Abstract
An experimental exercise on multivariate observation of a proximal development zone process was replicated, in solving a numerical problem, with university science students. In previous studies, a face-to-face observation model was applied, in group session, but under the health contingency due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was decided to replicate this same observation in a non-face-to-face way (online) within a virtual classroom. Forty students participated, randomly divided into two groups with twenty participants each, these being the "control" and the "experimental" group. It was possible to observe, in the case of some students of the “experimental” group, a learning process in which we infer that Vygotsky's zone of proximal development is involved. As a relevant contribution of this report, the detailed description of the algorithm used is made, for the experimental or quasi-experimental comparison of a multivariate approach, in the observation of an event where a process of proximal development zone may be involved. The equation that is described and tested is an original contribution in the fields of experimental pedagogy and educational psychology.
Highlights
The genesis of learning related to problem solving, especially when the procedure is carried out in cooperation with another or other colleagues, constitutes a pedagogical dynamic of strategic value [1,2,3].There are several concepts frequently used in constructivism that are based on problem solving
Two are mentioned here [4, 5]: cognitive transfer or T and zone of proximal development or ZPD; the latter was described by the Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky, in 1934 [6, 7, 8]
What is observed is consistent with the results of other previous reports, only that this time the differences were in the range of high grades, which shows a notable improvement in these students, with respect to performance, which with these same problems, achieved similar students ten years ago [15]; where the range of qualifications was from 30 to 50% correct answers
Summary
The genesis of learning related to problem solving, especially when the procedure is carried out in cooperation with another or other colleagues (under the assumption that at least one of the participants is more experienced in the matter), constitutes a pedagogical dynamic of strategic value [1,2,3].There are several concepts frequently used in constructivism (a theory that seeks the materialistic explanation of learning, considering the individual and their social environment) that are based on problem solving. It is convenient to elaborate, for each participant to answer, two problems (appropriate to the student’s school level) that are related to each other, but with distinctive or cognitive particularities: the first (P) of less relative difficulty and the second (P') of greater relative difficulty, so that it is possible to scrutinize possible cognitive transfer events among them (T; explained at the beginning of this article) This is necessary, in order to distinguish between the knowledge previously acquired by the respondent, from what they could learn Conrado Ruiz-Hernández et al.: Replication -On line- of an Event of Zone of Proximal
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