Study Guide Questions

1. Explain the rationale for using dynamic assessment.
   
   
2. The text states that "the emphasis on observing general processes and strategies rather than mastery of specific tasks can be helpful in differentiating whether the child has a true delay or problem or the child only lacks familiarity with a task or situation." Provide an example that illustrates this principle.
   
   
3. Describe and provide an example of each of the three types of facilitation strategies used to promote self-regulatory behavior.
   
   
4. How do underlying theoretical perspectives and assumptions influence dynamic assessment tools and procedures?
   
   
5. What are the three essential components of mediated learning experiences (MLEs)?
   
   
6. What is the role of the adult in a mediated learning approach?
   

Answer Key

1. Dynamic assessment focuses on how a child approaches a task and what is needed for the child to learn, not merely what the child is able to do. Dynamic measures gauge performance prospectively, indicating not only what the child has learned, but also what the child is capable of learning. Dynamic assessment also identifies what the child can do independently and what the child can do with assistance, an important characteristic of appropriate assessments.
   
   
   
2. Any logical example is acceptable!
   
   
   
3. a. Environmental: factors in the environment (e.g., noise level, light)
   
   b. Motor: handling and positioning the infant
   
   c. Cue-matched: the infant’s specific self-regulatory behaviors (e.g., mouthing, sucking)
   
   
   
4. a. Piaget’s constructivist perspective views the child as having an active role in constructing knowledge.
   
   b. Vygotsky’s social-interactionist view emphasizes the role of the adult or more capable peer in guiding the child’s development.
   
   c. Vygotsky’s concept of zone of proximal development (ZPD) represents the difference between what a child can achieve independently and what a child can achieve when provided with adult assistance.
   
   d. Scaffolding or guided participation is a type of interaction in which the adult guides and supports the child’s learning by building on what the child is able to do.
   
   e. The concept of mediation proposes that an adult or more knowledgeable peer interposes himself or herself between a child and the world to make experiences more meaningful.
   
   f. The concept of self-regulation derives from the metaphor of the human being as an open, self-organized system that continuously reorganizes itself in response to environmental influences in a dynamic, nonlinear way.
   
   
   
5. a. Intentionality and reciprocity
   
   b. Meaning and purpose
   
   c. Transcendence
   
   
   
6. The adult engages the child in mediated learning experiences by teaching cognitive-linguistic skills that will enable the child to master a task or solve a problem. In turn, this helps the child become a self-regulated, active learner.