Dynamic assessment (DA), rooted in Vygotsky’s zone of proximal
development (ZPD), is an approach which offers a diagnostic understanding of
where the learner is at while simultaneously promoting development by offering the
learner specific mediations or very small ‘hints’ during the assessment procedure,
assisting the learner to move beyond or overcome, impediments to problem solving
(Vygotsky, 1978; Lantolf & Poehner, 2008).