Question+1


 * 1. Does the lesson ensure that instruction takes place in students’ zone of proximal development (Vygotsky)?**


 * Part A:** This lesson does attempt to put some parts of instruction in the students’ zone of proximal development, however, most of the lesson truly lies below this zone (in the students’ independent zone). Although the lesson offers “guided instruction” in multiple sections, these sections don’t maximize the expertise level of the teacher. Almost all of the guided instruction questions that are to be asked by the teacher call for basic recall from the text. While the expert, the teacher, is involved, they’re not bringing the students up to a level they couldn’t achieve without that expertise from the teacher. They’re simply doing reading tasks that are on their independent level and answering basic, lower level recall or knowledge questions. The whole idea of scaffolding and Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development is to raise students up to be able to achieve something a little bit out of their reach with teacher guidance.


 * Part B:** In order to improve the lesson and ensure the students gained as much as they could by it being in their zone of proximal development, higher order questions and activities could be asked in place of those currently in the guided instruction sections. Rather than having students read passages in a textbook and answer simple questions asked by the teacher, students could perform tasks in cooperative learning groups. Have students read the information in the text and then divide the class in half. Assign one group to be “flowering plants” and the other “conifers”. Tell the students that a farmer is looking to pick one of these types of plants for a plot of land. They will need to convince him why they should pick their type of plant. To do this, they’ll need to answer simple questions they can recall from the text (how they reproduce) and then synthesize this information with what they already know about plants to make a convincing argument.


 * Part C:** This activity aligns with a Vygotskian school of thought. Students are grouped in cooperative groups, where they can bounce ideas off of one another. If the groups are truly cooperative (a mixed level of abilities) students will be able to help one another learn (Hoffman, 61). This an example of why scaffolding is vital to use in the classroom. This task might be difficult for some students on their own, but working in their zone of proximal development, they will reach a higher level of learning and understanding than they could without assistance. In this activity, students go from answering questions they could easily find on their own in the text to having to answer questions which require their own creation of information. This exemplifies what Vygotsky thought learning should be - having the student take increased responsibility for their learning (Hoffman, 61).