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Dynamic Assessment as an early predictor of reading and writing abilities in Italian first graders: The Verbal Learning project.

Gaia Spicciarelli

Universidad de Pádova

Reading and spelling are specific cases of Verbal Learning. The particular VL mechanisms impaired in children with reading and writing difficulties are, however, still debated.

While the role of traditional predictors of the acquisition of reading and writing skills has been already investigated, research on the role of dynamic assessment is still lacking. Dynamic assessment provides a direct measure of learning potential, which refers to the child’s ability to learn something new when given instructions and feedback. By providing a little training on decoding, the dynamic assessment offers a direct measure of a child’s ability to learn how to decode before he has had any formal reading instruction. For this reason, it could be a useful tool for the early detection of children at risk for reading difficulties who, therefore, need a targeted support and a timely intervention. 

Some studies examined the role of dynamic assessment in Danish kindergarteners (2017) and dyslexic adults (2012), but these findings may apply only to opaque orthographies. For this reason, the present study aims to investigate if orthography depth affects learning processes (as the Italian language has a shallow orthography). This study also aims to identify what specific mechanisms of the Verbal Learning are impaired in children who struggle to learn to read and write.

Bio

Gaia Spicciarelli es investigadora en Psicología del Desarrollo en el Departamento de Neurociencia de la Universidad de Pádova (Italia). Su actividad investigadora se centra en los procesos de memoria y aprendizaje en niños con audición normal y en niños sordos con implantes cocleares.