Prompting All Students to Learn: Examining Dynamic Assessment of Special Needs and Typical Students in a Prekindergarten Inclusive French Program

Abstract

This study examined a teacher's prompting strategies and the use of dynamic assessment (DA) in an inclusive prekindergarten French program. Prior research has shown that DA is an effective method to assess both foreign language learning and first language development for typically developing students and for students with special needs, as well as for identifying bilingual students with language impairments. Data were collected from videorecordings of class sessions, DA scores, and a questionnaire on which the French teacher reported her classroom prompting strategies and predicted students’ needs for prompting on the DA. Scores on the DA and the French teacher's predictions of student prompting needs were analyzed through independent t tests. In addition, 30 videorecordings of class sessions were analyzed for prompting strategies. The results indicated that DA can provide insights about the learning of typically developing students and special needs students in a prekindergarten French program. Although students with special needs required both more prompting and more practice time than typically developing students, all special needs students in this study were able to provide at least one second language response during the DA.