最近发展区(The-zone-of-proximal-development)

ThezoneofproximaldevelopmentThezoneofproximaldevelopmentisoneofthemostimportantconceptofVygotsky’ssocioculturalperspective.Thezoneofproximaldevelopmentistheareabetweenthechild’scurrentdevelopmentlevel“asdeterminedbyindependentproblemsolving”andlevelofdevelopmentthatchildcouldachieve“throughadultguildanceorincollaborationwithmorecapablepeers”.Itdescribetheproperlevelchildrencouldachieve.RatherthanseeinglearninganddevelopmentastwoindependentprocessesasPiaget,Vygotskybelievetahttheprocessesrelyoneachother.Wemustteachthechilddependonhisorherdevelopmentlevel.Sothemostimportantthingistoknowthechildren’scurrentdevelopmentlevel.Thus，Vygotskyputforwardtheconceptofthezoneofproximaldevelopment.Fromthedefinition,weknowitisandynamic(动态的)concept.Thatisthezoneofproximaldevelopmentofeachchildisdifferent,andonechild’szoneofproximaldevelopmentindifferentsituationanddifferenttimeisdifferent.Vygotskypointoutthateducationinsomedegreeisdevelopment.Whatwemustcareistheformingdevelopmentprocessratherthanthefinisheddevelopmentprocess.Onlygoingaheadofdevelopmentcaneducationmakethegreatestcontributiontodevelopment.InVygotsky’ssocioculturalperspective,heemphasizetheimportanceofcultureforchildren’scognitivedevelopment,hebelieveedthathumanactivitiestakeplaceinculturalsettingsandcannotunderstoodapartfromthesesettings.Oneofhiskeyideaswasthatourspecificmentalstructureandprocessescanbetracedtoourinteractionswithothers,andcannothappenwithoutothers.Allourmentalstructuresandprocessesareco-constructedduringsharedactivitieswithothers,thentheprocessesareinternalizedbythechildrenandbecomepartofthechildren’scognitivedevelopment.DifferfromPiaget,heemphasizetheimportanceofmorecapablepeoplesuchasteachersandparentsratherthanpeers.Apprenticeshipsisanoldformofteaching,indicatingtheimportanceofteachera.Infact,accordingtothezoneofproximaldevelopmenttheory,workwithclassmateswhoarealittlemorecapableismosthelpful.Thezoneofproximaldevelopmenttheoryismeaningfulineducationalarea.Asateacher,wemustbeclearaboutchildren’scomponent,learningstyleandattitude,temperamentandsoon.Thisisthelevelthestudentsalreadyhave,andwecanforeseethechildren’spotentialabilityaccordingtoit.Thenteachercanarrangepropertasks,neithertooeasynortoodifficult.Teachersgivestudentstheguidancetoleadstudentstofinishthetasks.Aftersomeexercise,teacherletstudentsdoitindependently.Duringtheprocess,studentsmakeprogress.Besides,duringthezoneofproximaldevelopment,studentsaremostcreativityandactive,theyfeelconfidentandinterestedin.Vygotskydiedwhenhewasonly38yearsold,andhehadnothavetimetomakedetaisofhistheory.Manyyearslater,withthelastingeffortsofmanypsychologists,histheoryhasmakegreatcontributiontotoday’seducation,andwidelyacceptedasoneofthemostimportanttheoryineducation.“Scaffolding”isoneofthemostimportantapplicationofhistheoryinrecentyears.ItwasputforwardbyAmericaneducationalpsychologistBrunerdependingonthezoneofproximaldevelopment.Actually,scaffoldingisteacher’sappropriatehelpduringstudents’learningprocess.Children’simmatureabilitydonotparticipateinproblemsolving.Thenteachercanhelpstudentsthroughofferingscaffolding.Theformofscaffoldisvarioussuchasteacher’sdemonstration,implication,askingquestionsandsoforth.Whateverscaffoldingweoffer,wemustofferittimelyandremoveittimelytoo.Wecanneitherdoeverythingforstudentsnorleavethemallalone.Thescaffoldwillnotmakethetaskeasier,butstudentscancompletethetaskwithit.Scaffoldingincludesthreelinks:etudes,explorationandexcursion.Etudesisthebeginningofteaching,andteacherofferproperscaffoldingtostudents.Thenstudentsestablishgoalsandexplore.Duringthis,teachercanofferguidance,prototypeoftheproblem,tofeedbacktheoutcome,buttoaddexploratorycompositionatthesametime.Afterthatteachercanletstudentsdeterminethedirectionoftheproblemontheirown.Onlyinthezoneofproximaldevelopment,canscaffoldmakegreatestcontributiontochildren’sdevelopment.Anotherapplicationofthezoneofproximaldevelopmentisinteractiveteaching.AccordingtoVygotsky,interactionwithothersistheoriginofindividualthinking.Creatinglearningsituationbetweenclassmateorteacherisnecessary,andstudentscansolveproblemswitheachothers'help.TheydevelopthemselvesthroughdiscussionandcooperationTeacherscanusedifferentstrategiestohelpstudentswiththeirproblemsolvingandlearnthroughinteractionswithothers.Personallythinking,withthedevelopmentofinformationtechnology,thecommunicationwithcomputerswillbecomemoreandmoreimportant.Teacherscanusecomputerprogramstohelpstudentsachieveintheirpotentialdevelopmentlevelinthezoneofproximaldevelopment.Playinggamesisanexcellentformofinteraction.Forchildren,gamesarenotonlyforfun,theydeveloptheirlanguage,schemasandculturetoolsatthesametime.Thechildrenhavesimilardevelopmentlevelandsolveproblemswitheachother’shelp.Besides,theyenjoythemselvesatthesametime.Everyteachershouldknow,allworksandnoplaymakesJackadullboy.AsfarasI'mconcerned,accordingtothezoneofproximaldevelopmenttheory,wecanprobablydividestudentsintoseverallevelsineachgrade.Studentsinthesameclasshavesimilardevelopmentlevel.Thus,teachercanuseproperstrategiestoteachthembas