v5 is 1 2018 articles...nonlinguistic representations. to increase students’ ability to store and...

JournalofTeacherActionResearch-Volume5,Issue1,2018,

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JTAR EDITORS

JTAR JournalofTeacherActionResearch

Volume5,Issue1,2018

TheValueofIntegratingScienceandLiteracy 1

forStrugglingStudents

EmilyA.Holtz

LynneMaselWalters

UsingLiteracyStrategieswithMiddleSchoolELLStudentstoImprove 17

theirLiteracySkills

NicholeL.Smith

MarielGomezdelaTorre-Cerfontaine

BarbaraM.Butler

DawnWaegerle

UsingaConceptofDefinitionWordMaptoTeachScienceVocabulary 36

KimberlyJones

UsingActionResearchinaGraduateLiteracyClasstoConnectTheory 57

toPractice:AReplicationStudy

JuanAraujo JoelBlaylock

PearlGarden SandraHogg

LizaLarue DeborahMurillo

BonnieStill AngelaVenters

LesliePatterson

GentsClubMentorshipProgram 75

TyeParr

BeckySinclair

SusanSzabo

JournalofTeacherActionResearch

JournalofTeacherActionResearch- Volume5,Issue1,2018,<practicalteacherresearch.com>,ISSN#2332-2233©JTAR.AllRights

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USINGACONCEPTOFDEFINITIONWORDMAPTOTEACHSCIENCEVOCABULARYKimberlyJones

Gregory-PortlandIndependentSchoolDistrict

AbstractThepurposeofthisstudywastoexaminetheteachingofsciencevocabularyusingaconceptofdefinitionwordmaponstudents’vocabularyknowledgeandcomprehensionofsciencetextsandconcepts.Thirty-sevenfourth-gradestudentsfromamediumsized,southern,suburbanelementaryschoolparticipatedinthestudy.Thisstudywasconductedusingamixed,quasi-experimentalapproach.Bothquantitativeandqualitativedatawerecollectedandanalyzedthroughpre-andpostsurveys,pre-andposttests,afocusgroupinterview,studentworksamples,andteacherobservations.Resultsofthestudyindicatedthatstudents’vocabularyknowledgeandabilitytoindependentlygeneratevocabularydefinitionssignificantlyincreased.Thefocusgroupthemesshowedthatstudentsfeltmoreconfidentintheirunderstandingofsciencevocabularyandconceptsandwerebetterabletovisualizewhatawordmeantduringclassroomlessonsorwhilereading.Theresultsofthisstudycanbeusedtohelpeducatorsimprovetheirsciencevocabularyinstructionandstudentsuccesswithcontentareatextsandconcepts.

Keywords:teacheractionresearch,graphicorganizer,vocabulary,learningstrategies,linguistic,nonlinguistic,conceptofdefinition,wordmaps

Introduction

Throughouttheprimarygrades,classroominstructionfocusesprimarilyonteachingstudentshowtoread.Chall(1983)explainsthatstudentsinsecondandthird-gradereadtoconfirmwhattheyalreadyknow.Atthisstage,students“gaincourageandskillinusingcontextandthusgainfluencyandspeed”(Chall,1983,p.19).Beginninginfourth-grade,studentstransitionfromlearningtoreadtoreadingtolearnnewinformation(Chall,1983).Studentsareexpectedtoindependentlyreadcontentareatextstogainknowledgeoftheconceptstaught.Theymustalsounderstandagreatnumberofvocabularywordstosuccessfullyparticipateinandcomprehendacademicdiscussions.However,somestudentslackthenecessaryvocabularytosuccessfullyaccomplishthesetasks.Vocabularyknowledgehasasignificantimpactoncomprehension,fluency,andachievement(Bromley,2007).Thisholdstrueforallcontentareas,includingscience-thusvocabularymustbeexplicitlytaught.Oneapproachtodirectvocabularyinstructioninscienceistheuseofaconceptofdefinitionwordmap.AconceptofdefinitionwordmapisagraphicorganizerdevelopedbySchwartzandRaphael(1985)that



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providescategorizedwordslinkedtoacentralconcept,illustratesexamples,describesthepropertiesofawordorconcept,andprovidesaspringboardforin-depthdiscussiononthecentralconcept.Conceptofdefinitionwordmapshelpstudentstoaccesspriorknowledge,remainactivelyengagedinthelearningprocess,andmakeconnectionsbetweennewandpreviousknowledge.

