Examining Online Dynamic Assessment and Use of Cognitive Reading Comprehension Strategies among Iranian Male and Female ESP Students: Students’ Attitudes in Focus

Abstract

Dynamic Assessment (DA) is a novel revolution in the area of integrating language testing and language instruction. The Online Dynamic Assessment, a more recent development of DA which provides learners with automatic mediations online deserves to receive more attention from the teachers and test developers. The present survey intended to inspect the impacts of online DA on cognitive use of reading comprehension strategies among Iranian ESP students. In addition, the ESP students’ attitudes towards online DA were investigated in this research. To achieve these objectives, 80 Ph.D. students of general psychology studying at Islamic Azad University, Najafabad Branch, Iran functioned as the population of the research. The selected respondents were then separated into two experimental groups (EGs) of males and females. After that, the questionnaire of cognitive strategies use was distributed among both groups. Afterwards, the online DA was run to teach reading psychological texts to both groups. In so doing, they all joined the online Big Blue Button virtual learning site prepared by the university. After teaching ten reading psychological texts, the cognitive strategies use questionnaire was re-administered along with the attitude questionnaire to uncover the impacts of the treatment and understand the perceptions of the subjects about the application of online DA. The gathered data received statistical analyses and the results displayed that the online DA had significant impacts on the use of cognitive reading strategies of both Iranian female and male ESP students. Moreover, the outcomes revealed that there was not a substantial difference amongst post-tests of both EGs. The findings of one sample t-test demonstrated that both groups presented a favorable attitude towards utilizing online DA. The implications and suggestions were provided at the end the study.