Page 148 - Children’s mathematical development and learning needs in perspective of teachers’ use of dynamic math interviews

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Chapter 5
Dynamic math assessment could typically be conducted as a semi-structured interview in which the teacher undertakes process- oriented research to determine not only achievement levels but also the application and use of critical procedures and strategies to identify educational needs and suitable forms of instruction and (additional) support (Van Luit, 2019; Wright et al., 2006).
Dynamic math interviews have been shown to be an effective form of dynamic math assessment (Allsopp et al., 2008; Caffrey et al., 2008; Van Luit, 2019). Outcomes of dynamic math interviews are assumed to be informative in guiding classroom instructions and interventions. Explicit modelling, increased use of visual representations and/or manipulatives can be offered (e.g., use of imitation money, fraction circles) (Emerson & Babtie, 2014; Gersten et al., 2009). To our knowledge, only some existing scripted assessment tools are directed on a specific mathematics domain (e.g., Wright et al., 2006).
To date, the empirical evidence on the adequacy and actual benefits of dynamic math assessment is limited. In a review of four earlier studies (Caffrey et al., 2008), dynamic assessment was found to contribute unique variance to the prediction of future mathematics achievement and thus go beyond traditional static math assessment. In a study by Seethaler et al. (2012) involving the presentation of scaffolded mathematics content to first graders, a dynamic assessment approach was found to provide greater insight into the learning capabilities of the child relative to traditional assessment and particularly with regard to the child’s word problem-solving.
In the past, Ginsburg (1997) suggested video-recording dynamic math interviews for subsequent review and discussion, the creation of guidelines for evaluation purposes, and the explicit assessment of inter-interpreter reliability. Further information on the validity and benefits of dynamic math assessment of educational needs is not available. Therefore, insight into the conditions needed to determine the validity of dynamic math interviews and the adequacy and the benefits of such an approach to identify math learning needs, is thus needed.