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Vygotsky (1978) sees the Zone of Proximal Development as the area where the most sensitive instruction or guidance should be given - allowing the child to develop skills they will then use on their own - developing higher mental functions.

Vygotsky also views interaction with peers as an effective way of developing skills and strategies.  He suggests that teachers use cooperative learning exercises where less competent children develop with help from more skill full peers - within the zone of proximal development.

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We would suggest, every teacher needs to become able to see the talk and social interaction in their classroom from a sociocultural perspective.  Encouraging teachers to recognise the dominant patterns of teacher–student talk in their classrooms is a necessary step towards evaluating those patterns and changing them. We need to help teachers recognise and practise particular strategies for interacting with students that will generate an appropriate balance between ‘authoritative’ and ‘dialogic’ forms of talk in their class rooms ,so that they can put these to work in pursuing their professional goals. Research suggests that by using a wide range of interactional strategies in the classroom, teachers will find  that students become more enthusiastically involved and learn well.

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Sociocultural approaches view children as social learners, shaped by, and shaping, their cultural contexts. Through guided participation, more knowledgeable people help children gain skills in using these cultural tools; children’s use of the tools, in turn, further transforms their thinking. Culture is made possible by the human propensity to teach and learn and to establish inter-subjectivity with other people. Through processes such as social scaffolding and the creation of communities of learners, older and more skilled individuals help children acquire the skills, knowledge, and values of their culture.