Dynamic testing of children with a developmental language disorder: Progression in series completion performance and need for instruction

Abstract

BackgroundOutcomes of static tests provide an indication of what children have learned in the past, up to the moment of testing, and can therefore underestimate the cognitive abilities of atypically developing children, such as children with language difficulties. In contrast, dynamic tests aim to examine children’s potential for learning. The information obtained during dynamic testing has the potential to be helpful in education. However, the administration of dynamic tests is often time consuming.AimThe current study aimed to investigate the value of a computerised dynamic test utilising graduated prompts, as a means to provide insight into the extent to which children with language difficulties show progression in accuracy of their series completion skills (a subform of inductive reasoning). We sought to investigate whether dynamically versus statically tested children diagnosed with a Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) attending special education showed differential patterns in their serial reasoning performance and their need for instruction.Rationale/ApproachForty-seven children with a mean age of 8.06 years participated in the study. They were tested dynamically by means of a pre-test, two training sessions, and a post-test. We examined in detail children’s learning processes when solving visual-spatial series completion tasks.Findings/ConclusionThe graduated prompts training resulted in larger changes in accurately applied transformations than repeated practice only. Furthermore, children with weaker initial scores seemed to show larger progression paths after training than those with stronger initial scores, although no significant differences were found. The current study also reveals that, in general, children needed fewer prompts in the second training session than in the first, although large individual differences in the amount and type of help needed were observed. Overall, these findings provide a first indication of the value of a computerised dynamic test in unveiling the potential for learning and individuals’ needs for instruction in the population of children with DLD.