Process assessment in dynamic testing using electronic tangibles

Abstract

Task solving processes and changes in these processes have long been expected to provide valuable information about children's performance in school. This article used electronic tangibles (concrete materials that can be physically manipulated) and a dynamic testing format (pretest, training, and posttest) to investigate children's task solving processes and changes in these processes as a result of training. We also evaluated the value of process information for the prediction of school results. Participants were N = 253 children with a mean age of 7.8 years. Half of them received a graduated prompts training; the other half received repeated practice only. Three process measures were used: grouping behaviour, verbalized strategies, and completion time. Different measures showed different effects of training, with verbalized strategies showing the largest difference on the posttest between trained and untrained children. Although process measures were related to performance on our dynamic task and to math and reading performance in school, the amount of help provided during training provided the most predictive value to school results. We concluded that children's task solving processes provide valuable information, but the interpretation requires more research.

Dynamic assessment: a case of unfulfilled potential?

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Children’s solving of ‘Tower of Hanoi’ tasks: dynamic testing with the help of a robot

“…The merits of using a robot as a support assistant in dynamic testing seem obvious. Earlier studies (Henning, Verhaegh, & Resing, 2010;Resing et al, 2017;Veerbeek, Vogelaar, Verhaegh, & Resing, 2019) have already shown the positive aspects of the use of an electronic console for dynamic testing. The current study replicates this but within a different task domain, and goes one step further.…”

Computerized Process-Oriented Dynamic Testing of Children’s Ability to Reason by Analogy Using Log Data

“…First, we aimed to evaluate the effects of the computerized graduated prompts training on both the performance and solving behavior of children on the computerized dynamic test of analogical reasoning. It was expected that children who received training would show more progression from pretest to posttest in terms of analogical reasoning (1) task-solving accuracy (number of items answered correctly), and (2) accuracy on transformations (transformations answered correctly), but this change was not expected to be reflected in (3) the solving processes as reflected by the process indicators obtained from the log data, as found in prior research (Veerbeek et al, 2019).…”