EDUC- 5153 Challenge #6

Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development

My 3rd period class is designated as a “co-teach class”.  Normally in our district, that distinction means that half of the students in that class need extra support and accommodations in order to be successful in an English Language Arts classroom.  The other half of the class is supposed to be on-level students who do not need additional supports as determined by an IEP.  One general education teacher and one special education teacher co-teach the class.

In reality, we have 23 students in that class.  10 of those students are special education students, 7 students are Emergent Bilingual at the beginning or intermediate level, 4 are on behavior plans, one is Gifted and Talented, 3 have 504 plans, 12 are at risk, and 3 are truly on level.

To be honest, I have struggled to teach that class.  How do two teachers reach all of those needs?  And what about my 3 on-level students?  How do I make sure that they are also receiving the education that they deserve?  I have lost sleep over this class.  I have told anyone who would listen that I absolutely cannot co-teach again next year.  I have begged special education personnel for training, materials, encouragement, and anything else I could think to ask.  However, recently, things began to click.  My brain slowed down enough for me to observe what was working.  My co-teacher and I have actually been on the right track; it just didn’t make sense to me.  However, I revisited Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development this week, and I listened to a lecture about the importance of positive self-concept in the learning process.  

Then, I finally had that A-Ha! moment.

As unlikely as it sounds, my 3rd period class is actually learning.  We spend an almost inordinate amount of time on modeling and guided practice, but that means by the time we get to the independent work, the students understand the ideas, concepts, and themes of our activities.  Then, we gently nudge them toward the Zone of Proximal Development.  We slowly push them out of their comfort zones and toward the place where they feel a bit unsure.  However, by this time, we have already built up their self-concept, so they do not feel inept; they are just uncomfortable.  The teacher’s role in this process is to help build up the students’ self-concept in order to give them the confidence to thrive outside of their comfort zones. Teachers nudge students toward that discomfort, but teachers must also create a safe environment where students are not afraid to try.

"When we get too comfortable, we stop learning."

This discomfort my students felt is actually a very positive step in the learning process.  When students are too comfortable, they will not be able to learn as much as they would if they were challenged.  The hard part is finding the place where students are challenged and pushed to learn but where they do not shut down because the challenge is too difficult.
In addition to my co-teach class, I also teach advanced academics and a hybrid advanced academics/gifted and talented class.  Both sets of students need to be pushed; both sets of students can easily shut down if I push too much.

Recently, all of my students were required to write extended constructed responses (essays) for a district test.  All of my students showed growth, and I was very pleased with the construction of their compositions.  However, I had to force them out of their comfort zone in order to foster this progress.

When we wrote essays in December, all of my students did a decent job.  The essays were formulaic and met the bare minimum requirements.  I graded those essays very hard, and I spoke with the students individually about their essays and how they could improve.  This was quite frustrating for my students because they all felt like they did “fine”.  
We then wrote essays again in January.  For this essay, “fine” wasn’t good enough.  We used marker boards, and I approved each sentence of each student’s essay before they wrote it down on their planning page.  We discussed how to make each sentence better even though my advanced students thought that they should be able to just write whatever they wanted to.

I pushed them outside of their comfortable expectations of themselves, and we reached for excellence.  And they did such a good job!

The uneasiness that students feel during the learning process helps them not settle for doing an “okay” job.  That feeling goes along with acquiring new skills, new knowledge, and new abilities.  If we never step outside of our comfort zones, it is harder to grow and learn.