Vygotsky’s theory of Zone of Proximal Development

– It is the difference between what a learner can do and what s/he can do with the appropriate scaffolding

This theory was more apparent in the ESL classroom. Recently, my beginning ESL class read Shaun Tan’s The Arrival. I asked each group to come up with a brief summary for their assigned chapter. Two of the groups asked me they did not understand some of the parts. I asked them to try to tell me the whole story page by page. One of the students volunteered to do so. When he reached the part where he was confused, he just paused and told me that the story did not make sense. I asked him to look for the differences between the two pages of pictures. Then, I asked him if he noticed the difference in the color that Shaun Tan had used in these two pages. He nodded, but he still did not understand. I told him to look for similarities between these two characters. I pointed them out to him: a younger man with a triangular hat and a grandpa with beard and a triangular hat. Suddenly, his light bulb turned on and said, “they were the same persons.” He smiled and told me that the one with the darker color and the older man was the current situation, and the faded colored page was his memory. The old man is telling the protagonist about his memory. In the future, the student will be able to pay attention to details and solve the mystery on his own. This learning experience will benefit him.

Sometimes students just need a little bit of extra help to solve the mystery that do not seem to make sense. From this practicum experience, I feel like teachers are more like a facilitator who is trying to let students explore and discover their own potential and talents. I really enjoy this process of being there to provide an extra hand for them to help them along the way.