ABSTRACT
This discussion builds on Vygotsky’s description of the zone of proximal development (ZPD) as a “collective way of working together” to present a more radical, complex, and broadly practical ZPD than that of most contemporary research. Presented as both magical and mundane, this ZPD is seen as an activity, not as a zone. It refers to what people create together, rather than to a characteristic of individuals. It is a way to understand the unity of learning and development, rather than learning isolated from development. More specifically, it is seeing and relating to ZPDs as performance stages created by groupings of people who develop along with their stage-making, rather than as a means of assistance to move a child along to the next stage of development. The social-cultural practice of ZPD activity—simultaneously creating the zone and what is created —is deconstructed in both Vygotsky’s writings and the tool-and-result methodology of the author. Illustrations of educational projects and practices utilizing this approach from different countries are discussed.
