Zone of Proximal Development

While reading about Vygotsky's theory, I began to think about a time in which I had helped a child move a skill from their zone of proximal development to their zone of actual development. Within the reading, it is explained that, often, a teacher must offer explicit modeling and sensitive guidance in order for their students to eventually be able to do some tasks or strategies on their own. During this past summer, I did just that when I took on the difficult task of teaching the little boy, Sam, how to ride a bike. At first, he did not want to try because he was convinced that he was not going to be able to do it. I knew however, that he could learn to do it on his own with some of my help along the way. It took some time, but he eventually he agreed to give it a try. I began the lesson by modeling to him what riding a bike looked like. He had seen others ride bikes before, but I wanted to make sure he had a solid idea in his mind before he tried it himself. After that, he got on the bike and, with my help, started to pedal. I gave him support while riding and allowed him to practice with me for a long time. Eventually, I started to let go of the bike and he was able to do it all by himself. Sam had successfully moved the skill of riding his bike from his zone of proximal development to his zone of actual development, and I was very proud. I could definitely see how the idea of modeling and guidance would be beneficial to do within the classroom setting. Especially with those who are struggling, it is important to let them know that they can do some tasks with a little help from their teacher and then learn to do them on their own later.  Much like what I did with Sam, teachers must be able to locate their students zone of proximal development and offer them guidance in order to help them succeed.

What Really Matters For Struggling Readers

While reading chapters two and three from the book What Really Matters for Struggling Readers by Richard Allington, I came across a lot of points that I fully agreed with. For example, Allington explained the idea that a higher volume of reading can directly result in higher reading achievement. Studies have backed this claim and shown that classrooms where more of their school day is allocated to reading tend to have higher literacy levels and reading development, especially in lower-achieving students. Allington also states that students should be spending the majority of the time in class allotted to reading instruction actually doing the act of reading. This means that if the time set aside for reading is ninety minutes long, only five to ten of those minutes would be used for instruction, while the other time is spent actually having the students read aloud or silently. I think that this is very important because, often, students spend their reading time listening to their teacher’s instructions and doing other assignments instead of actually spending that time reading.  Students, especially those that are falling behind, need that time to practice and accelerate their literacy development. Although these points within the reading are valid, there is one argument that I did not fully agree with. Within the book, Allington explained the idea of a Whole-Day Plan (WDP), which involves scheduling just on subject a day. This means that the teacher would spend one whole day teaching only one subject, and then the next day teaching an entirely different subject. This could go on for a week or even more. I personally do not think this is a good idea because I feel like students would get very uninterested and disengaged with learning when only focusing on one subject a day. In class we discussed how people can usually only stay focused the number of minutes equal to their age. For example, a seven year old would most likely only be able to sit still and learn about a topic for seven minutes without getting distracted. Children, especially those in elementary school, need variety in their day and I just do not think that the Whole-Day Plan would work for them. Overall, I enjoyed the reading and will definitely use most of its ideas in my own future classroom.