Language Classroom

In this study, Vygotsky’s concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD) and the concept of scaffolding will serve as the theoretical basis for an investigation of peer collaboration in a fourth grade dual language math class. The students will be divided into five groups of four. Each individual group will consist of two English dominant students and two Spanish dominant students who are academically in the same mathematical skills range. They will be taught a computer program called Scratch, which teaches computer programming, plus mathematical and problem solving skills. For two weeks, three groups will be taught the core concepts of Scratch in Spanish while the other two groups will be taught the same concepts in English. Students will be shown a basic video game that was created using Scratch, and will be asked to work with their group to reproduce the same game using problem solving and their pre-taught Scratch skills. A microgenetic approach will be used to gather data on the interaction of the students within their groups. One set from the Spanish dominant groupings, and one set from the English dominant groupings will be chosen and will be videotaped during three- hour sessions to collect data for this study