This research was performed to see how useful dynamic testing of reading and writing would be for children with and without dyslexia and to explore the relationship between dynamic testing of...Show moreThis research was performed to see how useful dynamic testing of reading and writing would be for children with and without dyslexia and to explore the relationship between dynamic testing of reading and writing and intelligence, specifically fluid and crystallised intelligence. To research this, this research had an experimental pretest-training-posttest design with two groups—dyslexic and non-dyslexic—as well as two conditions—training and no-training. The participants were children in primary school between the ages of 7 and 9. The study consisted of two sessions: a preliminary investigation and a dynamic test. The dynamic test used was the EPALE-NL. It consists of four subtests: phonemic awareness, prosodic awareness, sounds and verbs, and context words. A significant difference was found between the group that was trained and the group that was not trained, in specific for the subtest prosodic awareness, with the trained group showing more improvement in accuracy. For the performance on the posttest by the dyslexic group and non-dyslexic group, no significant difference was found between the groups. No significant relationship was found between the gain score and fluid and crystallised intelligence. Dynamic testing of reading and writing has shown potential to be used in the classroom for its previously discovered benefits, as well as its ability to teach both dyslexics and non-dyslexics of varying intelligence.Show less
Reading and writing are important skills in life. However, children with dyslexia, a neurodevelopmental learning disorder with a genetic basis, have difficulty with these skills. Dynamic assessment...Show moreReading and writing are important skills in life. However, children with dyslexia, a neurodevelopmental learning disorder with a genetic basis, have difficulty with these skills. Dynamic assessment might be a better predictor of children’s cognitive abilities and reading and writing skills than static tests. Dynamic assessment is based on the idea that learning is a social proces and uses feedback. This study investigated the effectiveness of dynamic assessment on reading and writing performance, specifically phonemic awareness, prosodic awareness and spelling, and whether there were group differences between dyslexic and non dyslexic children, and boys and girls. The participants included 91 children aged seven to nine, with 45.1% diagnosed with dyslexia. The participants were divided in an experimental condition with a pretest-training-posttest design, and a control condition with a pretestposttest-training design. It was found that the children in the experimental condition improved more over time than the children in the control condition on prosodic awareness. No group differences were found in the effectiveness of the dynamic test. These results show that the dynamic test can be an effective tool in education for increasing the reading and writing skills in children and examining their learning potential.Show less
The current study aims to investigate the relation between trauma, cognitive flexibility and potential for analogical reasoning among Syrian refugee children between 9 and 18 years old, residing no...Show moreThe current study aims to investigate the relation between trauma, cognitive flexibility and potential for analogical reasoning among Syrian refugee children between 9 and 18 years old, residing no longer than three years in the Netherlands. The sample included 33 children who were recruited among Dutch schools, using a non-probability sampling technique based on non-random criteria. A computerised dynamic test of analogical reasoning was conducted, utilizing a pre-test-training-post-test design, in which children received a graduated prompts training or practice tasks in between pre-test and post-test. Furthermore, the CPSS was conducted to screen PTSD symptoms and assess the severity and the computerised cue context reversal task was conducted to measure cognitive flexibility. It was investigated whether trained children with high PTSD symptoms would show a higher progression from pre-test to post-test than untrained children, whether severity of PTSD symptoms was related to the dynamic test score and if the level of cognitive flexibility could predict PTSD severity and instructional needs. The results indicated an overall improvement for trained and untrained children from pre-test to post-test and a slightly higher progression for trained children. Suggesting that refugee children, who experience PTSD symptoms, seem to have the ability to learn and excel but possibly depend on instructions adapted to their needs to be able to unfold their potential. In addition, it was found that increased cognitive flexibility indicates increased severity of PTSD. Suggesting that refugee children, who experience PTSD symptoms, are possibly able to compensate for deficits in cognitive flexibility which enables them to learn.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
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This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a newly developed dynamic test for phonological and prosodic awareness in children with and without dyslexia. Additionally, the impact of...Show moreThis study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a newly developed dynamic test for phonological and prosodic awareness in children with and without dyslexia. Additionally, the impact of reading self-concept was investigated. 30 children with dyslexia and 48 without dyslexia (Mage = 10.55) were included. The study consisted of two sessions: In the first session, all children completed a reading self-concept questionnaire. In the second session, the children were randomized into an experimental or control condition for a test-training-test design. Children in the experimental condition received a dynamic training between pre-test and post-test, the control condition did not. Results indicated that trained children had improved more on prosodic awareness than non-trained children. This effect was not found for phonemic awareness. Dyslexia diagnosis did not influence improvement. Furthermore, children with dyslexia had lower reading self-concept compared to children without dyslexia. However, reading self-concept was not related to improvement during a dynamic test, and dyslexia diagnosis did not moderate this relationship.Show less
