Leiden University, Developmental and Educational Psychology, The Netherlands.
Br J Educ Psychol. 2011 Dec;81(Pt 4):579-605. doi: 10.1348/2044-8279.002006. Epub 2010 Dec 7.
This study sought to explore the use of a novel approach that incorporates dynamic testing and tangible electronics in the assessment of children's learning potential and strategy use.
A total of 77 children with a mean age 8.9 years participated in the study; half of them were dynamically tested using graduate prompt techniques; the others served as a control group.
Children in the experimental group received a series of inputs consisting of a pre-test, two training sessions, and a post-test all involving a number of series completion tasks; the controls received only pre- and post-tests. All test sessions were undertaken individually using a specially designed programme incorporating an electronic console and tangible materials equipped internally with sensors.
As a consequence of training, children significantly outperformed controls on a number of series completion tasks. Significant individual differences were noted in terms of the children's response to assistance. The study's hypothesis that dynamic testing would increase analytical, and reduce trial-and-error, behaviour was supported. While a significant proportion of the children employed strategies that had earlier been identified as optimal, a sizeable minority demonstrated rather more idiosyncratic approaches.
Findings from the study demonstrate the potential value of electronic dynamic testing using graduated prompts. However, a number of further refinements to improve the procedure are suggested.
本研究旨在探索一种新方法，该方法将动态测试和有形电子产品结合起来，用于评估儿童的学习潜力和策略运用。
共有 77 名平均年龄为 8.9 岁的儿童参与了这项研究；其中一半儿童使用研究生提示技术进行动态测试；其余儿童作为对照组。
实验组的儿童接受了一系列的输入，包括预测试、两次训练和一次后测试，所有测试都涉及到一系列的任务完成；对照组只接受预测试和后测试。所有测试均采用专门设计的程序进行，该程序结合了电子控制台和内部装有传感器的有形材料。
由于训练，儿童在多项系列完成任务上的表现明显优于对照组。在儿童对帮助的反应方面存在显著的个体差异。研究假设动态测试将增加分析性，减少试错性，这一假设得到了支持。虽然相当一部分儿童采用了先前确定的最佳策略，但仍有相当一部分儿童表现出更为独特的方法。
该研究的结果表明，使用渐进式提示的电子动态测试具有潜在价值。然而，建议对该程序进行一些进一步的改进。
