding
 Co-construction of skills
ZPD in literature: 1
Hasse, Institutional creativity (2001)
 The two students - Alexander and Anni -
are not on the same level of ZPD.
 Different contexts and different
expectations
 Role of the teacher: not just master the
textbook, but point the pathways for
development (Fielding model!)
Hasse suggests that the teacher also operates
within the ZPD and has own the zone of
actual and a potential development
ZPD in literature: 2
 Salomon , Cognitive Effects With and Of
Computer Technology (1990)
 Effects of technology: cognitive residue
 Effects with technology: can now do more
 System child+adult more intelligent that
each separately: computer as a more capable
peer or adult
 But can the child grow cognitively? Yes, is
there is a mindful engagement:
 Stretching abilities boundaries (=scaffolding)
 Skills internalization (intermental to intramental)
ZPD in literature: 3
 Sawchuk, Informal Learning as a Speech-exchange
System: Implications for Knowledge Production,
Power and Social Transformation (2003)
 More capable peer is not needed: two novices can
create own ZPD
 "Indeed, by demonstrating how novices can
themselves collectively construct a ZPD in order
to increase individual and collective
knowledgeability we engage in a process of
unsettling taken-for-granted themes of power,
control, and knowledge." (304)
ZPD in literature: 4
 Fernandez et al, Re-conceptualizing "Scaffolding" and
the Zone of Proximal Development in the Context of
Symmetrical Collaborative Learning (2001)
 a) Disputational talk
 b) Cumulative talk
 c) Exploratory talk
 “ One way of talking (disputational talk) restricts the
group's ZPD while another (exploratory talk) expands
it. This group version of the ZPD is no longer the
product of a teacher's conscious intention. It is better
understood as a symmetrical version of the concept
of the Intermental Development Zone, in which
language is used in a dynamic and dialogical way to
maintain and develop a shared context."
ZPD and collaborative
problem-solving
 Why is ZPD applicable?
 Vygotsky used this with child-adult dyad
 But can also be applied to a more capable
peer
 In collaborative problem resolution, each
participant comes in with different levels
of knowledge and experience
 Problem-solving is a collaboration where
each participant is a “more capable other”
“Swarming”
 Co-creation of knowledge through storytelling
 Learning happens in the process of mastering
a new skill; collaborative problem-solving is
mastering of a challenge
 Tacit to explicit knowledge
 In collaboration, ZPD of each participant varies
– and the person with the greater knowledge is
not necessarily the one who would come up
with the correct answer – has to be within the
ZPD for the person
 Maybe if it is in the “already mastered” phase,
people are less likely to make new connections
– they need to stretch
Collaborative problem-
solving
1

5
2
4
3 5

“Reference scenarios can provide a resource: a similar problem, an


already-worked-out interpretation, or a possible solution arrived at in an
analogous case. As precedents enclosed in stories, scenarios are
potentially relevant to all domains.” (Knorr-Cetina, 1999)
Conclusion
 Concept of Zone of Proximal Development
can be applied not only to hierarchical
learning, but also to symmetric learning
 Group problem-resolution is a type of
collaborative learning, or team sense-making
 Knowledge is co-constructed through
narrative
 Tacit knowledge is converted into explicit
 Next step: investigate models of group
problem-solving
Questions and Discussion
References
 Daniels, H. (1996). An introduction to Vygotsky. London. New York: Routledge.
 Fernandez, M., Wegerif, R., Mercer, N., & Rojas-Drummond, S. (2001). Re-conceptualizing "scaffolding"and the
zone of proximal development in the context of symmetrical collaborative learning. Journal of Classroom
Interaction, 36(2)-37(1), 40-54.
 Hasse, C. (2001). Institutional Creativity: The Relational Zone of Proximal Development. Culture & Psychology,
7(2), 199-221.
 Knorr-Cetina, K. (1999). Epistemic cultures : how the sciences make knowledge. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.
 Martin, C., & Bernadette, H. (1998). Vygotsky and learning. Education Libraries Journal, 41(3), 17.
 Rogoff, B., & Wertsch, J. V. (1984). Children's learning in the "zone of proximal development". San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.
 Salomon, G. (1990). Cognitive Effects With and Of Computer Technology. Communication Research, 17(1), 26-44.
 Sawchuk, P. H. (2003). Informal Learning as a Speech-exchange System: Implications for Knowledge Production,
Power and Social Transformation. Discourse & Society, 14(3), 291-307.
 Vygotskii, L. S., & Cole, M. (1978). Mind in society : the development of higher psychological processes.
Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
 Vygotskii, L. S., & Rieber, R. W. (1997). The history of the development of higher mental functions. New York;
London: Plenum.
 Wentzel, K. R., & Watkins, D. E. (2002). Peer Relationships and Collaborative Learning as Contexts for Academic
Enablers. The School Psychology Review [H.W. Wilson - EDUC], 31(3), 366.

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