Proximal Positioning: A Strategy of Practice in Violin Pedagogy

Abstract

The research problem for this study was the identification and characterization of patterns of expert teaching practice as they occurred in context. The primary participant, renowned violin pedagogue Dorothy DeLay, was observed in the natural setting of her studio, and her teaching practices were documented through field notes, audiotapes, and contextual artifacts. The theory of proximal positioning represents a dominant theme within the educational environment Delay created. This pattern of teaching practice accounts for the adjustments that a pedagogue makes in order to assist students through zones of proximal development. Two categories of teaching strategies support this theory. Preparatory strategies are characterized by teacher actions that reveal the overall goals of instruction and processes for probing student frames of reference. Facilitative strategies are characterized in terms of lesson-goal development, cognitive magnification of performance details (an attention-directing tactic), the use of metaphor (a cognitive structuring strategy), and the creation of contextual regions of comfort and challenge.