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Since Vygotsky's original conception, the definition for the zone of proximal development has been expanded and modified. The zone of proximal development is an area of learning that occurs when a person is assisted by a teacher or peer with a higher skill set. [1]
Instructional scaffolding is the support given to a student by an instructor throughout the learning process. This support is specifically tailored to each student; this instructional approach allows students to experience student-centered learning, which tends to facilitate more efficient learning than teacher-centered learning.
Dynamic assessment is a product of the research conducted by developmental psychologist Lev Vygotsky. It identifies Constructs that a student has mastered (the Zone of Actual Development) Constructs that a student is currently able to understand or tasks a student can do with scaffolding (the Zone of Proximal Development).
Vygotsky, a psychologist and social constructivist, laid the foundation for the interactionists view of language acquisition. According to Vygotsky, social interaction plays an important role in the learning process and proposed the zone of proximal development (ZPD) where learners construct the new language through socially mediated interaction.
This technique is called "scaffolding", because it builds upon knowledge children already have with new knowledge that adults can help the child learn. [29] Vygotsky was strongly focused on the role of culture in determining the child's pattern of development, arguing that development moves from the social level to the individual level. [29]
As scaffolding is temporary, so too are the lessons that are constructed to help students as they embark into unfamiliar thinking. As noted by Pearson and Gallagher, "The critical stage of the model is the 'guided practice,' the stage in which the teacher gradually releases task responsibility to the students."
Another aspect of Vygotsky's theory is private speech. Private speech is when a person talks to themselves in order to help themselves problem solve. Scaffolding or providing support to a child and then slowly removing support and allowing the child to do more on their own over time is also an aspect of Vygotsky's theory. [18]
Vygotsky theorised that learning is most effective within this zone. [32] Coaches facilitate effective learning by providing coachees with activities within the ZPD, which are neither too easy nor too challenging (this is a process called scaffolding). [31] [32] Social learning theory also influenced coaching psychology.