WHAT IS THE ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT?

DEFINITION AND EXAMPLES

By Cynthia Vinney

Lev Vygotsky, who was interested in education and the learning process,
felt that standardized tests were an inadequate measure of a child's
readiness for further learning. He contended that standardized tests
measure the child’s current independent knowledge while overlooking
the child’s potential capability to successfully learn new material.
Vygotsky recognized that a certain amount of
learning happens automatically as children
mature, a notion championed by
developmental psychologists like Jean Piaget.
However, Vygotsky also believed that in order
to advance their learning even further, children
must engage in social interaction with "more
knowledgeable others." These more
knowledgeable others, like parents and
teachers, introduce children to the tools and
skills of their culture, such as writing, math,
and science.
Vygotsky passed away at a young age before he could fully develop his
theories, and his work wasn’t translated from his native Russian for a
number of years following his death. Today, however, Vygotsky's ideas
are important in the study of education—especially the process of
teaching.

Definition
The zone of proximal development is the gap between what a student
can do independently and what they can potentially do with the help of a
"more knowledgeable other."
Vygotsky defined the zone of proximal development as follows:
“The zone of proximal development is the distance between the actual
developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and
the level of potential development as determined through problem
solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable
peers.”
[…]
If learning is taking place in the zone of proximal development, only a
small amount of assistance will be required. If too much assistance is
given, the child may learn only to parrot the teacher rather than
mastering the concept independently.
< https://www.thoughtco.com/zone-of-proximal-development-4584842>