Understanding the Zone of Proximal Difficulty

1. Understanding the Zone of Proximal Difficulty Lev Vygotsky’sZone of Proximal Difficulty: the range between a child’s level of independent performance and the level of performance a child can reach with expert guidance (Sternberg & Williams, 2002, 56-57) Essentially, this is the zone where a task is too difficult for a student to complete independently, but the student can complete the task with some assistance. This assistance is exactly what we intend to provide as tutors.

2. Student Characteristics and the Zone of Proximal Difficulty Too Difficult Student feels “totally lost,” cannot answer questions, stares blankly Zone of Proximal Difficulty Student is engaged, makes some errors, has questions, can answer some questions Content/Material Difficulty Too Easy Student is bored, has no questions, is proficient at assignment, can answer most to all questions Student Skill Level

3. How do we provide this? • We use scaffolding to provide assistance to students, building on their prior knowledge to help them move through their personal ZPD toward learning and completion. • As students moves toward independence and the top of their ZPD, we use fading to slowly remove assistance, allowing students to complete learning more independently.

4. Areas for Scaffolding • Comprehension: Does the student understand the task, the content, the text, etc? • Background knowledge: Does the student have sufficient background knowledge to understand and make meaning? • Relevance: Does the student see the purpose or connection to their own life? • Skills: Does the student have the capability of completing the learning activity?

5. Providing the Proper Level of Support Support areas decreased in type and quantity Support areas increased in type and quantity Student is Completely Dependent Student is Completely Independent View students’ assignments on a continuum of difficulty Break down the assignment into parts. Based on your quick assessment of student level of understanding, the type and quantity of parts you will need to scaffold and assist in will vary based on the graphic above.

6. Breaking Down Assignments to Provide Support For example, if the student you are working with is assigned an essay about Julius Caesar, you begin by breaking down the assignment to determine areas you can provide support. If the assignment is above or too difficult compared to the student’s Zone of Proximal Development, you will need to provide more of these supports. In contrast, if the assignment is below or too easy compared to the student’s Zone of Proximal Development, you will need to use fewer of these supports. This is not an exhaustive list. • Prompt • Define terms • Paraphrase meaning • Brainstorming • Provide starter ideas • Provide format to write down ideas • Help cluster ideas • Ask open ended questions • Thesis • Help sort through best ideas from brainstorming • Help formally articulate idea • Outline • Provide format • Suggest organization • Ask questions to gather topic sentences, evidence, reasons • Introduction • Provide guidelines for what to include • Give example • Body paragraphs • Provide guidelines for what to include • Provide focus/structure for each paragraph • Prompt student to analyze evidence • Conclusion • Provide guidelines for what to include • Ask questions to determine essay’s greater meaning and/or relate to the world