Re: resistance of the one-caring

David R. Russell (drrussel who-is-at iastate.edu)
Fri, 10 Oct 1997 09:13:53 -0500

Ana's refelections on drawing boundaries to ZPDs are not only not "absurd,"
as she wonders, sleepily. At least to me. They are at the heart of my
difficulties with the concept of ZPD.

>However, I see "interaction" broader than face-to-face active engagement. . .

>So what is ZPD in that light? And how is it different form other kinds of
>interactions? . . .

Yes, learning might be thought of as change-from the perspective of an
observer predisposed to like tthe change). A change in a student that her
teacher calls "learning" a parent or other stakeholder might call "selling
out" or, as some anthropologists call it, "cultural erosion."

I keep wondering if and how a ZPD is a different (more focused) unit of
analysis than an activity system (in or more sense the term is used in
CHAT)? If all activity systems (with their participants) are changing, as
Engestrom says, how and why might one draw a line between ZPD and Activity
System? (Culture?)

David

David R. Russell
Associate Professor
English Department
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011 USA
(515) 294-4724
Fax (515) 294-6814
drrussel who-is-at iastate.edu