The theory of education developed in this volume sets a demanding standard for teachers: Teaching occurs only when assisted performance is provided to the learner in the ZPD. To achieve this ideal requires, of those who would be teachers, a transformation of mind. This transformation consists in the development of new, higher-order cognitive processes, new values, and new motives and is achieved by the same psychosocial processes that we have detailed in discussing the developmental progression that occurs in children.

The stages of development of higher-order teaching skills

The developmental progression of a performance capacity, for people of all ages, can be conceptualized in four stages, as described in Chapter 2 (Tharp, Gallimore, & Calkins, 1984; Watson & Tharp, 1985; Wertsch, 1979, 1985b). These developmental progressions have been studied mostly in children (Berk & Garvin, 1984; Rogoff & Gardener, 1984; Tharp, Gallimore, & Calkins, 1984; Wertsch, 1979), but can also be seen in adults during skill acquisition (Gallimore et al., 1986; Watson & Tharp, 1985). In this chapter, we use the theory to illuminate the development of higher-order teaching skills.

In Stage I, teacher behavior is regulated by more capable others in social transactions. In Stage II, it is regulated by self-directed speech and other forms of self-directed assistance by the learner. In Stage III, self-directed speech goes “underground,” becomes silent, rapid, and shorthand, and disappears as performance becomes internalized, automatized, smooth, and integrated.