Maximising the potential of learning through dynamic assessment: A case study of the use of DA to simultaneously evaluate and promote higher order thinking in L2 reading
The present research explored the use of dynamic assessment (DA) to simultaneously evaluate and promote higher order thinking in L2 reading. Based on the notion of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and the principles of Mediated Learning Experience (MLE), a learning-oriented DA model was proposed with an aim to enable learners to realise their learning potential in higher order thinking in L2 reading. Using the case study method, this research aimed to provide an in-depth understanding of how learners internalised higher order thinking skills in L2 reading through mediated interactions in DA. The study involved six intermediate level Chinese L2 learners of English. They were asked to participate in a four-month DA programme targeting three key higher order thinking skills in L2 reading, i.e. locating specific information, making inferences, and identifying main ideas. The DA programme comprised six individual assessment sessions and ten group enrichment sessions. The individual assessment sessions were aimed to evaluate learners’ progress and administered at the pre-, mid-, and post-enrichment stages of the DA programme. The group enrichment sessions were designed to address learners’ problems whilst stimulating further development of target skills. The study collected data from quantitative and qualitative sources and analysed learner development at both the group and the individual level with a view to obtaining a fuller picture of how development occurred in the DA context. The results showed that DA had a positive effect on all the three target higher order thinking skills in L2 reading, though learners’ ability to transfer skills to more complex tasks remained limited. A microgenetic analysis of mediator-learner interactions throughout the study revealed that learner development passed through three key phases, i.e. the other-regulative phase, the transitional phase, and the self-regulative phase. These three phases indicate that learner development was a gradual process marked with moments of both progression and regression as it unfolded. Three distinct patterns of development emerged from the analysis of individual-level data, suggesting that learners made different amounts of progress at different rates over time. It is concluded that development of higher order thinking in L2 reading may be conceived as a complex and dynamic endeavour rooted in social interactions.
sociocultural theory, dynamic assessment, higher order thinking, L2 reading
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