The Zone Of Proximal Development And Forest School

A little time I go mentioned I was going to be diving deep into and explaining some of the theories of learning and development which are relevant to, unsurprisingly Forest School, but can be also applied more widely.

These are almost engrained in the DNA of the Forest School movement. In this episode it’s the turn of Lev Vygotsky and the theory of scaffolding and the zone of proximal development.

What Did He Theorise?

Vygotsky, like Piaget who I discussed in a previous episode which is linked in the description, believed that children learn actively and develop their knowledge and thinking skills through hands on experiences, but he proposed a different process.

His theory looked at the social and cultural interactions that your child is engaged in and comments that these are what drives them in gaining knowledge and intelligence. He didn’t believe in staged learning and development as Piaget did, but rather learning as an ongoing developmental process.

He placed an emphasis on your child’s language development because it is the main way in which adults provide children with information, and because he believed that language is needed to let children engage in thinking with a structure, simply, to allow them to understand.

The Theory Of The ZPD; His Most Influential?

In my opinion one of the most influential of Vygotsky’s theories was that he believed that your child is able to learn more quickly and more complex ideas for their age and stage at least when they are helped by a more knowledgeable ‘other’ in the social group. This ‘other’ could be a parent, teacher or even another child — as long as they are more knowledgeable or skilled than the learner.

This idea gave rise to the concept of ‘the zone of proximal development’ (ZPD) which as defined by Vygotsky (1978, p.86) 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” (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 86).

Simply this is a really a complicated way of describing the difference between what a child could have learned on their own compared to what they could learn with the help of a more knowledgeable other.

Why Is The ZPD So Effective For Children?

Instruction focused within your child’s ZPD is not too difficult or too easy, but just challenging enough to help them develop new skills by building on ones that have already been established. Your child is most receptive to instruction within their ZPD because it represents the next logical step in their ongoing skill development and growth.

This can only be accessed and known by the more knowledgeable other following observation of your child or in the case of when the other is another child if they have recently been through the learning experience they are helping on.

The Theory Of Scaffolding (No, Not The Metal Pipes)

As a extension of this concept, Vygotsky used the term scaffolding to refer to the instructionally supportive moments and talk between your child and other as they guide effective learning and development in the ZPD.

The most common ways for others to scaffold is through skill modelling, simply showing one way of how it is done, and simplifying play problems by breaking them down in small achievable tasks that allows them to notice the finer points of what it takes to do what they want to, before being able to put it altogether and take a step forward in the their learning journey.

This is always done at a level your child understands and can be either more or less complex depending on their age and stage of development.

The Effectiveness Of Scaffolding

With scaffolding, research has shown your child’s learning and understanding can be prevented from going into periods of stagnation or a slowing down.

Placing this knowledge into a learning environment such as Forest School, the theories presented by Vygotsky are acted upon by working with the children in a progressive way, by gradually introducing more complex play opportunities or bringing along more complex play tools, so that your child is able to reach and work within their own zone of proximal development.

This is ultimately what I mean when I say meeting them where they are at. This all is only capable following observation of your child and the baseline assessment a Forest School leader should do upon meeting and working with a new child.

The Power Of Observation

Without observation and the incredible things it throws up a Forest School leader or any type of facilitator of learning would not be able to take your child to their zone of proximal development let alone scaffold effectively enough to bring about the desired learning and outcomes.

Observation and accessing the zone of proximal development also are informed by a child’s holistic development needs. Where might they be needing extra support? How can a Leader scaffold that child to develop in such a way during this play activity. This is why the role of the Forest School leader is so complex and are experts in their field of child development and child led learning.

Something To Bear In Mind…

A point to note here though is although scaffolding it is a positive learning technique and theory the support from the adult can be at times restrictive and remove other theories of learning that often can feed into one another. That said, it is a strong tool to know and have in a Forest School leaders arsenal and can be adequately used as and when needed as apposed to a tool that is used consistently session to session.

So there we are Lev Vygotsky and the theory of the zone of proximal development and scaffolding. Next time in this sort of mini series we will be looking at the state and theory of Flow.

You’re Just One Session Away.