Zone of Proximal Development
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Synonyms Zone of reflective capacity
Definition The zone of proximal development is the gap between what a learner has already mastered (actual level of development) and what he or she can achieve when provided with educational support (potential development). It is the level of a child’s development which displays itself in collaborative activity with an adult but not in the child’s individual activity. Bruner (1982) describes the zone of proximal development figuratively as the child’s ability to recognize the value of hinges and props even before he is conscious of their full significance. The concept was introduced by Lev Vygotsky to deal with two problems of developmental and educational psychology: (1) how to correctly assess children’s intellectual abilities and (2) how to evaluate the efficacy of instructional practices (Vygotsky 1978; Wertsch 1985). “It 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).
Theoretical Background Lev Vygotsky has the “absolute monopoly” on the notion of the zone of proximal development: Nothing comparable was introduced before him either in fundamental or applied psychology or in the sciences of learning. One of the main reasons why Vygotsky
introduced the concept was, as Wertsch (1985) has observed, because it allowed him to examine “those functions that have not yet matured but are in the process of maturation, functions that will mature tomorrow but are currently in an embryonic state. These functions can be termed the ‘buds’ or ‘flowers’ of development rather than the ‘fruits’ of development” (Vygotsky 1978, p. 86). According to Vygotsky, “the zone of proximal development furnishes psychologists and educators with a tool through which the internal course of development can be understood. By using this method we can take account of not only the cycles and maturation processes that have already been completed but also those processes that are currently in a state of formation, that are just beginning to mature and develop. Thus, the zone of proximal development permits us to delineate the child’s immediate future and his dynamic developmental state, allowing not only for what already has been achieved developmentally but also for what is in the course of maturing” (Vygotsky 1978, p. 87). The concept of the zone of proximal development occupies a central place in a number of topics in cultural-historical psychology, including the cultural-historical theory of development, the relation between learning and development and the activity theory of learning.
Important Scientific Research and Open Questions The notion of the zone of proximal development has also played an important heuristic role as a general insight concerning human learning and development and the interrelations between them. Indeed, unlike animals “children can imitate a variety of actions that g
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