The Trainer's Application of Vygotsky's "Zone of Proximal Development" to Asynchronous Online Training of Faculty Facilitators

Lev Vygotsky was a Russian psychologist and educator who researched that children improve their learning when they were in the company of those who were more skilled or knowledgeable about the topic, known as "Zone of Proximal Development"(ZDP). This paper by Dorette Sugg Welk, PhD, RN, identify factors that influence the ZPD relationship and strategies that the online trainer can use to mediate this relationship in an asynchronous online environment consistent with Vygotsky's basic tenets.