This study examined the effects of a classroom-focused intervention on early literacy. The intervention consisted of interactive e-book reading via a SMART board combined with a print referencing...Show moreThis study examined the effects of a classroom-focused intervention on early literacy. The intervention consisted of interactive e-book reading via a SMART board combined with a print referencing technique via a program called e-Prent&ABC. The goal of the study was to examine whether focusing on print referencing during storytelling improves the book-bound vocabulary and printing knowledge of kindergarteners and to examine whether this relationship between storytelling and acquiring knowledge is different for children with a relatively low inhibition capacity compared to children with a relatively high inhibition capacity. Results indicated significantly larger gains with high effect sizes in book bound vocabulary (ηp2 = .614) and printing knowledge (ηp2 = .433) after participating in the intervention. The print referencing technique was found to be significantly effective with a high effect size for growth in printing knowledge (ηp2 = .450). The growth in vocabulary was not attributable to the print referencing technique, however this technique did not hinder children’s learning of new words. No significant differences were found after participating in the intervention for children with a relatively low inhibition capacity when compared to children with a relatively high inhibition capacity. The findings indicated that shared e-book reading combined with a print referencing technique is an effective method for stimulating and enhancing early literacy skills of kindergarteners such as printing knowledge and vocabulary.Show less
This study aims to examine the relationship between instructional needs, the level of ASD characteristics, and the level of central coherence in students aged 8 to 12 from grades 5 and 6 of primary...Show moreThis study aims to examine the relationship between instructional needs, the level of ASD characteristics, and the level of central coherence in students aged 8 to 12 from grades 5 and 6 of primary education in the Netherlands (N=87). The goal is to better align education with the learning needs of children with ASD. The current research (DyFT) is part of a larger project titled "Learning to Draw: From Whole to Detail." The current study utilizes three measurement instruments: Raven Standard Progressive Matrices (RSPM), Autism Spectrum Questionnaire (ASQ), and Dynamic Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (DROCFT). In this study, no significant correlations were found between the level of ASD characteristics, the level of central coherence, the required hints to solve the complex task and effective strategy use. One explanation suggested for the differences between the expectations and the findings is the superior visual skill levels found in individuals with ASD. It is emphasized that ASD is a heterogeneous disorder that can manifest in various ways in individuals. Finally, points for improvement are suggested for future research.Show less
Testing the cognitive abilities of children in educational settings is mostly done with static tests. Research has found that dynamic tests can provide additional information to static tests....Show moreTesting the cognitive abilities of children in educational settings is mostly done with static tests. Research has found that dynamic tests can provide additional information to static tests. Dynamic tests can determine the learning potential and need for instruction of children, which are suggested to be good predictors for future academic results. Moreover, these dynamic tests are less subject to bias. Unfortunately, dynamic tests are often labour-intensive and therefore hardly used in practice. This study aims to investigate the use of a shortened dynamic test, with a graduated-prompts procedure, to determine students’ need for instruction. Participants were 66 regular primary school children (M = 10.89 years, SD = .53 years). The shortened dynamic test was a geometric analogies task, appealing to inductive reasoning. Teachers were asked to estimate the individual need for instruction of their students, for both math and reading comprehension, in levels of ‘no help’, ‘meta-cognitive help’, ‘cognitive help’ and ‘modelling’. The Cito scores for math and reading comprehension were obtained for every student. Only a few students needed modelling help during the shortened dynamic test. Therefore, the cognitive help and modelling were combined for the sake of reliability and usability of this study. Teacher’s perspective could predict the Cito scores to a large extent, especially for math. The results of the shortened dynamic test added slightly to this explanation, but only for math. Reading comprehension requires more than just inductive reasoning, such as vocabulary, which was beyond the scope of the shortened dynamic test. Regardless of the limitations of this study, the shortened dynamic test show promise as an objective ‘check’. For instance, for unexperienced teachers who are uncertain about the need for instructions for a student. Finally, this study may prove to be a valuable stepping stone to future research in the field of shortened dynamic tests.Show less
Children with a developmental language disorder (DLD) have a higher chance to be underestimated by their teachers through static and traditional tests at primary school. Present study investigates...Show moreChildren with a developmental language disorder (DLD) have a higher chance to be underestimated by their teachers through static and traditional tests at primary school. Present study investigates whether an abbreviated dynamic test would be a viable instrument to help teachers measure the instructional needs for children with a DLD. Pupils who participated (N = 66, M = 9.5 years, SD = 0.53) took an abbreviated dynamic test consisting of a 12-item analogy task. A hierarchical graduated prompt training (metacognitive, cognitive or modelling) was given to a student whom answered incorrectly. In addition, the teachers were given a questionnaire consisting of questions about pupil’s language development and current school results. First, the relationship between language development, teachers rating of instructional needs and school results was measured. A positive and significant relation was found in which children with a higher language development needed less instructions and had higher school results. Second, the relationship between language development and instructional needs on the abbreviated dynamic test were measured. It was found that children with a slower language development needed more and different kinds of graduated prompts during the dynamic test, showing a different need for instruction. Lastly the predictive value of the abbreviated dynamic test in combination with language development was measured. The abbreviated dynamic test in combination with language development is found to be a significant and strong predictor for math scores on Cito. In conclusion, it is possible to use an abbreviated dynamic test with standardized graduated prompts to measure the instructional needs of children with a language development disorder.Show less
