Constructivist Theory Applied to Collaborative Learning in Teacher Education: In Search of ZPD

Few studies look critically at the processes in a teacher education course in which students are asked to practice the very teaching approach they study. Using a constructivist framework, this article examines written statements from students working collaboratively in a graduate‐level class on cooperative learning. The study asks to what extent constructivist theory, particularly the concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD), explains interactions that occurred spontaneously during group work on the final project. Content analysis was used to examine three types of writings: (a) dialogue journals, (b) self‐reports on the group process, and (c) self‐reports on each student's role in the group. Key findings address division of labor, role taking and switching, desire for challenge, power relationships, the languages used to express these concerns, and the need for social interaction to actualize constructivist claims.