Abstract
Conventional testing focuses on the child as he/she appears to perform on various test items in the present time. The dynamic assessment model (Feuerstein, Rand, & Hoffman, 1979) taps the individual’s performance before, during, and after a learning situation. I suggest in this chapter the application of the theory of cognitive modifiability, which serves as the basis for dynamic assessment, to the evaluation of the adult-child interactions occurring in the homes of infants and young children. The basic assumption behind this approach is that, because the major agents of change in children’s development are their primary caregivers, assessing the quality of the interaction between children and their caregivers is necessary for the construction of a valid basis for the evaluation of children’s chances for cognitive development. Many previous attempts have been made to evaluate the characteristics of the environment that contribute to children’s development. Of all these variables the ones most commonly used during testing are demographics such as parental education or IQ, parental occupation, and number of siblings. Variables such as these have been found to correlate significantly with measures of cognitive performance, but this does not explain the process of cause and effect that may serve as a basis for intervention geared to promote growth and development.
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Klein, P.S. (1992). Assessing Cognitive Modifiability of Infants and Toddlers: Observations Based on Mediated Learning Experience. In: Haywood, H.C., Tzuriel, D. (eds) Interactive Assessment. Disorders of Human Learning, Behavior, and Communication. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-4392-2_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-4392-2_9
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