Re: ZPD Caveat

Mike Cole (mcole who-is-at weber.ucsd.edu)
Sat, 11 Oct 1997 18:05:09 -0700 (PDT)

Carol--

I think a major challenge of those who work with/interact
with, people for whom interaction is very difficult is that there
are a variety of (generally unarticulated) norms of what is possible
for the "more competent other" to do. At this point we come to the
border of traditional CHAT research, but one that really needs explorig.
I think that Diane has given a good example of such a border-- where
the "more knowledgeable other" behaves in ways which DO create zopeds,
but where, if s/he were observed doing so, it might cause him/her
a lot of social grief.
In this connection, and vis a vis the gender issues raised here,
I often find myself heavily constrainded by social conventions in
instituions where I work inhibiting myself from acting in ways that
could appear to a non-member as too familiar, too non-standard,
because while it might create a fine local zoped for the child and
me, it would cause real harm as interpreted from outside the system.
Creating zopeds is very much a question of organizing
environments where they can be created. But far too little attention,
in my view, has gone into examining what the constraints on environmental
design are.
mike