Child-Adult Interaction That Creates a Zone of Proximal Development

The zone of proximal development (ZPD) of a child is not a naturally existing phenomenon that arises by itself every time an adult helps a child achieve greater independence. It is a special form of interaction in which the action of the adult is aimed at generating and supporting the child's initiative. The relationship between a capable and an incapable individual or between a knowledgeable and an ignorant individual is a reduced form of the joint action that has the potential to create a ZPD. The developed form of such interaction is the collaboration of those who are equal but different that is represented in the "adult-group of children" relationship. A ZPD is described not in the language of the content of tasks but in the language of the kinds of help that to a greater or lesser degree aid the child in solving a task. The description of different teaching systems in the language of kinds of help shows that teaching unavoidably introduces an asymmetry into a child's development, supporting some kinds of initiative and constraining others. The choice of a teaching system is the choice of a direction for the development of a child (generation of children).