The role of dynamic assessment in framing reading difficulties

Abstract

The purpose of this descriptive case study was to describe how dynamic assessment provided a more detailed understanding and a clearer framing of learners’ reading difficulties when done as a complementary assessment to standardised assessments. To achieve this goal, the clinical reports and case notes of the three learners who were assessed with both standardised tests and dynamic assessment – at the Training Facility at the University of Pretoria during the period of January 2015 to December 2019 – were analysed. The conceptual framework that supported this study was guided by constructs from Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, and Feuerstein’s theory of mediated learning experiences. By using an interpretivist epistemological paradigm, this qualitative study provided insight into how the three learners’ reading difficulties became more intelligible after the use of dynamic assessment. The findings of this study revealed that dynamic assessment provided a more detailed understanding of both the nature and extent of the reading difficulties that the three learners in this case study experienced. Dynamic assessment supplemented the standardised results by demonstrating how the use of mediational strategies can reveal the learners’ potential for learning reading skills when provided with interventions that are aligned to their individual needs and how they responded to these interventions. Dynamic assessment further highlighted how the information gained from dynamic assessment informed recommendations for intervention strategies, which could be applied further in educational contexts.