When and Where I Found It: I recently saw this word in the Clark and Graves (2005) article that we had to read for session 7. I have heard this term several times before in my educational career.
Full Citation: Clark, K. F., & Graves, M. F. (2005). Scaffolding students’ comprehension of text. The Reading
Teacher, 58(6), 570-580.
Teacher, 58(6), 570-580.
What The Word Means: According to Clark and Graves (2005), this term was developed by Vygotsky who claimed that "every mental funstion in a child's development first appears in collaboration with an adult. The collaboration occurs in... the area between what children can do independently and what they can do with assistance" (p.571).
Level of Familiarity: I am familiar with this word. As stated above, I have come in contact with this word several times especially through the conversation of scaffolding.
Should I Know This Word? Yes! I am an educator and future literacy specialist and I think that a term that lays the ground work for an important concept like scaffolding is a must in my vocabulary!
Should Others Know This Word? Who and Why? Anyone in the education field should have a good understanding of this word. It is a concept that is the foundation for a practice that we are strongly encouraged to use in our classroom (scaffolding). If we understand this idea of ZPD and use it to guide instruction, we may better meet the needs of more students and provide more meaningful instruction.
Dana, as with all your entries you give a clear understanding of why or why not one should know this word well.
ReplyDeleteI was curious to learn, did you create the image or did you find it somewhere?