Talk:Zone of proximal development

Remove Understanding ZPD
I hardly think that the section is very helpful; I just deleted state-chart diagram of a svn repository; Internalization is the internal reconstruction of an external operation. is at least controversial and should be discussed in more detail in the section; until that has not happened, whole section should be removed — Preceding unsigned comment added by Tobiasnelkner (talk • contribs) 09:18, 25 November 2011 (UTC)

Remove Zone of Reflective Capacity
I suggest moving discussion of Zone of Reflective Capacity its own page. It is tangentially related to ZPD and certainly doesn't belong in the "Development" section. --Onmywaybackhome (talk) 14:50, 1 September 2010 (UTC)

Diagram
Can someone provide a diagram of the ZPD? Cmsmith81 01:29, 15 July 2007 (UTC)

Copyvio
Some of the edits on this page contain substantial copyright violation. Check out this diff of some anonymous edits made some time ago:

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zone_of_proximal_development&diff=6356532&oldid=6289555

It's already suspicious for an anon to be adding this much raw text, with no links. Several phrases in this article are taken directly from sources that almost certainly did not take them from Wikipedia, such as:

"The phenomena of an individual being able to perform at a higher level of competence with the assistance of more capable others is referred to in Vygotskian terms as the zone of proximal development (ZPD). The ZPD is arguably one of the better known theoretical constructs of Vygotsky’s work". This exact text, and many other pieces of text added by the anonymous contributor above, can be found in a research paper by Phil Chappell. This is clear copyright violation.

"According to Vygotsky, the difference between the developmental level a child has reached and the level she is potentially capable of reaching with the guidance or collaboration of a more skilled adult or peer." This is taken directly from the glossary of a textbook, and was added by the registered user who started the article. I don't have the book, but it's possible other text was also copied from it. 

I suggest all additional work on the article be halted until this situation is sorted out. Because it's been so long since the copyvios occurred and other edits have been made since, a complete rewrite may be necessary. With luck maybe someone can carefully remove the infected portions. I'm not familiar enough with the topic to risk this. Deco 05:04, 27 December 2005 (UTC)
 * Because no one has acted on this in a week, I am marking the entire article as a copyvio. Deco 23:29, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

Jim Cummins reference
Jim Cummins has absolutely nothing to do with the concept discussed. I am deleting the whole paragraph as irrelevant and misleading.

Yasya 04:01, 23 February 2006 (UTC)

Remove Accelerated Reader reference
I suggest removing the Accelerated Reader reference. As wonderful as this program is, the reference reads like a thinly disguised infomercial. Mentioning Accelerated Reader (AR) does nothing to aid in understanding of ZPD; moreover, is too localized a topic to be suitable for an Encyclopedia entry.Gattateo (talk) 06:00, 7 January 2011 (UTC)

Gredler criticisms
In (Margaret E. Gredler, "Understanding Vygotsky for the Classroom: Is It Too Late?"), Gredler explicitly criticises this Wikipedia article (page 116-117). She characterizes Mind and Society as having been heavily edited from its sources, and says:
 * "Currently, Wikipedia quotes the 1978 description and states that the ZPD is “the difference between what a learner can do without help and what he or she can do with help” (retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zone_of_proximal_development). In addition, education is described as providing children with experiences that are in their ZPD."

The section title makes it clear that she considers this an "extrapolation" from Vygotsky's original statements. She goes on to characterise the problems with such extrapolations in more detail:
 * "The inaccurate information in Mind in Society and subsequent elaborations reflect four problems in terms of Vygotsky’s thinking. They are (a) a lack of information about the teacher’s role in determining the child’s ZPD, (b) the belief that cooperation or collaboration among students is appropriate for addressing students’ ZPDs, (c) the focus on activities that do not address cognitive development as Vygotsky conceptualized it, and (d) the belief that the ZPD applies to young children as well as older children and adolescents."

If her account is accurate, it suggests that this article should be updated to reflect Vygotsky's ZPD theory more accurately, as well as discuss popular misconceptions about it. Alternatively, if such extrapolations are supported by more recent research, it seems necessary to cite that research. Dcoetzee 01:17, 28 August 2012 (UTC)

ZPD in educational diagnosis
In recent years a wide variety of educational diagnostic tools and methods have been created to determine a student's ZPD at the sub-skill level. Some of these are academic research instruments; others are commercial products such as the various BRIGANCE(tm) Inventories and the i-Ready online K-12 diagnostic assessments for reading and mathematics.

Accurately placing a student in his/her ZPD for specific, differentiated, data-driven, instruction is proving to be a powerful strategy for increasing the efficiency of instruction - providing greater learning gains in less instructional time.

This article may be improved by a new section covering this important, emerging aspect of ZPD. As I am employed by a commercial publisher of diagnostic tests, someone else needs to take on this enhancement. Frankatca (talk) 15:18, 9 March 2014 (UTC)

Additions/ Elaborations
Some of the descriptions or definitions aren't very descriptive, I felt. In many instances examples would help the reader understand the concept of ZPD better. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Leahmiller95 (talk • contribs) 23:22, 27 November 2017 (UTC)

Definition
I included information about how the definition for the Zone of proximal development has adapted to better suit the adult second language developmental context. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jovaun.mason (talk • contribs) 18:17, 4 December 2017 (UTC)

Implications for educators elaboration
After reading this article, I believe that we could elaborate a little more on the section "Implications for educators." I think we should include a little more of what teachers should keep an eye out for in classrooms and maybe some helpful resources for educators. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ashley.robles (talk • contribs) 23:10, 6 December 2017 (UTC)

This is something that I can add to the Wikipedia Page. I can add an example of what an implication actually might look like in the classroom so the reader has some idea of the concept. Perhaps you could use a music example such as composition. Students may be unfamiliar with certain (small) notations or may struggle with musical ideas that may hinder there success, however through the use of collaborative learning, students that are more knowledgeable can help other students to learn within the ZPD. — Preceding unsigned comment added by DFagan17 (talk • contribs) 11:46, 23 April 2019 (UTC)

Adding in More Knowledgeable Other (MKO)
I think something this wikipedia page is missing is a connection back to Vygotsky's Constructivism. I understand that this is an entirely different page, but I think this page should at least mention where the Zone of Proximal Development came from. Some of these ideas are already mentioned on this page, but one thing that is not, is the idea of a more knowledgable other. The article mentions how the ZPD requires a teacher, but does not into depth about the MKO. There are a few sentences that say the words more knowledgable other, but the term is never clearly explained. I don't think we need an entire section devoted to this, but just a few sentences mentioning it.--Devan7171 (talk) 14:31, 15 April 2019 (UTC)
 * Yes, you are right. Social interaction between learner and the More Knowledgeable Other, like peers and parents, is essential in the ZPD concept. Curtis (talk) 13:51, 18 April 2019 (UTC)
 * I plan on adding a sentence or two in the origins section of this wiki page. I am thinking of adding a sentence right after, "It's crucial for a child's development that they are able to interact with more knowledgeable others."  I have a great source to reference, that has a very descriptive definition of a More Knowledgeable Other.--Devan7171 (talk) 14:29, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: Adult Development Spring 2022
— Assignment last updated by Gal17014 (talk) 20:57, 8 June 2022 (UTC)