Lev Vygotsky was a Soviet psychologist who developed the theory of the zone of proximal development. The zone of proximal development refers to the difference between what a learner can do independently and what they can do with help or guidance from a more knowledgeable other. Vygotsky believed that learning occurs in this zone through social interaction and scaffolding provided by others to build skills and knowledge that learners can later demonstrate independently.

1. Lev Vygotsky
‘The Zone Of Proximal Development’
ZPD

2. “A world devoid of thought is a dead
thing, and a thought unembodied by
a word remains in shadow”
- Lev Zygotsky 1934

3. What I can do with help
What I can’t do
What I can do
Zone of proximal
The zone of proximal is the difference between what a learner can do alone and
what a learner cannot do.
The zone of proximal

4. The zone of proximal
• Lev Vygotsky is a Soviet psychologist and social
constructivist.
• He stated that “A child follows an adults example and
gradually develops the ability to do certain tasks
without help or assistance.”
• Lev Vygotsky also describes the zone of proximal as
“the distance between the actual.”

5. MKO – More Knowledgeable Other
• The MKO is someone who is perceived as
being more knowledgeable about a task then
someone else.
• It can be a parent or teacher, but can just as
easily be one of the child’s peers.
• He thought that children benefit more when
helped by a child as opposed to an adult. The
other child benefits, too, as teaching someone
reinforces their own mental pathways about a
task.

6. Scaffolding
• Scaffolding lays the foundations for future
learning
• To learn more, children must have a basis to
learn on.
• For example, they have to know that a dog is a
dog, before they can link what a dog looks like
to the word, and the fact that a dog goes
woof-woof.

7. Zygotsky and Social Interaction
• Zygotsky believed that communication helped
with all types of learning.
• He realised that children’s language developed
through social interaction and that social
interaction helps them develop other
necessary skills.
• Because of this, he placed a very high level of
importance on how families and other
children influence learning.

8. https://play.kahoot.it/#/k/5eaf04bd-
9c4c-4a73-925f-b470ffb501cc