Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development and Optimal Mismatch

 The role of Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal development in children’s acquisition of new skills is supported by scaffolding from the instructor constructing knowledge based on current schemas. The teacher’s role is to “boost” students into the next level of learning ((Joyce et al., 2003). According to Joyce et al. (2003) if students become matched to the developmental level of the learners, they may become content in that level and remain there. This limits the ability for students to move beyond concrete thinking and stalls the progress into conceptual understanding. Joyce et al. (2003) explains that deliberately mismatched student and environmental conditions hinder the maintenance  of familiar patterns to encourage growth to more complex comprehension. This process is considered “optimal mismatch” (Joyce et al., 2003). 

This is a significant consideration in developing conceptual understanding in science concepts. In science we cannot look at scientific explanations as “black and white” but must be willing to explore the multiplicity of scientific explanations. Oftentimes, students perceive only right or wrong responses, and a degree of scientific literacy requires the recognition that multiple explanations can be correct if supported with valid evidence. When students feel the most uncomfortable is when they perceive right or wrong and are assessed by the ability to justify reasoning and support claims with evidence. Students feel comfortable with concrete thinking as there is no risk for them to be wrong which can lead to feelings of embarrassment or inadequacy.  Classroom environments need to have a level of comfort that permits students to openly make mistakes but have the optimal mismatch to be willing to challenge themselves and learn from these processes. A difficult task in science education is having students move away from the perception of science as uncontested facts and as a process in which new information needs to be considered and integrated with existing knowledge. 

Experiences in my own science classroom have led me to believe students only begin to grow when they are slightly uncomfortable. I have had students express to me they felt my class is challenging or difficult and have even asked why I do not make things easier.. In response, I tell them about lobsters. Lobsters shed their exoskeleton as they grow and the only way they know to shed their exoskeleton is that they become uncomfortable. I explain that every time they feel a little uncomfortable in their learning, they are getting ready to grow. 

The idea that “when we get too comfortable, we stop learning” is accurate in the progression for learning. Every time we are met with situations that make us “uneasy” we must adapt and overcome these challenges. If there are no external changes in our environment, we will not change. When it comes to learning progression, it must be perceived as a developmental process in which we adjust to overcome discomforts to move onto the next level of learning. We must shed our exoskeletons to become larger lobsters so we can travel to new waters and eat bigger fish. 

References

Joyce, B., Weil, M., & Calhoun, E. (2003). Models of teaching.