Investigating reading, critical-thinking and metacognitive abilities of possible twice-exceptional primary/elementary school students: An on-line inquiry

Abstract

Standardised achievement tests alone cannot define the learning profile of twice-exceptional students. 'Real-time' teacher observations/assessments made during students' task applications (referred to as an on-line strategy) could be a useful data source. To investigate one such source, a think-aloud procedure and an assessment framework (the Adaptive Think-Aloud Framework – ATAF) were trialled focusing on students' abilities in reading, critical thinking and metacognition. Using a case-study design, six purposively selected primary/elementary school students (N = 6), aged 9 to 12 years, read text samples aloud and articulated their interpretations/perceptions. Data analyses indicate that oral reading results supported students' self-report about their reading abilities and contributed to more comprehensive reading profiles. There were, however, some indications of high ability in critical thinking and metacognition that were not always consistent with students' school standardised-test results. Subject to further trialling, the think-aloud/ATAF combination shows promise as an instructional/assessment strategy for the investigation of twice-exceptionality, and for wider classroom usage.