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The last time I think I learned something from another person because I was in my ZPD was at volleyball practice today. I joined the club volleyball team on campus last spring and picked up the basics of the game relatively quickly. But if you have ever played volleyball, you know that there are many components of the game that are hardly intuitive, such as spiking the ball with proper form and positioning oneself generally. Today, we fully scrimmaged for the first time since I had joined the team, and I was bamboozled when it came to positioning. Thankfully, four experienced teammates broke it down for me slowly throughout the game, encouraging me with helpful tips and reminders along the way. Without their help, I would have just been in the way of everyone else. The way I know I was in my ZPD is that I had just the right amount of knowledge about the game (the different positions, different areas on the court, what each person’s role is, etc.) to be able to understand our complicated formation. If I had played with less experienced players, I likely would not have improved as much as I did today!
Because I work in the Student Service Center at Northfield High School, I don’t get the chance to observe a more experienced teacher implement strategies like scaffolding. Instead, I get to witness myself attempt to do so. This is obviously different from watching an experienced teacher do their job, but my experiences working individually with students so far have offered me insights into the practical application of something like scaffolding. For example, last Friday I worked with a student who needed to write a paragraph response to a short story making a small claim and supporting it with evidence. While working with him, I felt more like a guide than a teacher. Instead of simply telling him what to write or what makes a good essay, I tried to see what he understood about the assignment and then guided him towards writing the essay himself. I asked him a lot of big questions. “What do you think this story is about?” “Why did the author include this scene?” “What from the story makes you think that?” In order to be an effective MKO, I had to understand the assignment and the story myself, so I began by asking the student to explain to me in his words what he understood. Slowly by this method we constructed an argument about the story using the student’s own ideas. Thinking about this now, I think what made this tutoring session helpful was keeping the student in his ZPD and slowly building off of what he knew (scaffolding). A big part about this practice was choosing what language to use to get the student thinking. There were a few times during the session where I forgot I was working with a high school freshman, so certain ideas and words that we use in college classes at Carleton were not effective in cultivating understanding. This, to me, seems a crucial component of Vygotsky’s theory. Language is inseparable from culture, and culture inseparable from education. How these three things interact within the process of maximizing one’s ZPD is thus the task of education in Vygotsky’s eyes. In other words, the role of culture in tutoring was clear to me on Friday; I could not have taught effectively without sharing with the student understandings of words and ideas related to the assignment.
Outside of Vygotsky, my experience at the NHS has quickly been improving. My first week, I struggled to convince a student to let me help them with their homework. This week, I helped students throughout every class. I’ve found tutoring quite a fulfilling job. It is a wonderful feeling to help a student learn how to do something that they previously could not. However, it comes with many unexpected challenges. Being vulnerable about an assignment that is giving you trouble to a person close to your age that you don’t know is difficult for many students. I try my best to make students feel comfortable and validated in their struggles with coursework, but sometimes there’s a level of awkwardness that cannot be broken. Nevertheless, I feel like I’ve come away from every interaction with a student with a better feel for how to exude confidence and kindness.
Lastly, I still am trying to get a feel for the underlying power dynamics which pervade the SSC and school at large. I am curious to know how the SSC is seen by the majority of NHS students. Is it a commonly accepted resource for all? Is it looked down upon (even if just slightly) to use the SSC for help? How do students who use the SSC feel about it? Part of me feels like these questions are intrusive and possibly inappropriate, but ultimately I believe them to be important to consider in order to better serve the students at the SSC. Additionally, considering them is likely important for the SSC to make sure students feel dignified receiving assistance as to encourage confidence and independence in school in the future. I hope to think about this more over the next few weeks.
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I also work at the SSC, and I totally understand the challenge of getting the students to ask you for help! Last week Ms. Battaglia had to basically “assign” students to me, but this week some students came up to me on their own and asked to work with them. I guess it just takes time!
I really appreciated your point about language and its place in Vygotsky’s theory. I sometimes find myself using excessively complicated words/concepts when helping a student, and I have to actively remind myself that they may not have the same toolbox as I do being a college student. However, I find it hard to know just how much simplification they need because there have been times when I would catch myself using a difficult concept with a students and try to explain it, but they would interrupt me saying “I know what you mean. You don’t have to explain.” So that’s just something I still need to work on, which I guess relates to figuring out the students’ ZPD.
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Thomas, thank you for your very insightful post. I really enjoyed reading about the current experiences you have tutoring and how you personally find yourself feeling as you interact with these students. I should note that we share much of the same experiences with these students. One thing that I am always thinking about that you noted which I find very interesting is the fact that solely based on the similar ages we have to these students, there is a sense of awkwardness that is brought upon trying to instruct these kids. I wonder why that is. My best guess is that our physical appearances are very similar so it feels odd trying to teach someone that looks just like us. I also think we may be uncomfortable in the role of a more knowledgeable other because there is a condescending feeling about it that doesn’t feel right with such little experience in this role.
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Hi Thomas,
I like that you connected your ZPD moment to something non-academic especially since ZPD moments don’t only occur in the classroom. I also like that you mentioned how you helped a student stay in their ZPD moment by using leading questions. What a wonderful way to be an MKO! I so deeply appreciate the questions you were posed in your last paragraph. I have wondered this myself, not with the SSC, but with Torch. I think my students would greatly benefit from using Torch, but it doesn’t seem like they’re interested in tapping into this resource and I also wonder if it has something to do with shame and vulnerability.
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