Impact of Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) on the Academic Achievement of Slow Learners
Main Article Content
Abstract
Achievement of majority of our students is always low in mathematics. Particularly, slow-learning students are observed to have low achievement in mathematics. Review of related literature also revealed that achievement of slow-learners is always low in mathematics. So, a study was conducted to analyze the effect of the Vygotsky‘s concept of Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) for enhancing achievement of low-learners. The methodology employed was a true experimental design known as pretest-posttest control group design. A sample of 48 students was chosen and equated on the basis of their pretest scores into two groups and assigned experimental group (N=24) and control group (N=24). Each group was further sub-divided into low-achievers (N=12) and high-achievers (N=12) in the light of their pretest scores. The instrument used in the research was a self-developed achievement test in the subject of mathematics for 8th grade. The treatment span was six weeks, forty minutes a day. The same achievement was to be used as posttest. After treatment, the scores obtained were analyzed through mean, standard deviation, coefficient of variability and t-test. Results of the study revealed that low-achievers who were taught through Vygotskian methodology complemented by scaffolding showed better achievement in mathematics than the low-achievers of the control group taught through traditional method. Vygotskian model proved a better substitute of traditional mode of teaching mathematics for slow learners in elementary classes.
Article Details
References
References
Akbar, A. (2002). Analysis of zone of proximal development (ZPD) in graduate teacher training programs of Allama Iqbal Open University and development of a strategy to achieve ZPD incidence using Delphi technique. Islamabad: AIOU
Alyes-Martins, M., Peixoto, F., Gouveia-Pereira, M., Amaral, V., & Pedro, I. (2002). Self-esteem and academic achievement among adolescents. Educational Psychology, 22(1), 51-62. DOI: 10.1080/01443410120101242
Amirali, M. & Halai, A. (2010). Teachers’ knowledge about the nature of mathematics: A survey of secondary school teachers in Karachi, Pakistan. Bulletin of Education and Research, 32 (2), 45-61. Retrieved from https://ecommons.aku.edu/pakistan_ied_pdck/91
August, D., & Shanahan, T. (2006). Developing literacy in second language learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel on language-minority children and youth. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Bibi, S. (2009). Perceptions of students about Mathematics learning at Grade-X. Journal of Educational Research, 12 (2), 31-47.
Bransford, J., Brown, A., & Cocking, R. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, and experiences & school. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Chang, K. E., Sung, Y. T., & Chen, S. F. (2001). Learning through computer-based concept mapping with scaffolding aid. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 17 (1), 21-33. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2729.2001.00156.x
Clarke, B. (2004). A shape is not defined by its shape. Journal of Australian Research in Early Childhood Education, 11 (2), 110-122.
Clark, K. F., & Graves, M. F. (2005). Scaffolding students’ comprehension of text. The Reading Teacher, 58(6), 570-580. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1598/RT.58.6.6
Daniels, H. (2001). Vygotsky and pedagogy. NY: Rutledge/Flamer
Fraenkel, J. R., Wallen, N. E., & Hyun, H. H. (2012). How to design and evaluate research in education. (8th Ed.) McGraw-Hill, New York
Gay, L. R. (2000). Educational research: Competencies for analysis and application, (5th Ed.). Pakistan: National Book Foundation.
Gay, L. R., Mills, G. E., Airasian, P. E. (2012). Educational research: Competencies for analysis and applications, 10th Ed. Boston: Pearson Education Inc. USA
Government of Pakistan (2009). National education policy. Islamabad: Ministry of Education
Hammond, J. (2001). Scaffolding teaching and learning in language and literacy education. Newtown Australia, PETA.
Jacobs, G. (2001). Providing the Scaffold: A model for early childhood/primary teacher preparation. Early Childhood Education Journal, 29 (20), 125-130. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:101258111
Kearsely, G. (2002). Social development theory. Retrieved from: http://tip.psychology.org/vygotsky.htm
Khan, A. A. (2010). A comparative study of the effectiveness of Vygotsky’s concept of Zone of Proximal Development and traditional method for teaching Mathematics at elementary level. Pakistan Journal of Education, 27 (1), 29-38
Krause, K.; Bochner, S. & Duchesne, S. (2003). Educational Psychology for Learning and Teaching. Australia: Thomson.
Marsh, H., Byme, B., & Yeung, A. (1999). Causal ordering of academic self-concept and achievement: Reanalysis of a pioneering study and revised recommendation. Educational Psychologists, 34, 155-167. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326985ep3403_2
Mushtaq, I., & Khan, S. N. (2012). Factors affecting students’ academic performance. Global Journal of Management and Business Research, 12(9), 17-22. Retrieved from: https://journalofbuisness.org/index.php/GMBR/article/view/721
Nassaji, H. & Swain, M. (2000). A Vygoskian perspective on corrective feedback in L2; The effects of random versus negotiated help on the learning of English articles. Language Awareness. 9, 34-51. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09658410008667135
O’Toole, T., & Plummer, C. T. (2004). Social Interaction: A vehicle for building meaning. Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom, 9(4), 39-42. Retrieved from: https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=225657635931091;res=IELHSS
Rashid, K. & Mukhtar, S. (2012). Education in Pakistan: Problems and their solution. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences. 2 (11), 332-343
Resmussen, J. (2001). Importance of communication in teaching: A system theory approach, the scaffolding metaphor. Curriculum Studies, 33(5), 569-582. DOI: https://doi.org/101080/00220270110034369
Rogoff, B. (2001). Children learning in the Zone of Proximal Development. San Francisco: Josey-Bass
Santrock, J. W. (2001). Educational Psychology. Boston: McGraw Hill.
Santrock, J. W. (2005). Adolescence (10th Ed.). Boston: McGraw Hill.
Seimon, D., & Virgona, J. (2003). Identifying and describing teacher’s scaffolding practice in mathematics, paper presented to the NZARE/AARE conference held in Auckland, New Zealand, 29 November – 3 December. Retrieved from: https://www.aare.edu.au/data/publications/2003/sie03241.pdf
Tayyaba, S. (2010). Mathematics achievement in middle school level in Pakistan: Findings from the first national assessment. International Journal of Educational Management, 24 (3), 221 – 249. DOI: https://doi.org./10.1108/09513541011031583
Vygotsky, L. S. (1993). Studies on the history of behavior: Apes, primitive, and children. (V. I. Gold and J. E. Knox, Trans. And Eds.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1994). The Vygotsky Reader. In R. Van Der Veer and J. Valsiner, Eds. Oxford, UK: Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.
Vygotsky, L. S. (2004). The Essential Vygotsky. In R. W. Rieber & D. K. Robinson, Eds. NY: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.