The Use of the Zone of Proximal Development in Everyday and School Contexts: A Vygotskian

This critical analysis examines the claim that learning within the student's zone of proximal development is enhanced by "making connections to what the learner already knows." It is argued that Rogoff's and Gardner's use of Vygotsky's theory to explain learning in school-like tasks places primary emphasis on how the adult should connect the task to children's everyday, familiar concepts. Their analysis, however, is inconsistent with Vygotsky's characterization of school learning. Vygotsky emphasized that school learning in the zone of proximal development is advanced by helping the student understand decontextualized concepts within a discipline. Connections to students ' everyday concepts come later. In the critique, examples are drawn from Vygotsky's work and more recent research on instruction to support this position. The analysis also draws on current research in science education to support the vie