Dear Phillip and everybody-
Phillip asked,
> (not sure what you mean here, Eugene, when you write "...cultural
practices are
> aching...")
This is my dyslectic typo, sorry. I meant, "Since cultural practices are
changing..." :-( But this point about ZPD of cultural practices is nicely
discussed in Mike's and Peg Griffin's chapter in the book titled "Zone of
Proximal Development." Learning is reproduction of ever changing practice
and community (Barbara Rogoff defines "community" through this
multigenerational process).
> I have seen demonstrations of the ZPD as an open cylinder with learning
poured in, and the
> empty space just above the poured in learning being labeled as the ZPD -
this was a
> metaphor used by a Russian professor at a local city college. I have
also run across
> computerized reading programs that after a students had been 'tested'
printed out the
> instructional grade level of the student ZPD.
Oh, my... It would be funny if it were not so harmful... I think it can be
great it somebody (you, Phillip?) can document all these cases and publish
in a book with a tentative title "1000 (mis)understandings of Vygotsky's
notion of ZPD with pictures, tests, and diagrams." If somebody is looking
for a dissertation topic, feel free to take this one. I think that such a
book or dissertation can be very useful for the field and could easily
become most cited.
> I continually stress that what the child is learning is not just the
information or processes
> that the teacher is teaching, but rather the student is learning about the
entire process
> embodied within the activity of teaching - how particular tools are used,
the implicit and
> explicit value of the tools, who gets to use the tools, etc., as well as
gender, class and ethnic
> relationships within the activity, the implicit and explicit emotions
demonstrated, and so on
> and so forth. In short, the dense, rich, socio-cultural-physical contexts
of the
> teaching/learning activity.
Great emphasis! I think learning involves transformation of social relations
and place/role of the learner in multiple communities (some people refer
this to "identity" - one of my most hated terms) through change of
participation in communal practices.
What do you think?
Eugene
> -----Original Message-----
> From: White, Phillip [mailto:Phillip.White@cudenver.edu]
> Sent: Saturday, January 17, 2004 6:41 PM
> To: xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
> Subject: RE: Bakhtin: Toward a methodology for the human sciences
>
> Eugene, you wrote:
>
> "The teacher's ZPD is about providing sensitive guidance for the student
that is impossible
> without help of "more knowledgeable" other - the student, who guides the
teacher about
> his/her own subjectivity. I think Seth's very correct point about cultural
"function" is
> complementary to Mike's (and his colleagues': Denis Newman and Peg
Griffin). Since
> cultural practices are aching in the history of the society, cultural
"functions" also have their
> own ZPD. This leads me to a participatory approach to ZPD developed by
Jean Lave,
> Etienne Wenger and Barbara Rogoff."
>
> (not sure what you mean here, Eugene, when you write "...cultural
practices are
> aching...")
>
> But, in general what you describe here, this coincides closely with
what I see happening
> with the teachers, and teacher-candidates that I am working with. The ZPD
provides for
> them a conceptual figurative framework for the teacher's understanding in
determining an
> instructional position working with students - and I might add that even
for myself working
> with adults the concept of ZPD serves the same purpose.
>
> I continually stress that what the child is learning is not just the
information or processes
> that the teacher is teaching, but rather the student is learning about the
entire process
> embodied within the activity of teaching - how particular tools are used,
the implicit and
> explicit value of the tools, who gets to use the tools, etc., as well as
gender, class and ethnic
> relationships within the activity, the implicit and explicit emotions
demonstrated, and so on
> and so forth. In short, the dense, rich, socio-cultural-physical contexts
of the
> teaching/learning activity.
>
> I have seen demonstrations of the ZPD as an open cylinder with learning
poured in, and the
> empty space just above the poured in learning being labeled as the ZPD -
this was a
> metaphor used by a Russian professor at a local city college. I have
also run across
> computerized reading programs that after a students had been 'tested'
printed out the
> instructional grade level of the student ZPD.
>
> But even for all of the stupidities that I've seen in how the ZPD has been
used - I still find
> the ZPD an extremely useful metaphor for teachers when deciding on where
to go
> instructionally with the child - it can support them in paying attention
to what the child is
> actually doing, rather than what the textbook or curriculum says should be
happening next.
> It can support a teacher in strengthening and practicing her/his own
professional expertise.
>
> And certainly what we know about individual construction of learning is
that individuals
> don't learn the same things or arrive at the same understandings of a
subject. Of course,
> practices of rote memorization and dogma are two attempts to deter the
practices of multiple
> and diverse understandings of concepts/theories/beliefs/values, etc.
>
> now what'cha thinking?
>
> phillip
>
> phillip white
> university of colorado at denver
> school of education
>
> phillip.white@cudenver.edu
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