Zone of proximal development

The zone of proximal development, often abbreviated as ZPD, is the difference between what a learner can do without help and what he or she can do with help. It is a notion introduced, yet not fully established, by Soviet psychologist Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934) during the last ten years of his life. Vygotsky identified that a child follows an adult's example and gradually develops the ability to do certain tasks without assistance. Vygotsky and some other educators believe that the role of education is to give children experiences that are within their zones of PD, thereby encouraging and advancing their individual learning.

The concept of the ZPD was originally developed by Vygotsky to argue against the use of academic, knowledge-based tests as a means to measure students' intelligence. He also created ZPD to further develop Jean Piaget's theory of children being independent learners. Vygotsky spent a lot of time studying the influence of school instruction on children and noted that children grasp language concepts quite naturally, but that maths and writing don’t come naturally, that these are concepts taught in schools and tend to come along with some struggle, while Piaget believed that there was a clear division between development and teaching. He said that “development is a spontaneous process that is initiated and completed by the children, stemming from their own efforts.” Piaget was a supporter of independent thinking and critical of the standard teacher-led instruction that is common practice in schools today.

 

-WIKIPEDIA INFO ALTERED

General OVERVIEW

Intro basics: General OVERVIEW

I will be analysing the development of children’s writing (including topics such as grammar, punctuation and formality) through their books over a period of time (from Reception to present day).As well as this, I will set an additional ‘experiment’ or task for the children (all ages) to write a letter to an old relative (SUCH AS a great, great, grandparent) explaining in as much detail as they can about the family now, the parents jobs, where they go to school, what’s their favourite subject etc. I will then compare these letters between siblings and analyse the formality, the level of descriptive language and the understanding of correct grammar.

ALL CHILDRENS WRITING AND PARTICIPATION WILL BE ANONYMISED ENTIRELY. ONLY AGE WILL BE INCLUDED.

What the theory/research leads me to expect to find- hypotheses.

Hypotheses-

The level of formality decreases as the subject’s get younger. Things would be described as ‘the basics’ (in terms of descriptive language, punctuation, grammar etc.) in a younger child’s writing. Whilst older children may try to explain further and in more detail with a proportion more of formality within their writing.

KEY QUESTIONS FOR THE WRITING TASK.

These questions have to be understood FULLY by the range of ages I’m using. Therefore the questions cannot be too complex or too simple because the participants may feel the need, subconsciously to conform to the question in terms of formality etc.

Write a letter to your great, great, Granddad or Grandma explaining…

Q1. Where do you go to school and what is your favourite subject?

Q2. What do your parents do as a job?

Q3. What are your hobbies and what do you like to do in your free time?

Q4. Do you have any brothers or sisters? If yes, what are their ages and where do they go to school?

Q5. What is your favourite piece of technology and why do you like it?

 POTENTIAL THEORISTS TO USE

JEAN PIAGET- http://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html

“Jean Piaget (1896 - 1980) was employed at the Binet Institute in the 1920s, where his job was to develop French versions of questions on English intelligence tests.  He became intrigued with the reasons children gave for their wrong answers to the questions that required logical thinking. He believed that these incorrect answers revealed important differences between the thinking of adults and children.”

Stage of Development/Key Feature/Research Study

Sensorimotor -0 - 2 yrs.  Object Permanence Blanket & Ball Study

Preoperational-2 - 7 yrs.  Egocentrism Three Mountains

Concrete Operational- 7 – 11 yrs.  Conservation/Conservation of Number

Formal Operational- 11yrs + Manipulate ideas in head, e.g. Abstract Reasoning 

 

(----------- = relevant to my study).