In the classroom in which I have been tutoring there is a unique teaching method in place. Miss Lemon has the children working in centers. These centers are tables or desks pushed together to form a unified work space where 3-5 students will work in a group but also independently. On a particular day I was waiting a few minutes for the students that I usually work with to finish in the Math center when I observed an interesting situation. “Amanda”, a student that I usually work, was finished with her assignment. Each student in the math center has similar math problems, but no two will have the same answers. I observed Miss Lemon working one on one with another student when she noticed “Robert” had his hand raised. She had taken notice of “Robert” and asked that he please wait and she will be right over to help him. “Amanda” took this opportunity to show “Robert” how she had completed a similar problem. This slight confusion that “Robert” had was due to the order of steps that were needed to complete this math problem. He simply needed a small push to remember how to finish his work. This is the beauty of the work centers because although students are working on their own separate assignments, they are working together as a group at the same pace. Due to the specific learning speeds of each individual student some grasp the concepts of lessons quicker than others.
This experience made me think of Lev Vygotsky. This theorist discusses the two zones of development. The first is the Zone of Actual Development. This is when a student is able to do the work on their own, and no further development is going to occur in this area. The second is the Zone of Proximal Development. This is when a student is very close to being capable of completing something new themselves, but still require the support of either a teacher or peer.
It’s interesting that these centers that Miss Lemon has put together have a diverse range of students learning speeds. These students always work together in the same group at the same center. At any given time due to a students quicker learning ability in a particular subject, any particular center will contain at least one student who is in the Zone of Actual Development and at least one student who is in the Zone of Proximal Development. In the situation I had described above “Amanda” would fall into the ZAD and “Robert” would fall into ZPD.
Although all students are given the information at the same time, different learning speeds will keep the centers at a diverse learning level. However, all of the students will benefit. At first glance it appears that “Amanda” may feel as though she is being held back in some way. One might also say that “Robert” is feeling rushed in his learning. That is not the case at all. “Robert” benefits from peer learning, since he has already been presented the material before, however the concept of the task at hand is just beyond his reach. “Amanda” is allowed the opportunity to exercise her leadership skills by helping a classmate. This also reinforces her understanding of the material if she can prove that she can explain it to another student with clarity.
If I were unaware of the theorist Vygotsky, I would not be able to fully appreciate Miss. Lemon’s centers in all of their glory. It is quite clear to me that Miss. Lemon is taking advantage of the Zones of development. The students are allowed to work together in learning while she works one on one with students who have very specific needs is quite ingenious. It’s a winning situation for all involved.
This experience made me think of Lev Vygotsky. This theorist discusses the two zones of development. The first is the Zone of Actual Development. This is when a student is able to do the work on their own, and no further development is going to occur in this area. The second is the Zone of Proximal Development. This is when a student is very close to being capable of completing something new themselves, but still require the support of either a teacher or peer.
It’s interesting that these centers that Miss Lemon has put together have a diverse range of students learning speeds. These students always work together in the same group at the same center. At any given time due to a students quicker learning ability in a particular subject, any particular center will contain at least one student who is in the Zone of Actual Development and at least one student who is in the Zone of Proximal Development. In the situation I had described above “Amanda” would fall into the ZAD and “Robert” would fall into ZPD.
Although all students are given the information at the same time, different learning speeds will keep the centers at a diverse learning level. However, all of the students will benefit. At first glance it appears that “Amanda” may feel as though she is being held back in some way. One might also say that “Robert” is feeling rushed in his learning. That is not the case at all. “Robert” benefits from peer learning, since he has already been presented the material before, however the concept of the task at hand is just beyond his reach. “Amanda” is allowed the opportunity to exercise her leadership skills by helping a classmate. This also reinforces her understanding of the material if she can prove that she can explain it to another student with clarity.
If I were unaware of the theorist Vygotsky, I would not be able to fully appreciate Miss. Lemon’s centers in all of their glory. It is quite clear to me that Miss. Lemon is taking advantage of the Zones of development. The students are allowed to work together in learning while she works one on one with students who have very specific needs is quite ingenious. It’s a winning situation for all involved.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that it is a great opportunity for the students to work together and independent. That was a great thing for Amanda to help that student out with their work while the teacher was busy with another student. This shows that students want to help others when they are in need of some extra help. This type of classroom set up will give the students that finish their work time to help out other students that need that extra push. I feel that this type of learning style will benefit all types of learning. Many classroom teachers sometimes may not realize that a student is struggling so it would benefit to have a student that works at a faster pace in their group so they can help that student out.
ReplyDeleteThanks for a perfect example of ZPD, Jennifer.
ReplyDeleteDr. August