Another metaphor created by Vygotsky is the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). This is the difference between the children’s actual developmental level and their potential development (Bohlin, 2012, p.124). This is also extremely relevant to my internship/future career because the role of the more cognitively advanced person (educator or peers within the classroom) is important to the child’s future academic success.
Another concept discussed in the EdPsych book, which I have been referring to, is Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development (Bholin, 2012, p.121). I feel as though it is necessary to refer to both Piaget and Vygotsky since they both have theories of cognitive development. The students that I have in my third grade internship classroom are around eight years old. This indicates that they are transitioning from the pre-operational stage to the concrete operational stage. It is amazing to see the students develop through these stages. An important milestone of the pre-operational stage is identity constancy. Identity constancy is the ability to realize that an object remains qualitatively the same even though it appearance has changes (Bholin 2012, p.123). In the classroom, I have seen some students exhibit this semiotic function through the science lesson. The students were measuring the same amount of liquid using different measurement tools. Similar to an activity completed two weeks ago that familiarized the students with scientific tools. I look forward to seeing the children develop new skills, and how these new skills will help them in the future, in relation to both Piaget and Vygotsky.
This week I experienced and observed multiple things that I could directly relate to a couple of the classes that I am currently enrolled in. This was an awesome experience, and I hope to continue seeing this trend!
A couple things that I observed my CTs doing that I thought was amazing include the “turn and tell your partner” technique. They walked around during this period of time to ensure that the children were on topic. But it gave the students the opportunity to discuss what they were learning with their peers, which is important. The other noteworthy technique that my CTs used were during the writing portion, when they were rereading their essay, a couple spelling errors were discovered (unintentionally). But they used this as an opportunity to discuss the importance of rereading and making corrections. Which I thought was awesome, and very important.
Overall the school day was amazing, and I cannot wait to go back every week!
Reflective Questions
1. How can scaffolding be used in different subjects, such as math or social studies?
2. How will the Zone of Proximal Development (ZDP) assist me the future?
References
Bohlin, L., Durwin, C., & Reese-Weber, M. (2012). EdPsych: Modules (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Cunningham, P., & Allington, R. (2011). Classrooms that work: They can all read and write (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.