The current study aimed to investigate the relation between visual working memory, organizational strategy use, and memory accuracy in process-oriented dynamic testing with a complex figure task....Show moreThe current study aimed to investigate the relation between visual working memory, organizational strategy use, and memory accuracy in process-oriented dynamic testing with a complex figure task. The sample (N = 43) consisted of 3rd and 4th grade children (M = 8.91 years; SD =.72). On the pretest participants were asked to draw the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure (ROCF) from memory. Then, the control group practiced independently with two alternative figures and the training group received a graduated prompts training in organizational strategy use. On the posttest participants were again asked to draw the original ROCF from memory. There was no difference in organizational strategy use for levels of working memory on the pretest. The results showed a greater improvement from pretest to posttest for the training group and, in the training group, a greater improvement for children with a high working memory level. Only organizational strategy use predicted memory accuracy on the pretest, whereas both working memory and organizational strategy use predicted memory accuracy on the posttest. It was concluded that dynamic testing with a graduated prompts training can support children to adopt effective strategy use and improve task performance. Also, children with a high working memory level benefit more from a learning opportunity. Therefore, visual working memory seems to facilitate learning.Show less
According to international research, the reading skills of Dutch students have declined in the last few years. The Curriculum-Based Measurement maze test can be used to monitor the progress of...Show moreAccording to international research, the reading skills of Dutch students have declined in the last few years. The Curriculum-Based Measurement maze test can be used to monitor the progress of students’ reading performance. This can help teachers in adjusting instructional programs, which can lead to improvement in students’ reading skills. Although most of the previous research showed that maze test scores measure reading skills, one study showed that the scores measure decoding, not text level reading comprehension. The current study investigated whether the maze test also measures text level reading comprehension, through comparing the scores on maze tests with a standard and a scrambled format. The standard maze test was comprehensible on text level, but the scrambled maze test was not: the text was incoherent, because the sentences were placed in a random order. This study also investigated the relations among reading comprehension level, reading motivation level and maze test scores. Two standard and two scrambled maze tests and the Standards of Coherence questionnaire were completed by 140 fifth grade students. Their reading comprehension Cito-scores were also collected. Results showed that students scored higher on the standard than on the scrambled maze test. This suggests that the scores also reflect reading comprehension on text level, which supports the fact that maze tests measure reading skills. The main effects of reading comprehension level and reading motivation level on maze test scores were significant. Both factors seem to be related to reading performance. The interaction-effect of reading motivation level and reading comprehension level was not significant. The relation between reading motivation level and reading scores appears to be the same for weak, average and strong readers. More research is needed to find out if the maze test scores are sensitive for change when interventions are carried out to increase reading skills.Show less
Dynamic testing has the potential of unveiling information about instructional needs, learning processes and cognitive abilities. The aim of this study was to investigate the learning potential of...Show moreDynamic testing has the potential of unveiling information about instructional needs, learning processes and cognitive abilities. The aim of this study was to investigate the learning potential of gifted children on analogical reasoning tasks, using a computerized dynamic test. The participants were 80 children (mean age = 7.65), who were divided in an experimental condition (n = 41) and a control condition (n = 39), based on randomized blocking. The study consisted of a pre-test and a post-test. In between, the experimental group received two training sessions by following the graduated prompts method, while the control group received two practice moments. The results of this study showed a larger progress from pre- to post-test on analogical reasoning tasks for the experimental group compared to the control group. Therefore, computerised dynamic testing, when using the graduated prompts training, can be seen as a useful method to unveil the learning potential of young gifted children. Furthermore, the study focused on the relationship between dynamic testing and level of test anxiety (low, medium, high) and level of IQ (low, medium, high). As part of that, the instructional needs of these groups during training has been examined. Results did not show a relationship between dynamic testing and test anxiety at all. However, dynamic testing and level of IQ were related. Though the three groups of IQ made the same amount of progress from pre- to post-test, the group with lower IQ scored significant lower during both tests. No differences in instructional needs were found for either levels of test anxiety as well as levels of IQ.Show less
Abstract Aim. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of dynamic testing, using a graduated prompts method, to analyse the learning potential in gifted children. This paper outlines the...Show moreAbstract Aim. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of dynamic testing, using a graduated prompts method, to analyse the learning potential in gifted children. This paper outlines the effect of the dynamic testing of analogic reasoning and the role of test anxiety and planning skills in relation to analogical reasoning and provided instructions. Sample. In this study participated 80 children (48 boys, 32 girls) from the western part of the Netherlands, their average age was 8.1 years (SD = 0.6). Method. An experimental group (41 children) which received the graduated prompts training, was compared in results of completing of analogic reasoning task with a control group (39 children). A pre-test-post-test-design with randomized blocking procedure was used to distinguish both groups. The computer program computerized dynamic testing of analogic reasoning was used to investigate analogic reasoning skills. The Children’s Test Anxiety Scale (CTAS), a self report, was used to measure test anxiety. The digital task named Tower of Hanoi was used to investigate the planning skills of the participants. Results. Dynamic testing of analogic reasoning proved to be successful in improving skills by offering a standardized training using the graduated prompts method. An influence of planning skills on provided hints was also found. Test anxiety did not seem related to dynamic testing of analogic reasoning. Conclusions. Dynamic testing is an effective method to analyse learning potential in analogical reasoning skills. Further research is necessary to investigate the role of planning skills and other metacognitive components. Although this study did not find any influence of test anxiety, further research may focus on more objective measurements of stress during test situations. The results of this study could be implemented in education and clinical assessments.Show less
