EDFE101 ASSESSMENT 3- MAJOR ESSAYHow can Vygotsky's notion of "zone of proximal development" and the related concept of "scaffolding" be used to provide education and support appropriate for the full range of students in the classroom? The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is a concept by Lev Vygotsky that provides appropriate education and support for all students in the classroom. This concept requires teachers or “experts” to help students reach a higher level of knowledge, a level they would not be able to reach on their own. Scaffolding is a similar concept in that it also uses reinforcement from experts and guides students to a higher level of learning. As the importance and positive implications of these two concepts have been emphasized over time, teachers and experts have increasingly used the zone of proximal development and the related concept of scaffolding to guide development and learning of children and students. This essay will further define and discuss the zone of proximal development and scaffolding, and their importance in supporting the learning and development of all students in the classroom. The theory of the zone of proximal development originated from the work of Lev Vygotsky and he defined it as "the distance between the level of actual development determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development determined by problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more competent peers” (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 86) In the classroom, this would refer to the distance between students' actual development in problem solving on their own and their abilities in the middle of the sheet......researchers need to be sensitive to all of their needs and readiness, as the "full range" of students in the class may not all have the same zone of proximal development. Experts should be aware of the child's or student's abilities in specific tasks, because some tasks, even with the help of a guide, may be too difficult to overcome. In mathematics education, for example, "students who have had less experience in one area, area, or area will need more scaffolding than students who have had more experience in that area or area." domain. They may need more sequential supports, more attempts, and more opportunities to review to develop their expertise” (Christmas et al., 2013, p. 375). For students to receive appropriate support within the classroom, scaffolding must be designed flexibly to meet the needs of “the whole” of students..