Dynamic Assessment

What are dynamic assessments good for?

1) Focuses on the learning process and potential 2) Alternative for children with differing cultural or linguistic backgrounds 3) Does not replace static assessments but can be complementary (both static skills and learning potential)

What are the three components in DA?

1) Mediation - enables child development, allows for diagnosis and future intervention 2) Transcendence - able to apply newly learnt strategies to real/ imagined contexts; generalising strategy, target language, language function 3) Intentionality - Raises awareness of activity purpose, and shows child's intent to learn through agency, engagement and responsiveness

Why is dynamic assessment used in SLT?

1) Research has shown screening tests to be less than accurate, inadequate, limited 2) Better approach to culturally and linguistically diverse children (flexible and individualized) 3) Able to distinguish language disorder and difference through potential of modifiability/ stimulability 4) Can be done in English (with at least a year exposure, or 20% exposed daily) 5) Wide range of testing methods 6) Allows for look into aspects of language not usually assessed 7) Maximises success and boosts child's confidence 8) Efficient allocation of limited resources 9) Allows assessment and intervention simultaneously

What are the issues with using Standardised Language Assessment tools not population normed?

1) Risk of misdiagnosis 2) Difficult to tease apart disorder/ delay / difference 3) Possibility of over or under diagnosing bilingual children

What are types of dynamic assessments?

1) Test-teach-retest (difference = learning) 2) Graduated prompts (open ended to specific) 3) Feedback (use age-appropriate language)

What are the limitations of dynamic assessments?

1) Time consuming 2) Needs experienced clinicians 3) DA not standardised and is very varied 4) No gold standard exists

What is dynamic assessment?

1) Use of range of methods and materials at the right time to assess learning potential 2) Reveals maximum performance through mediated learning experiences

What is the Zone of Proximal Development?

Difference between child's own performance and achievement when provided support by an experienced other

What are the strengths and weaknesses of standardised language assessment tools

Strengths 1) Time and effort efficient 2) Quick way of indicating language difficulties 3) Facilitates conversation as other professionals are familiar with it Weakness 1) Only looks at specific language components 2) Snapshot of linguistic skills 3) Difficult to differentiate disordered language or language differences

What is a model of learning?

Vygotsky's model of cognitive development 1) Children learn through interaction with a more capable person 2) Adult scaffolds child maximally, before child becomes more independent 3) Static assessments - past and present functioning 4) Dynamic assessments - measures learning potential/ modifiability of individual given support