Student Readiness

Explain the difference between student readiness and ability and how readiness is related
to Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). Provide an example to support your
explanation.

Student readiness refers to a learner’s proficiency in a certain set of skills, knowledge or
comprehension, that are viewed as vital to a certain part of the study. Readiness is bound to
change from one skill or topic to another (Sousa & Tomlinson, 2011). It can only be determined
based on specific academic content as opposed to an entire period of learning. Ability on the
other hand, may appear difficult to change but is very malleable if a student has a growth
mindset. It refers to a learned or natural skill that makes a learner competent in completing a task
in the classroom. Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) states that maximized
learning takes place when a student is assigned a task that is a little beyond his or her current
reach and is then accorded social support by the teacher (Sousa & Tomlinson, 2011). Through
scaffolding, a teacher helps a student to bridge the gap between what he or she can do at the
beginning of a task, and what he or she is has the ability to accomplish after completing the
given task. Student readiness is related to ZPD because a teacher uses an assessment that is based
on student readiness to identify what tasks students are able to do, and then create tasks that are
slightly above the student’s reach (Sousa & Tomlinson, 2011). The teacher then assigns tasks
that are a little hard to the students, who then seek the teacher’s support where necessary for
them to complete the tasks. Scaffolding helps students to move forward and achieve a higher
level of confidence and competence.

Develop at least three different ways you will determine the readiness levels of your
students. How will these guidelines help you understand the level of readiness to plan
differently for content, process, and product?

One way through which I will determine the readiness levels of my students will be
through conducting preassessment at the beginning of each school year. According to the
guidelines provided by Sousa & Tomlinson (2011), assessing the students level of reading,
writing, and listening helps in understanding the readiness level of the students. Thus, I will
conduct this preassessment at the beginning of a school year, and conduct another assessment
mid-year, so that I can have consistent records on the readiness of the students. I will conduct the
assessment twice because readiness keeps changing depending on the topic and skill being learnt.
Thus, to ensure that I have a record that is reflective of my students, I will conduct the
assessment twice in a school year. I will ask the learners to read a passage and respond to the
comprehension questions. Also, I will ask them to listen to a passage being read to them and then
answer questions related to the passage. These activities will help me determine students who
understand what they hear more than what they read, as well as those who comprehend more
what they read as opposed to what they hear. Further, I will know students who do not do well in
both listening and reading.

Another way through which I will determine student readiness is through interacting with
them individually as they work in small groups. Periodically, I will have the learners work in
small groups and assign them a task. As they discuss in their small groups, I will make
observations and interact with them as I understand their progress and generally understand how
they feel about different instructional techniques. Lastly, I will seek input from students and ask

them about their feelings regarding their proficiency in classroom work. According to Sousa &
Tomlinson (2011), emotions play a key role in attention. Thus, emotions affect student readiness
and will seek to understand them so that I can establish the readiness levels of different learners.

References

Sousa, D. A. & Tomlinson, C. A. (2011). Differentiation and the brain: How neuroscience
supports the learner-friendly classroom. Retrieved from https://www.vitalsource.com/