Ricoeur’s triple mimesis and the zone of proximal development in the learning processes of interprofessional student teams

Abstract

It has been reported that the temporal aspects of the zone of proximal development (ZPD) are underanalyzed. The aim of this article is to use the literary science concept of Paul Ricoeur’s triple mimesis to elucidate unanalyzed aspects of the temporal living and learning processes of interprofessional teams in the ZPD. Both mimesis2 and ZPD are temporal constructs embedded in the present of time, and for both mimesis2 and ZPD, activity is created and carried by the actors. While the internal processes in ZPD have remained unanalyzed to date, Ricoeur provides emplotment with its procedural mechanisms for the activity in mimesis2. Being narrating beings, humans have an affinity for narrative emplotments that then structure the activities in the ZPD. Because mimesis2 is based on narrative time, the basic requirement for employing mimesis2 in ZPD is that the ZPD has a narrative base, which is probable when health students are the actors and the case they are working on is a patient.