Objective: The present study examined coaching’s impact on students’ mental health wellness, perception of inclusion, and attitudes to learning. Design: In a pretest-intervention-posttest control...Show moreObjective: The present study examined coaching’s impact on students’ mental health wellness, perception of inclusion, and attitudes to learning. Design: In a pretest-intervention-posttest control group design, 102 students (mean age 18.2 years) participated in either coaching or a regular tutoring period at an institution of vocational education in the Netherlands. Method: Students were randomly assigned to the experimental or control condition. Questionnaires of wellbeing, perceptive inclusion, and attitudes to learning were completed pretest and posttest, while coached students completed an additional two questionnaires of coach and coaching perception. Results: There was a statistical trend in gains of mental health wellness in the experimental group compared to the control group, while the effect of coaching on perceptive inclusion and learning attitudes were not significant. The perception of coaching could predict gains in learning attitudes and perceptive inclusion, and a statistical trend showed perception of coach could predict learning attitudes. Conclusion: Evidence-based coaching methods can be implemented into educational institutions as an intervention to promote mental health wellness, while further research should investigate the importance of coachee perceptions of the experience and their coach to achieve coaching benefits.Show less
Static tests are widely used in the assessment of children’s abilities, but dynamic tests form a promising alternative with advantages in regard to accuracy and predictability. The aim of this...Show moreStatic tests are widely used in the assessment of children’s abilities, but dynamic tests form a promising alternative with advantages in regard to accuracy and predictability. The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of a dynamic test of reading and writing in children with and without dyslexia. Additionally, the influence of working memory on learning and reading is investigated. The study uses a pretest-training-posttest experimental design and includes a preliminary investigation of working memory, participants are 78 school-aged children. Test instruments are altered for online administration to comply with covid restrictions. Our findings show that the dynamic test is effective for prosodic awareness, but not for phonemic awareness. No significant differences between children with and without dyslexia were found. In regards to working memory, there is some indication of a relationship between working memory and reading, but the current study provides no support for a relationship between working memory and learning. In order to properly investigate the influence of working memory on reading and learning, more research on these topics should follow as the dynamic test is improved upon.Show less
Adolescents with a mild to borderline intellectual disability (MBID) tend to be more vulnerable, especially in the social domain. This causes them to present more risk-taking behaviour, use more...Show moreAdolescents with a mild to borderline intellectual disability (MBID) tend to be more vulnerable, especially in the social domain. This causes them to present more risk-taking behaviour, use more substances and show more delinquent behaviour. Consequently, they end up in the criminal circuit more than the non-MBID group. The Reputation Enhancement Theory could explain why adolescents with MBID are presenting more delinquent behaviours than those without the disorder. This research investigated whether a nonconforming reputational style in adolescents with MBID is related to risk-taking, substance use and delinquency. 352 male students of high schools participated in filling out the questionnaires. Specific factors of the Reputation Enhancement Scale (RES) were analysed to see if they predicted high scores on the Self-reported delinquency scale (SRDS), Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index (RAPI) and Adolescent Risk-taking Questionnaire, behavioural part (ARQ behaviour). Differences between MBID are non-MBID were also analysed. Results showed that for adolescents with MBID and a nonconforming reputational style, their communication to peers was related to SRDS. So, more research is needed to substantiate these primary results.Show less
Dynamic testing seems to provide insight into children’s potential for learning. The current study aimed to gain more insight into the effectiveness of group-administered computerized dynamic...Show moreDynamic testing seems to provide insight into children’s potential for learning. The current study aimed to gain more insight into the effectiveness of group-administered computerized dynamic testing in potentially gifted children (N = 48), to further investigate the relationship with test anxiety, and to gain more insight into the instructional needs of the children. All groups of children showed a significant increase in correctly solving the analogies from pretest to post-test. A difference in progression between the dynamic testing condition and the control condition was found. However, this difference appeared not to be significant. In addition, although visual differences were found in the progression lines of children with different levels of test anxiety and their instructional needs, no statistically significant differences were found. Implications of the findings were described in the discussion. In conclusion, the computerized group-administered dynamic test might have practical advantages for educational or clinical practice but first requires more research.Show less
Dynamic tests are suggested to provide a less biased measure of children’s cognitive capabilities than conventional, static tests. Within the current study, a computerized and groupadministered...Show moreDynamic tests are suggested to provide a less biased measure of children’s cognitive capabilities than conventional, static tests. Within the current study, a computerized and groupadministered dynamic test was used to investigate children’s learning potential for analogical reasoning. The potential influence of test anxiety on their performance was also investigated. Participants included 48 seven- and eight-year-old children within specialized classes for giftedness and talent. The study employed a pretest-training-posttest design with a graduated prompts method for feedback and hints. Half of the children received training in between pretest and post-test, and the other half did not. Results revealed that trained children improved more than untrained children in their accuracy scores. Furthermore, it was found that test anxiety negatively influenced children’s accuracy scores at pre- and post-test. Test anxiety levels also predicted both pre-test accuracy and IQ scores. In the end, it was concluded that group-administered dynamic testing has the potential to efficiently provide both teachers and practitioners with a more accurate measure of children’s learning potential.Show less