LiteratureReview

TheoreticalFramework.Pritchard(2009)explainedtheimportanceoflearningstylestostudentsuccessandthesignificantroletheyplayininstruction.Learningstylescanbedefinedasthemannerinwhichanindividualthinks,learns,processesinformation,anddemonstratestheirlearning(Pritchard,2009).Visuallearnerspreferinformationbepresentedinwrittenformsuchastext,graphs,anddisplays;auditorylearnersrespondbesttodiscussions,lectures,andhearingstories;andkinestheticlearnerspreferactivitiesthatelicitfeelingsorphysicalexperiences.Additionally,DunnandDunn(1979)explainedthatlearningstylesconsistofcombinationsofenvironmental,emotional,sociological,andphysicalelements.Theseelementsinvolvethefollowingfactors:sound,light,temperature,design,structure,persistence,responsibility,motivation,workingalone,workingwithpeers,workingwithadults,timeofday,andneedformobility.DunnandDunn(1979)foundthroughtheirresearchthatteachersoftenteachinthewaythattheythemselveslearnedbest,consideringittobethemosteffective.However,whatworksbestforteachersisnotalwayswhatworksbestforthestudentsintheirclassrooms.Studentachievementisincreasedwhenstudentsaretaughtinamannerthatalignswiththeirindividuallearningstyle(Dunn&Dunn,1979;Pritchard,2009).Aconceptofdefinitionwordmapprovidesteacherswiththeopportunitytomeettheneedsofstudentswithvariouslearningstyles.Visuallearnersmaybeengagedbytheorganizedwrittentext,auditorylearnersthroughin-depthdiscussionoftheconcept,andkinestheticlearnersbythefeelingselicitedfromthepersonalconnectionsandstoriesdiscussedabouttheconcepts.Furthermore,thegraphicorganizerprovidesstructureforthosestudentsthatneeditandcanbecompletedalone,withpeers,orwiththeteacher.Thisvarietyincreasesthechanceofreachingeverylearnerandaidsinstoringtheinformationinlong-termmemory.

VocabularyInstruction.Somestudentsstrugglewiththevocabularypresentedinscienceinstructionandtexts,limitingtheirscientificcommunicationskills.Vocabularydevelopmentisimportantbecauseitisdirectlyrelatedtoastudent’sabilitytocomprehendcontentareatextsandconcepts(Bromley,2007;Cohen,2012;Manzo,Manzo,&Thomas,2006).AccordingtoGillis(2015),JohnsonandPearson(1984),andRupley,Nichols,Mraz,andBlair(2012),studentslearnnewvocabularybyaccessingpriorknowledgeandrelatingittowordsandconceptsalreadyfamiliartothem.Thisenablesthemto“develop,expand,andrefinetheconceptsthatwordrepresents”(Rupleyetal.,2012,p.302).Manyscholarshaveassertedthatoncestudentshavesufficientbackgroundknowledge,theymustbeactivelyinvolvedintheexplicitteachingof



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techniquesfordiscoveringvocabularymeaning,pronunciations,andwordparts(Johnson&Pearson,1984;Roberts&Truxaw,2013;Rupleyetal.,2012).

JohnsonandPearson(1984)designedanactivity-basedframeworkforvocabularyinstructioninreading,whichincludestheuseofsemanticmaps.Theysuggestedthatteacherschooseakeywordfromtheunit,listitontheboard,solicitrelatedwordsfromthestudentsthroughbrainstorming,organizethewordsintocategories,writethecategorizedlistsontheboardaroundtheunitword,andleadanin-depthdiscussionwithstudentsaboutthecompletedmap.Theywrotethatsematicmappingishighlybeneficialduringgroupinstructionbecausestudentsarelisteningtooneanother’sideasandarepracticingusingthewordsinmeaningfulcommunication.

SchwartzandRaphael(1985)refinedJohnsonandPearson’s(1978)semanticmapanddevelopedtheconceptofdefinitionwordmapaspartofanundergraduatestudyskillsclass.Likesemanticmaps,aconceptofdefinitionwordmapisagraphicorganizerthatprovidescategorizedwordslinkedtoacentralconcept-however,italsoillustratesexamplesanddescribesthepropertiesofawordorconcept.Theynextappliedtheconceptofdefinitionwordmapininstructionalresearchwithstudentsineighth-gradescienceandfourth-gradereading.SchwartzandRaphaelexplainedthattheconceptofdefinitionwordmapstressestheimportanceofstudentsbeingabletofigureoutthemeaningofawordontheirown,teachesthemwhatinformationmakesupadefinition,howtousecontextclues,andhowtousebackgroundknowledgetoincreasetheirunderstandingofwordsusedincontentareasotherthanreading.Studentsareexplicitlytaughttolocategeneralconceptwordstocategorizethevocabularyword,usedetailstodescribetheword,andrefinetheirthinkingtofindexamples.Thisprocessinvolvesusingcontextclues,generatingandwritingdefinitions,usingresourcessuchasdictionaries,andeventuallyinternalizingtheprocess.

Gillis(2015)describedtheimportanceofvocabularyinstructioninnotonlyreading,butmath,science,andsocialstudiesaswell.Shesuggestedtheuseoftheconceptofdefinitionwordmaptohelpstudents“deepentheirunderstandingofthetechnicalvocabularyassociatedwithconceptsinEnglish,mathematics,science,andsocialstudies”(p.282).Gillis(2015)alsonotedthattheconceptofdefinitionwordmapcanbeadaptedtoworkforavarietyofvocabularytermsandthattheyareeffectivewhenstudyingwordsthathavemultiplemeanings.

