Constructivist Theory Applied to Collaborative Learning in Teacher Education: In Search of ZPD

Abstract

Language Education DepartmentFew studies look critically at the processes in a teacher education course in which students are asked to practice the very teaching approach they study. Using a constructivist framework, this article examines written statements from students working collaboratively in a graduate-level class on cooperative learning. The study asks to what extent constructivist theory, particularly the concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD), explains interactions that occurred spontaneously during group work on the final project. Content analysis was used to examine three types of writings: (a) dialogue journals, (b) self-reports on the group process, and (c) self-reports on each student's role in the group. Key findings address division of labor, role taking and switching, desire for challenge, power relationships, the languages used to express these concerns, and the need for social interaction to actualize constructivist claims.MOST APPLICATIONS OF SOCIAL CONstructivist theory address the way children learn through social interaction as delineated by the Lone of proximal development (ZPD) and the way language mediates these processes. In the areas of second language and general education research, extrapolations of these theoretical tenets are made to adolescent and adult learners but tend to be speculative. Little is written about how adults from different cultures achieve the benefits proposed in constructivist approaches to social and cognitive development.' In the current study, we investigate to what extent the ZPD was developed in each of three collaborative groups of international students in a graduate teacher education class where the term paper was written collaboratively.'For this purpose, we looked at instances of selfregulation in three kinds of written statements: (a) dialogue journals, (b) self-reports about the group process, and (c) self-reports about each The M o d m Language Journal, 81, iv, (1997) OO26-7902/97/506-5 17 $1.50/0 01997 Thp Modern Langztage Journalstudent's role in the group. Evidence of variables cited in constructivist theory such as self-regulation, the ZPD, use of language as a mediational tool, problem solving, scaffolding, and application of critical thinking skills were identified through content analysis of these documents. Statements about how participants molded their dominant, cooperative, and subordinate interactions with respect to perceived social roles in each group were noted. The language of self-regulation of social roles is presented in the students' own words. CONCEPTUAL BACKGROUND Contrasts between Cognitive and Social ConstructivismThe theories of cognitive and social constructivism are based on a somewhat similar epistemology but differ in the degree to which social interaction is seen as influencing individual cognitive development.3 Piaget, representing the cognitive constructivist view, highlighted individual construction of knowledge in response to interaction in the physical world, but stressed the

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“…Firstly, Piaget's recognition of a child's need for a stimulating, problem-solving environment so that natural curiosity and ability to discover can be optimised. And secondly, Vygotsky's assertions that the child as an independent learner is the outcome and not the starting point of the educational process (for a fuller relative discussion of Piagetian and Vygotskian views see Nyikos &Hashimoto, 1997: 506-507, andKozulin, 1998: Chapter 2). The learner is imbued with responsibility to co-construct knowledge in an environment which is stimulating, interesting, playful, and interpersonal.…”

Beyond Reading Comprehension: The Effect of Adding a Dynamic Assessment Component on EFL Reading Comprehension

“…Vygotsky advocates the primacy of social constructivist theory in which social interaction is the driving force in language development. Social constructivist theory, according to Nyikos and Hashimoto (1997), is mostly applied to address the learning through social interaction as delineated by the zone of proximal development which is the distance between a child's actual cognitive capacity and the level of potential development through mediation or scaffolding. So, under collaborative condition students reveal certain emergent functions which have not been yet fully internalized, or which have not been part of Zone of Actual Development (Kuzlin and Grab, 2002).…”

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“…Social Constructivists maintain the emphasis on social interactions as a precondition for learning and knowledge building (Nyikos & Hashimoto, 1997). The case study presented here provides an activity theory analysis of group interactions.…”

“…It brings to attention the possibility of a group zone of proximal development (ZPD) (Nyikos & Hashimoto, 1997) explaining the CKB process. ZPD is defined as "distance between the actual development level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers" (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 86).…”