In this chapter, the authors discuss the use of dynamic language assessment with signing deaf children. This is a fairly new area, and, in spite of the growing interest on behalf of researchers and practitioners, there is very limited research. Given the lack of available studies, the authors use anecdotal information that draws on observations made by two of the authors from their own work with signing deaf children, one in a hospital and the other in a school setting. Some of the questions that will guide the discussions are: What makes dynamic assessment useful for signing deaf children? And, how do we determine that dynamic assessment is appropriate for a particular child, and how do we evaluate whether it works? The authors finish with a look at possible future directions and present recommendations on how to make dynamic assessment (more) meaningful for use with signing deaf children.
This chapter is a joint discussion of key items related to the use of dynamic assessment (DA) in spoken and signed language assessment contexts that were discussed in Chapters 3.1 and 3.2. One aspect of spoken language assessment with great potential to inform new research in signed language is the number and detail of available approaches that test different parts of the language system. Whereas DA with signing children has been used exclusively for assessing vocabulary, approaches in spoken languages have also targeted morphology, phonology, sentence structure, and narrative discourse. In comparison, an area where the available research from signed language could help inform the use of DA for spoken language is the involvement of children and families in co-producing goals to guide assessment and intervention. The authors also raise a couple of aspects that are of equal relevance for both fields and which provide opportunities for increased interdisciplinary collaboration.
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