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1. Beyond the Test: L2 Dynamic Assessment and the Transcendence of Mediated Learning (EJ774863)
Author(s):
Poehner, Matthew E.
Source:
Modern Language Journal, v91 n3 p323-340 Fall 2007
Pub Date:
2007-00-00
Pub Type(s):
Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Peer-Reviewed:
Yes
Descriptors: Teaching Methods; Language Tests; Sociocultural Patterns; Theories; Problem Solving; Second Language Learning; French; Oral Language; Personal Narratives; Advanced Students; Language Research
Abstract: A major preoccupation in assessment is connecting examinees' performance in assessment and nonassessment contexts. This preoccupation has traditionally been framed in terms of generalizability. This article reconceptualizes this problem from a qualitatively different perspective on human abilities and their development, namely, the Sociocultural Theory of Mind outlined in the work of Vygotsky (1986, 1998). From this perspective, assessment occurs not in isolation from instruction but as an inseparable feature of it. Assessment and instruction are dialectically integrated as a single activity that seeks to understand development by actively promoting it. This pedagogical approach, known as Dynamic Assessment (DA), challenges the widespread acceptance of independent performance as the privileged indicator of individuals' abilities and calls for assessors to abandon their role as observers of learner behavior in favor of a commitment to joint problem solving aimed at supporting learner development. In DA, the traditional goal of producing generalizations from a snapshot of performance is replaced by ongoing intervention in development. Following Vygtosky's argument that true development goes beyond improvement on a given assessment task, DA practitioners have devised a method known as transcendence (TR), in which they collaborate with learners on increasingly complex tasks. In this article, transcendence in the second language (L2) domain is illustrated with examples of advanced learners of French composing oral narratives with support from a mediator. The article concludes with recommendations for future research on TR in L2 development. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
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2. Dynamic Assessment in the Language Classroom (EJ805486)
Poehner, Matthew E.; Lantolf, James P.
Language Teaching Research, v9 n3 p233-265 2005
2005-00-00
Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Descriptors: Formative Evaluation; Language Tests; Teaching Methods; Student Evaluation; Second Language Learning; Second Language Instruction; Learning Theories; Testing; French
Abstract: The focus of this paper is on the implementation of Dynamic Assessment (henceforth, DA) in the L2 classroom setting. DA is an approach to assessment and instruction derived from Vygotsky's theory of the Zone of Proximal Development (henceforth, ZPD). In what follows, we will first discuss briefly the concept of the ZPD and its realization in DA procedures; next we will briefly discuss the work of Reuven Feuerstein, whose work on DA is most directly relevant to the goal of the present article (for a discussion of other models of DA, see Lantolf and Poehner, 2004; Sternberg and Grigorenko, 2002); finally, we will compare DA to Formative Assessment (henceforth, FA) and will suggest how FA might be reconceptualized according to DA principles. In the language testing literature, FA is usually contrasted with Summative Assessment on the grounds that the former is intended to feed back into the teaching and learning process while the latter reports on the outcomes of learning (Bachman, 1990: 60-61). Moreover, FA procedures are generally considered to be less systematic and not as high-stakes as summative assessments. Following Rea-Dickins and Gardner (2000), however, we suggest that FA is not necessarily low-stakes and that it can be carried out quite systematically, yielding results that may be more systematic and revealing with regard to learner development than summative assessments. (Contains 5 notes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
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