Morphological analysis in school-age children: dynamic assessment of a word learning strategy

Morphological analysis is the ability to use knowledge of root words and affixes to determine the meanings of unfamiliar, morphologically complex words. Beginning in the early elementary grades and continuing into the college years, it is a primary strategy that is used to increase one's knowledge of difficult vocabulary. The purpose of this study was to investigate how well school-age children could use morphological analysis to explain word meanings. The study was also designed to examine individual differences in this domain in relation to children's broader literacy skills.

The ability of 50 typically developing sixth-grade children to explain the meanings of 15 low-frequency morphologically complex words was measured using a dynamic assessment procedure. Children were individually interviewed and were asked to define each word. As needed, varying degrees of adult scaffolding were provided. Children were also assessed for their word knowledge and reading comprehension.

Performance on the dynamic assessment task revealed a wide range of skill levels in these children and was positively related to the children's literacy levels. Although some children readily used morphological analysis to explain the meanings of unfamiliar words, others required greater amounts of adult scaffolding to be successful.

Suggestions are offered for ways to employ dynamic assessment to examine children's ability to use morphological analysis as a word learning strategy.