Cooperative Learning – VygotskyLev Vygotsky developed many theories of cognitive development during his life, which later became known as Social Development Theory. He believed that social factors and community interactions play a vital role in cognitive development. One of the principles that Vygotsky developed in his theory was the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). The concept behind the ZPD is that there are developmental differences in a child who can achieve independently and a child who can achieve with the guidance and support of a trained helper. The Zone of Proximal Development is the concept that there are some skills that are too difficult for a child to accomplish alone, but that the task or skill can be mastered with the guidance of an experienced person. Vygotsky viewed the ZPD as the area where children are most responsive to the education and guidance that should be provided. This would allow the individual child to develop skills that they can eventually use on their own, thus developing cognitive function (Doolittle, 1995). An important factor that Vygotsky argued influenced a child's ZPD was cooperative learning, which is an educational approach that directs classroom activities that involve peer interaction and problem solving. Vygotsky suggested that educators should use cooperative learning to improve children's cognitive development, where peers teach each other and less skilled children will benefit from more experienced and competent peers. However, the effectiveness of cooperative learning depends on the developmental limit at which the child is. The ZPD is located between the zone of effective development, which is defined by a child being able to independently solve problems, and the zone... middle of paper... Appendix B for data). the average percentage of correct answers for seventh graders was 73.5% with a standard deviation of 2.12%. The average percentage of correct answers for tenth graders was 90.5% with a standard deviation of 3.54%. A two-sample t-test was performed to determine if there was a significant difference in cooperative learning between seventh and eighth graders (see Appendix C for statistical representation of the data). The null hypothesis for this experiment was that there was no significant difference between the two grade levels in the effectiveness of cooperative learning. A p value of 0.04375 was obtained. At a confidence level of 0.05 (α > 0.05), the null hypothesis was rejected and the alternative hypothesis was accepted as there is a significant difference between the two school levels in the effectiveness of cooperative learning.