ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT: CONCEPT, CHARACTERISTICS AND EXAMPLES - ECONOMÍA - 2024

The zone of proximal development is the situation in the skills of a learner in which certain activities can be carried out with the help of another person. For example, if a child knows how to add even though he needs a little help from an adult, that would be the zone of proximal development. With practice and support, you will eventually get to go it alone.

It is the area in which an interactive system is set in motion, a support structure created by other people and by cultural tools appropriate to a situation that allows the individual to go beyond their current competencies.

It is a concept that was formulated by Lev Semenovich Vygotsky, a Russian of Jewish origin and considered one of the most important and influential psychologists in history. The zone of proximal development is closely related to education and the developmental development of children. Many education professionals rely on this theory to design teaching strategies.

Actual development and potential development

Actually, proximal development is an intermediate stage that is housed between two concepts: the real development zone and the potential one.

Actual development

In the first place, to clarify terms, we talk about the real development that is the area in which tasks are carried out autonomously and without requiring any kind of help or support. An example would be an 8-year-old boy who is capable of doing addition and subtraction facts by himself.

Potential development

Regarding the level of potential development, it is the zone to which the child can reach after having received the help of a teacher or partner.

These two levels of development, the real and the potential, determine the zone of proximal development, which is the area in which you can perform certain exercises or tasks with certain supports.

Dynamism

It should be noted that these areas are dynamic. As progress is made and the minor develops, the areas of real, near and potential development change.

As new knowledge takes hold thanks to tutoring and support, it will become the real development zone since you will be able to execute it autonomously.

Example

In the case of a child who learns to multiply it would be like this:

• Real development: knowing how to multiply with the table of 1, 2 and 3.
• Zone of proximal development: knowing how to multiply with 4 with a little help.
• Potential development: learn to multiply with the tables of 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.

Premises of the zone of proximal development

Vygotsky, in relation to the zone of proximal development and the learning processes that arise, elaborated the following statements:

-The exercises that currently require assistance to be carried out, in the future will be performed without this support.

-The fundamental condition for the performance to occur autonomously is the same aid received, although it may be paradoxical.

-The aid should not meet a series of specific features or requirements, but depends on good learning.

characteristics

We can establish three basic and very important characteristics. They are as follows:

Set the difficulty level

It is important that there is a degree of difficulty, so that the child is able to take on new challenges and situations that pose a challenge. Nor can it be a difficult task to perform because, otherwise, you will get frustrated when you do not achieve it or give up because you think it is unattainable.

Offer assistance throughout the execution

The adult or the mentor should give him help to get closer to the goal of completing the task.

Evaluate independent execution

The initial purpose of the Zone of Proximate Development is for the child to be able to do it himself.

Scaffolding

Jerome Seymour Brumer, an American psychologist, continued with the statement of Vygotsky's theory and added a new element, which is scaffolding.

This process occurs as a result of the interaction between an expert subject or one with greater experience in a certain activity or knowledge and another novice, or less expert. The goal of this interaction is for the novice to gradually appropriate the knowledge of his fellow expert.

At the beginning of the resolution of the task, the novice will depend almost exclusively on the expert. As you can perform the task autonomously, your partner withdraws his support, also known as scaffolding.

This concept of scaffolding refers to the activity that is developed collaboratively and at the beginning the expert has (almost) total control of the situation and, little by little, the novice, is acquiring this knowledge. Depending on the tasks and subjects, you will progress in a certain way.

The scaffolding has two characteristics that are:

1. The scaffolding must be adjustable. That is, it must be adjusted to the level of the novice subject and to the progress that they acquire throughout the performance of the task.
2. It is also temporary. This means that scaffolding is not a routine process because otherwise the performance would not be the same. It is important to adjust to the circumstances of each task.

Why was the concept of the zone of proximal development born?

Various authors, among them Vallejo, García and Pérez (1999), point out that Vygotsky proposed this concept as an alternative to the large number of theories that speak of intelligence and the tests used to quantify it.

What Vygotsky wanted to convey is that these tests and theories were totally focused on the skills and abilities acquired by the student at that time, but they did not contemplate the projection in the near future, nor what he was able to achieve with the aids and tools. appropriate, as well as the support of someone educated or a colleague who had a little more experience.

For this author this would be the starting point of learning and it was so in the statement of his theory.

For other authors such as Ehuletche and Santángelo, the concept of the zone of proximal development is based on the sociocultural perspective and emphasizes the importance of the processes of social interaction and help, in addition to the support within the framework of that interaction, so that it occurs progress in individual learning.

They contemplated, like Bruner, the concept of scaffolding in which the transfer and transfer, progressively, of control and responsibility takes place.

How to promote the development of the zone of proximal development?

If you are an educational professional, or you have a close relationship with children, below we are going to see a series of tips developed to work this theory and ensure that children become more and more autonomous in the performance of their tasks and labors.

Relate skills to learn with others already learned

Insert the specific activity that is carried out at the specific moment, as broadly as possible in other objectives or broader frameworks.

For example, if we are developing a mathematical operation, it is a good idea to frame that particular operation in relation to others. When we have learned to multiply, to check that the multiplication has been done correctly we can check it through an addition. Thus we increase and relate knowledge.

Group work

Within a group, it is important to enable, to the maximum extent possible, the participation of all students in the tasks and activities carried out. Even if your level of competence is not up to the task, some adaptations can be made. It is important to involve the whole group so that they take an attitude of participation and acquire greater autonomy.

In addition, when they have finished the task or activity, their self-esteem will be reinforced by verifying that they have been able to achieve it, as well as the satisfaction of the group in general.

Work environment

It is important to establish a work environment that is affective and in which the trust, security and acceptance of all participants are present. In addition to the relationships that are established within the group are healthy and trustworthy.

In this way, children, in addition to being satisfied with their peers, will increase their level of satisfaction with themselves.

Settings

Children are in continuous learning and also in constant change. For this reason, it is important to consider the existence of adjustments and modifications in the development of activities at a global level and specifically at home, one of them that are carried out daily.

For this, it is important to be aware of the progress and achievements that are produced in order to fully exploit the zone of proximal development and not get stuck in the Real Development Zone without reaching new achievements.

Autonomy

It is important to encourage students to use and deepen the knowledge acquired independently. That is, if we learn something new, we are going to let children explore and experience it, this is the best way to consolidate knowledge.

If, for example, we have learned in class that by mixing the primary colors we can obtain the rest of the colors, we are going to give them that they are the ones who mix the paints and experiment what color is obtained from each mixture.

Nexus

As minors acquire new knowledge, it is important that we establish links between this new content in relation to the content that has already been established and internalized.

Clear language

It is important that the language is used as clearly and explicitly as possible, thus avoiding and controlling possible misunderstandings or misunderstandings that may occur.

Reflection

When we have finished a task, it is recommended that we take a few minutes to talk about what we have learned. In this way, through language, we will recontextualize and reconceptualize the experience that we have developed.

Bibliography

1. Gómez, F. The Zone of Proximate Development and collaborative learning.
2. Hernández Rojas, G. The zone of proximal development. Comments on its use in school contexts. Educational Profiles, no. 86, July-December, 1999.
3. Meza Cascante, LG The Zone of Proximate Development. III National Festival and I Festival of Mathematics.
4. Moll, LC Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development: A Reconsideration of Its Implications for Teaching. University of Arizona.
5. Peña, D. The Sociohistorical Theory (Vygotsky).