Many school going learners in South African schools face a daily challenge of
reading and comprehending texts written in English their first additional language
(AL1). Learners need to develop their basic interpersonal communication skills and
cognitive academic language proficiency to make sense of that which they are
reading. Many South African learners lack basic comprehension skills and in general
have low literacy rates.
If learners master basic reading comprehension skills they could possibly overcome
many of the challenges they face. However all learners have unique learning needs,
making it imperative to differentiate the instruction of reading comprehension. For this
reason the study looked at the use of dynamic assessment to guide the differentiated
instruction of reading comprehension skills.
The research was qualitative, conducted within a combination of constructivist,
social-constructionist and social-constructivist paradigmatic perspectives. The study
took the form of a case study at a predominantly Afrikaans school in a small town in
South Africa. The Grade 7 learners were grouped into four bands according to their
average reading comprehension performance. By means of a combination of
convenience, purposive and random sampling strategies, sixteen participants were
selected from the different bands. Observations, participants answer sheets,
individual discussions and a researcher s journal were used as data collection
strategies.
Three reading comprehension tasks focusing on different text types were
administered to all the classes. From the results obtained from the first and second
tasks lessons on basic reading comprehension strategies were designed and presented in class. The participants received mediation additionally during individual
discussions subsequent to the first two reading comprehension tasks.
During the process of data analysis both a priori and emerging codes were utilised
and combined to form five overall themes for further analysis, namely Vocabulary,
Background knowledge, Knowledge of text organization, the Assessment experience
and Principles of the zone of proximal development.
The findings revealed that five dynamic assessment strategies could possibly be
successfully utilised in the Grade 7 classroom to inform the differentiated instruction
of reading comprehension skills: 1) Dialogue between teachers and learners; 2) The
careful construction of questions in an attempt to prevent the assessment instrument
in itself from becoming a barrier to learning; 3) Phrasing questions in such a way that
they guide learners to specific parts of text where answers can be found; 4) Including
word explanations in the assessment instrument; and 5) Referring learners who lack
basic reading skills for appropriate remedial programmes.
In Suid-Afrika ervaar heelwat skoolgaande leerders `n daaglikse uitdaging om tekste
in Engels hulle eerste addisionele taal (AT1) - te lees met begrip. Indien leerders
leesmateriaal met genoegsame begrip wil lees, moet hulle basiese interpersoonlike
kommunikasievaardighede en kognitiewe akademiese taalvaardigheid ontwikkel
word. Baie Suid-Afrikaanse leerders se basiese leesbegripvaardighede is
ontoereikend en verder toon baie leerders ook in die algemeen `n lae
geletterdheidsvlak.
Baie van die uitdagings wat leerders ervaar kan moontlik oorbrug word indien hulle
basiese leesbegripvaardighede bemeester. Tog het alle leerders unieke
leerbehoeftes en juis daarom is dit noodsaaklik om die onderrig van
leesbegripvaardighede te differensieer. Juis daarom het die studie gefokus op die
gebruik van dinamiese assessering om die gedifferensieerde onderrig van
leesbegripvaardighede te rig.
Die navorsing was kwalitatief en uitgevoer binne `n kombinasie van
konstruktivistiese, sosiale- konstruktionistiese en sosiale-konstruktivistiese
paradigmatiese raamwerke. Die studie het die vorm van `n gevallestudie by `n
oorwegend Afrikaanse skool in `n klein dorpie in Suid-Afrika aangeneem. Die Graad
7 leerders was volgens hulle gemiddelde leesbegrip prestasie in vier verskillende
groepe verdeel. Deur middel van `n kombinasie van gerieflikheids-, doelmatige-, en
ewekansige steekproefopnames is sestien deelnemers geselekteer uit die
verskillende groepe. Observasies, deelnemers se antwoordblaaie, individuele
gesprekke en `n navorsersjoernaal is gebruik as data-insamelingstegnieke. Drie leesbegripopdragte, wat elk gefokus het op `n ander tipe teks, is toegepas in al
die Graad 7 klasse. Die resultate verkry van die eerste en tweede
leesbegripopdragte is aangewend om lesse saam te stel wat ten doel gehad het om
basiese leesbegrip-vaardighede te onderrig. Die deelnemers het verder ook
addisionele mediëring ontvang gedurende individuele gesprekke wat op die eerste
twee leesbegripopdragte gevolg het.
Gedurende die proses van data-analise is beide a priori kodering en kodes wat
vanuit die data na vore gekom het gebruik en gekombineer om vyf finale temas vir
verdere analise te vorm, naamlik Woordeskat, Agtergrondkennis, Kennis van
teksorganisasie, die Assesserings-ervaring en Prinsipes van die terrein van
naasliggende ontwikkeling.
Die bevindinge het getoon dat vyf dinamiese assesseringstrategieë moontlik
suksesvol aangewend kan word in die Graad 7 klaskamer om besluite te neem in
verband met die differensiasie van die onderrig van leesbegripvaardighede, naamlik
1) Dialoog tussen onderwysers en leerders; 2) Die versigtige bewoording van vrae,
sodat die assesserings-instrument self nie `n leerhindernis word nie; 3) Die
formulering van vrae op so `n wyse dat dit leerders lei na spesifieke dele in die teks
waar die antwoorde gevind kan word; 4) Die insluiting van verduidelikings van
woordeskat wat in die assesserings-instrument voorkom; en 5) Die verwysing van
leerders wie se leesvermoë nie op standaard is nie na geskikte remediërende
programme.
