So I have a few questions prompted from recent threads on zpd and
Mike's video on zoped.
First, what does ZBR mean?
Wondering this got me to try to do some catching up of some xmca
posts in recent weeks, figuring I'd missed something obvious. It
may be more of a case of subtle humor. ZBR seems connected to a
Nov 16 post by David Kel where he said: "PS: I think we should
refer to the Zoped as a Zebra Raising, or maybe just a Zebra
Crossing. But what we really need is a new name for the functional
method of dual stimulation. The Fumedvastym? Fume Distillation?"
Some of this had come up in some joking between David Kel and Mike
a few days earlier about Mike's use of the term "zoped" instead of
"zpd" ... but it gets lost for me beyond that.
So ZBR seems to mean ... ZeBra Raising or ZeBra cRossing ... and
has become a joking substitute for zpd and zoped. But I seem to be
missing something. It sort of spoils jokes when you have to
explain them, but you know how e-mail text can be ...
On the use of the term 'zoped' (as opposed to 'zpd,') which David
had asked Mike about, there is some subtle humor in that term,
too. Mike explains his preference for the term zoped in the post
copied below, where he adds a reason I hadn't heard - or more
likely, recalled. "Zo" is a term used in Liberia for a village
shaman, who among other things, is highly respected as a teacher.
Thinking about this, and knowing Mike's penchant for playing, "ped"
derives from Greek for "child," so the pronunciation of "ZPD" as
"zo-ped" has some word play going on - "teacher + child" (a
combination of meanings to which one might further ask, who is
teaching who?). But this playful pronunciation of an acronym seems
to have taken on some seriousness, in the form of the connection
between 1) Vygotsky's proposition that learning leads development -
which is at the heart of the concept of the zone of proximal
development, and 2) Vygotsky's theoretical approach to play, both
of which are emphasized in Mind In Society. And this resonates not
just theoretically, but also pedagogically. As Mike says, "when I
organize obrazovanie [education -sg], I like to mix serious stuff
with play ..." And so, among some Vygotskian scholars and
teachers, these plays on words from other languages have entered
English as a technical term, a two-syllable **word** - zoped - with
its subtle reference to playfulness (if you know the playful
etymology), in place of the flat, three-syllable **acronym** - zpd,
or worse, ZPD. Besides, as Mike points out, 'zoped' IS easier to
say ... :-)) As has been pointed out on xmca before, the concept
deserves a word. Just when the concept and a word for it winds up
in Merriam's, of course, remains to be seen. It is still both a
concept and a word in the making.
What provoked some of that joking about zebras and ZBR, ZPD and
zoped seems to have been Mike's video "Mike Cole On Zoped" at
http://vimeo.com/groups/39473/videos/16714151
which Andy posted Nov 10.
This is a talk with slides that Mike recently gave in a live feed
to the Nov 2010 Vygotsky Memorial conference in Moscow, which I
just listened to.
Some highlights:
Mike suggests that Vygotsky's concept of zoped is different from
the "scaffolding" concept, a term first initiated, to Mike's
knowledge, by Robert Wood in 1966. Mike asks how is the
scaffolding metaphor different from the usual 'N, N+1' approach to
understanding teaching situations. Mike suggests that this and
some of the other varieties of Western learning theory that limit
the zpd concept to this "construction" perspective do not
sufficiently take into account the **dynamics of change**.
Mike then distinguishes Vygotsky's concept of **learning leads
development** from
1) Piaget's concept that **development must precede learning**, and
2) the views of many American learning theorists that take the
position **development equals the amount of learning**.
Another question Mike addresses is can zpd's or zopeds appear
outside the classroom, for example, in children's play - or does
this process **only** apply to school, to instruction. Connected
to this question of where can the zoped occur is the sometimes
perplexing meaning of the Russian word 'obuchenie', which Vygotsky
uses in his explanation of zoped. Mike explains that 'obuchenie'
can mean two different but related concepts - 'instruction' or
'learning' - and that this term has been translated from R to E
both ways - and in reverse, the English terms 'instruction' and
'learning' have both been translated from E to R as 'obuchenie' -
creating some confusion about Vygotsky's original meaning over the
years in both languages as Vygotsky has been translated back and
forth.
Whatever meanings Vygotsky intended in his brief but influential
writings on the zone of proximal development, Mike, of course, has
strong suspicions that learning can indeed lead development in many
kinds of situations outside of
formal instruction in school.
Which leads me to my next question - which I am taking the long
route to get to.
One of Mike's concluding points is the challenge of how to
generalize on Vygotsky's principle of dual stimulation, which Mike
argues underlies Vygotsky's concept of the zone of proximal
development. Mike points out that he, Yrjo, and other researchers
have been focused on this aspect of zoped for some time.
Mike's slide on this reads:
"Generalizing Dual Stimulation.
* The ur characteristic of higher psychologically (culturally
mediated) human action is that it operates indirectly, through the
environment.
* DS method is the ur model of human action incorporates the
environment as tools for action. But it must be generalized into
group as well as individual circumstances."
Mike urges the non-Russians at the conference to ask their fellow
Russian attendees what 'ur' means.
So - to our fellow Russian speakers - what does 'ur' mean in Mike's
slide?
And, Mike, if you have a moment, could you spell out your
statements in that slide a little - such as what the referents "it"
refer to in the first and last sentences, what you mean by
"operates indirectly, through the environment," etc.?
Finally, Mike, could you post up your whole ppt slide set? You
mentioned in your talk there was a larger ppt set than could be
presented in the 20 minute talk. Really good talk, by the way -
thank you much for putting it on Vimeo.
- Steve
On Nov 12, 2010, at 5:23 PM, mike cole wrote:
Subject: zpd zbr zedpd and zoped
I am answering David's question about "why zoped." I did not
include it in
my talk because I am uncertain of the audience's national
backgrounds and was assuming "mixed but mostly Russian speakers".
The talk
was supposed to be about 20 minutes long and I was
uncertain of the time. And I was also mindful of the fact that on
Tuesday
following its showing at the Vygotsky readings, I will be
discussing the
issues raised, and whatever people feel like talk about via skype,
sooooooo.
As many know, when i organize obrazovanie, I like to mix serious
stuff with
play. Also, I have a long term interest in the the enculturation
practices and processes of peoples for whom literacy has not been
a central
part of enculturation until, perhaps, recent times. And, I enjoy
participating in the forms of activity that emerge when zopeds are
created
as a part of our research and educational practices.
With that context (add or subtract to taste) the notion of a zoped
came from
two sources. First of all, it IS easier to say! :-)
Secondly, it involves forms of pedagogy -- arranging for the young
to
acquire valued skills, knowledge, belief, behaviors, etc --
Third, when it works, it seems like "something happened," a
qualitative
field that sometimes can be like flow, sometimes can be
triggered by timely juxtapositions, montage-like. And it seems to
lead to a
more inclusive, more integrated way of relating to the world at
least
in that setting. Whatever this "something" is, it has a magical
quality to
it.
In Liberia when and where I pretended to work once upon a time the
most
respected, revered, and feared members of the community were
shamen, a concept referred to in Liberia at the time (across
language
groups, so far as I could tell) as a Zo, what popular culture
refers to
as "witch doctors." They were THE teachers. But they worked
through magic.
That about sums up my idea of the zone of proximal development. It
requires
sage pedagogy and a touch of magic. When those are combined,
they, of course, constitute a zo-ped.
I personally recommend spending time in such third spaces. :-))
mike
__________________________________________
_____
xmca mailing list
xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
http://dss.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/xmca
__________________________________________
_____
xmca mailing list
xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
http://dss.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/xmca