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Relation between tools used in action research and the ZPD 553
However, as Säljö (2000) notes, in the attained competence there are always different
kinds of unspoken knowledge to be understood and used via interaction in the ZPD.
In Vygotsky’s view, people are continually undergoing development and change.
In every situation it is possible to acquire knowledge and skills from other people in
different teamwork situations. Vygotsky sees people as continuously en route to
appropriating new types of learning tools, based on what they already know. In other
words, this is a way of looking at human development and learning as always being in
the ZPD. In Vygotsky’s terms, this zone is the gap between what people already
know (zone 1) and what they achieve with the help of guidance from, or collaboration
with, a (more) capable colleague. Consequently, it is thus important to assist the
person who wants to learn by providing communicative support or scaffolding
(Wood et al., 1976).
The metaphor of scaffolding is often defined as the provision of structures within
the ZPD to bridge the ‘gap’ mentioned earlier. These structures can be provided by
colleagues or by an outsider. The scaffolding provided will vary within the group.
Being involved in scaffolding in the ZPD may be looked upon as guidance within a
special context, with a view to being one another’s ‘critical friend’ (Handal, 1999;
Säljö, 2000). From Bakthin’s (1981) perspective there is great value in being able to
perceive differences, where learning means changing opinions and gaining an understanding
of something new. In his view, a dialogue can be either verbal, written or an
inner dialogue interacting with a person’s own reflections. In the ZPD, the participants
are aware that they need one another’s support in order to develop further. To
achieve this, the participants have a joint responsibility for knowledge development,
preferably from several perspectives. It is really a matter of producing knowledge
together with one’s own and others’ social practice. In due course, this knowledge will
make it possible to progress to zone 3.
After contributing to and learning from the scaffolding provided in the ZPD, one
may find that zone 3 deals with meta-reflections of these processes or, to put it
another way, learning how to be able to change. This implies that participants feel
that they possess and have control over their own development work. This can create
an awareness of one’s own commitment to completing all the stages in the action
research spiral (Kemmis & McTaggart, 1982). Thus, in essence, it is the participants
themselves who are the actors in producing meaning in the framework for the sociocultural
possibilities on offer (Säljö, 2000). It is almost impossible to reach zone 3
without first being active in the ZPD. Coming directly into this zone may present far
too great a challenge due to the lack of a deeper understanding.
ZPD applied in different contexts
According to Mellin-Olsen (1989) three aspects of responsibility affect learning in the
classroom; the responsibility for the goals, the responsibility for choosing tools, and
the responsibility for how to use those tools. As Mellin-Olsen explains in his study,
control, in one sense, also affects the process in a positive direction. Tools to be used
by participants in action research are often introduced by an outsider, although it is