COLLABORATIVE PROBLEM-

SOLVING
AND ZONE OF PROXIMAL
DEVELOPMENT
Lala Mamedov
KA702
Overview
 Lev Vygotsky and ZPD
 Concept introduction
 Examples
 Scaffolding
 ZPD in literature
 Institutional creativity
 Cognitive effects of and with computer technology
 Peer-to-peer learning for social transformation
 Symmetrical ZPD
 Expanding ZPD to peer-to-peer collaboration
 Swarming
 Knowledge co-creation
 Summary
 References
About Lev Vygotsky
 Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934): Russian social-
constructivist psychologist
 Main Concepts
 Higher and lower mental functions
 Cognitive-Mediation Theory

 Zone of proximal development (ZPD)

Zone of proximal development
 Definition: ‘…the distance between the actual developmental level
as determined through independent problem solving and the level of
potential development as determined through problem solving under
adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers’
(Vygotsky, 1978, p. 86)
 Zone of Proximal Development describes the human development as
a s socially mediated activity.
 Cognitive apprenticeship
 Examples
 Birdhouses and mom reading
 Two 8 yr old pupils at the same actual level of knowledge: different
speed of assisted problem-solving: different ZPDs
 There is no single point at which the child had developed the skill
but didn’t have it before.
Zone of Proximal Development

Step2
Step2
Step1
ZPD: Summary
 Development level is not a point but a range
 From complete mastery of lower level skills and
knowledge to the upper limit
 Actual – potential: in between is present
 Zone is dynamic
 Each knowledge domain has its own zone
 Varies per person
 Society and adult cooperate in creating tools for
development: More Capable Peer or Adult
 Intermental to intramental
Scaffolding
 Not Vygotsky’s term but his concept: dynamic,
adaptive support and adult mediation of child’s
learning
 Term introduced by Jerome Bruner: "vicarious
consciousness"
 Support just above the level of construction
 Has to be within ZPD
 Vygotsky: Social pretend play provided scaffolding
 Co-construction of skills
ZPD in literature: 1
 Hasse, Institutional creativity (2001)
 The two students - Alexander and Anni - are not on
the same level of ZPD.
 Different contexts and different expectations
 Role of the teacher: not just master the textbook,
but point the pathways for development (Fielding
model!)
Hasse suggests that the teacher also operates within the
ZPD and has own the zone of actual and a potential
development
ZPD in literature: 2
 Salomon , Cognitive Effects With and Of Computer
Technology (1990)
 Effects of technology: cognitive residue
 Effects with technology: can now do more
 System child+adult more intelligent that each
separately: computer as a more capable peer or adult
 But can the child grow cognitively? Yes, is there is a
mindful engagement:
 Stretching abilities boundaries (=scaffolding)
 Skills internalization (intermental to intramental)
ZPD in literature: 3
 Sawchuk, Informal Learning as a Speech-exchange
System: Implications for Knowledge Production, Power
and Social Transformation (2003)
 More capable peer is not needed: two novices can
create own ZPD
 "Indeed, by demonstrating how novices can themselves
collectively construct a ZPD in order to increase
individual and collective knowledgeability we engage
in a process of unsettling taken-for-granted themes of
power, control, and knowledge." (304)
ZPD in literature: 4
 Fernandez et al, Re-conceptualizing "Scaffolding" and the
Zone of Proximal Development in the Context of
Symmetrical Collaborative Learning (2001)
 a) Disputational talk
 b) Cumulative talk
 c) Exploratory talk
 “ One way of talking (disputational talk) restricts the group's
ZPD while another (exploratory talk) expands it. This group
version of the ZPD is no longer the product of a teacher's
conscious intention. It is better understood as a symmetrical
version of the concept of the Intermental Development Zone,
in which language is used in a dynamic and dialogical way
to maintain and develop a shared context."
ZPD and collaborative problem-solving

 Why is ZPD applicable?

 Vygotsky used this with child-adult dyad
 But can also be applied to a more capable peer

 In collaborative problem resolution, each

participant comes in with different levels of
knowledge and experience
 Problem-solving is a collaboration where each
participant is a “more capable other”
“Swarming”
 Co-creation of knowledge through storytelling
 Learning happens in the process of mastering a new
skill; collaborative problem-solving is mastering of a
challenge
 Tacit to explicit knowledge
 In collaboration, ZPD of each participant varies – and
the person with the greater knowledge is not
necessarily the one who would come up with the correct
answer – has to be within the ZPD for the person
 Maybe if it is in the “already mastered” phase, people
are less likely to make new connections – they need to
stretch
 Collaborative problem-solving
1
I have this
weird
case… 5
And that
2 also
Maybe explains
4 why…
what
happened 3 5
was… Oh…I
know…what
Bob had a similar happened was… So the
situation but in story is…
that case…

“Reference scenarios can provide a resource: a similar problem, an already-worked-out

interpretation, or a possible solution arrived at in an analogous case. As precedents
enclosed in stories, scenarios are potentially relevant to all domains.” (Knorr-Cetina, 1999)
Conclusion
 Concept of Zone of Proximal Development can be
applied not only to hierarchical learning, but also to
symmetric learning
 Group problem-resolution is a type of collaborative
learning, or team sense-making
 Knowledge is co-constructed through narrative
 Tacit knowledge is converted into explicit
 Next step: investigate models of group problem-
solving
Questions and Discussion
 References
 Daniels, H. (1996). An introduction to Vygotsky. London. New York: Routledge.
 Fernandez, M., Wegerif, R., Mercer, N., & Rojas-Drummond, S. (2001). Re-conceptualizing "scaffolding"and the zone of
proximal development in the context of symmetrical collaborative learning. Journal of Classroom Interaction, 36(2)-
37(1), 40-54.
 Hasse, C. (2001). Institutional Creativity: The Relational Zone of Proximal Development. Culture & Psychology, 7(2),
199-221.
 Knorr-Cetina, K. (1999). Epistemic cultures : how the sciences make knowledge. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
 Martin, C., & Bernadette, H. (1998). Vygotsky and learning. Education Libraries Journal, 41(3), 17.
 Rogoff, B., & Wertsch, J. V. (1984). Children's learning in the "zone of proximal development". San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
 Salomon, G. (1990). Cognitive Effects With and Of Computer Technology. Communication Research, 17(1), 26-44.
 Sawchuk, P. H. (2003). Informal Learning as a Speech-exchange System: Implications for Knowledge Production, Power
and Social Transformation. Discourse & Society, 14(3), 291-307.
 Vygotskii, L. S., & Cole, M. (1978). Mind in society : the development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge:
Harvard University Press.
 Vygotskii, L. S., & Rieber, R. W. (1997). The history of the development of higher mental functions. New York; London:
Plenum.
 Wentzel, K. R., & Watkins, D. E. (2002). Peer Relationships and Collaborative Learning as Contexts for Academic
Enablers. The School Psychology Review [H.W. Wilson - EDUC], 31(3), 366.