By George, I Think I've Found It!
My advanced web design class has been learning new concepts like CSS. Some of them have a higher level of basic skills than others, so it is easier for them to make connections between the new knowledge and the existing stuff. This week, one of my students was really struggling with getting her midterm put together, and she just was not understanding the underlying concept behind using an external style sheet.
I teamed up this student with another student who had a better grasp on what was going on. They worked together this week a couple of times, hashing out bugs and other technical problems. Every once in a while they would call me in to figure out something that they just could not get by themselves. The student who was helping was the capable peer to the one who was behind, and in turn, I was a capable peer to the more advanced student. Through dialogue and hands on experience, both of them moved through their ZPD into an area of independence.
In class last night, we discussed this whole idea, and I asked them how working together helped them. I think they agreed that talking about the concepts, troubleshooting problems, and reaching out for help when needed enhanced their learning experience. I could see the light bulbs going on last night!
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