Zone of Proximal Development

This past week the students have been working on writing an extensive lab report on the nutrition experiment that they had been conducting the previous 4 weeks. They were engaged in an experiment using rats as research models to test the influence of sugar water vs. milk on the growth and development of adolescent rats. Their final project was to write a lab report with an introduction in which they described what research they conducted and why it was important followed by a literature review which consisted of creating a table with major macro and micronutrients that they studied and how each nutrient influences the rats growth. They created graphs from the data that they collected and did an analysis of the data for both qualitative and quantitative that was collected. Finally, they had to write a conclusion in which they restated their hypothesis and either affirmed or rejected it as well as made recommendations for the public based on the results of their data analysis.

Did I mention that these are students in 8th grade? Needless to say some were a bit overwhelmed. To make things a little more challenging, they had to learn how to use technology to enter data and create graphs as well as create a research poster that could be used to share with others significant findings from the experiment.

I have been reflecting on what I had been taught concerning the Zone of Proximal Development. The Zone of Proximal Development helps teachers conceptualize the learners needs based on where they are. It is essential to understand as we strive to differentiate instruction so that no matter where are students are in their learning ability, they can be empowered to learn to do something new.

There were quite a few students who I could tell were getting a bit frustrated and overwhelmed at the task before them. As a teacher I needed to recognize that this was in fact a difficult assignment and that many of them had never written a lab report before.

It was a learning experience for me as well. I got to see how some students struggle with collaborating with their peers to complete this project and how others got really frustrated by the technology that they had to use. It was my responsibility to discern the individual needs of each student and provide them guidance as needed. Over all, it was a great experience, at least for me. I personally loved to see the learning that occurred and to see the students struggle a bit before figuring something out.

There is always a balance that we need to be aware of and strive for when it comes to learning. I never want students to feel that they are not intelligent enough to accomplish any assignment that I give them, but at the same time, I want them to struggle a bit, because I know that that is when real learning is happening.

I have included a file of a group of students final research poster for your enjoyment. It was created on Google Slides that was enlarged to be 48" x 36"

Link: The Influence of Milk and Sugar Water on the Growth of Adolescent Rats