NonlinguisticRepresentations.Toincreasestudents’abilitytostoreandretrieveinformationinpermanentmemory,studentsneedtoprocessinformationinlinguisticandnonlinguisticways(Marzano,2004).Cohen(2012)discussedtheeffectivenessofincorporatingimagery,ornonlinguisticrepresentations,withdirectvocabularyinstructioninscience.Contentareas,suchasscience,havecopiousamountsofunknownvocabularythatareessentialtostudentscomprehendingtheconceptsbeingtaught.Theauthorsuggestsintegratingimagerywithdirectvocabularyinstructionasaneffectivestrategyforincreasingvocabularyknowledge.Cohenexplainedthatillustrationsprovidestudentswithvisualcluestohelpconnectwordstotheirmeaningandcommitthemtomemory.Theeffectivenessofimagerycanbeincreasedif



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studentscreatetheimagesthemselves,withorwithoutteacherassistance,andcombinethemwiththeuseofsemanticmaps.

DualCodingTheorysuggeststhatbothverbalprocessingandnonverbalrepresentationsareneededtodevelopknowledgeandmeaning,aswellastocommitthesetomemory(Sadoski,2005).Sadoski(2005)explainedthattheverbalcode,orlinguisticrepresentation,consistsofspeechandwrittenwords,whilethenonverbalcode,ornonlinguisticrepresentation,involvesimagesofobjectsorevents.Theprimecognitivemethodofnonverbalrepresentationismentalimageryandislinkedtothedevelopmentofspecificwordmeaning(Sadoski,2005).Concretelanguageelicitsawebofrelatedwordstohelpreadersmakeconnectionstopriorknowledge,whilesimultaneouslyprovokingmentalimagesrelatedtothosewords.Thecombinationofverbalandnonverbalrepresentations(linguisticandnonlinguistic)activateboththerightandlefthemispheresofthebrain,thereforeattendingtoindividualdifferencesinlearningandincreasingthechancethatvocabularyknowledgeisstoredinlongtermmemory(Sadoski,2005).

Methodology

ResearchQuestions.Thereisanabundanceofresearch(e.g.,Elleman,Lindo,Morphy,&Compton,2009;NICHD,2000;Stahl&Fairbanks,1986)reflectingtheimportanceofvocabularydevelopmentoncomprehensioninthereadingclassroom,aswellasstrategiestoimprovevocabularyknowledge.However,limitedresearchisavailableonhowvocabularydevelopmentandassociatedstrategiescanbeextendedtothescienceclassroomtoimprovestudentsuccesswithconceptsandcomprehensionoftexts.Thepurposeofthisstudywastoexaminetheefficacyofteachingsciencevocabularyusingtheconceptofdefinitionwordmap.Theresearchersoughttodetermineitseffectonstudents’vocabularyknowledgeandhowstudentsusedtheconceptofdefinitionwordmaptosupporttheirunderstandingofcontentareatextsand/orconcepts.

Context.Thestudywasconductedwithasampleofconvenience.Thirty-sevenfourth-gradestudentsfromtwooftheresearcher’sclassperiodsparticipatedinthestudy.Oneclassperiodconsistingof19students,threeofwhichwereELLs,receivedinterventioninlinewiththisresearch.Anotherclassperiodconsistingof18students,threeofwhichwereELLs,servedasacontrolgroup.Thestudentsweregivenapre-surveyandpretesttodetermineabaseline.Therewerenostatisticallysignificantdifferencesbetweenthetwogroupsbasedonthepre-surveyandpretestmeasures,andLevene’sfstatisticwasnotsignificant,therefore,pre-experimentalequivalencewasassumed.Theresearcher’sremainingclassperiod,consistingsolelyofstudentsintheGiftedandTalentedprogram,wasexcludedfromtheresearch.

Theparticipantswerefromamediumsized,southern,suburbanelementaryschool,whichserves595fourthandfifth-gradestudents.Thestudentpopulationwas1.4%AfricanAmerican,63.9%Hispanic,32.9%White,.5%AmericanIndian,1.4%Asian/PacificIslander,48.7%economicallydisadvantaged,and4.7%ELL.Theinterventiongroupwas63.2%Hispanic,31.6%



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White,and5.3%Asian,36.8%economicallydisadvantaged,and15.8%ELL.Thecontrolgroupwas73.7%Hispanic,26.3%White,52.6%economicallydisadvantaged,and15.8%ELL.

DataCollectionandProcedures.Thisstudywasconductedusingamixed,quasi-experimentalapproach.Apre-andpostsurveyandpre-andposttestwereutilizedforquantitativedatacollectionandanalysis,aswellastoinformfuturevocabularyinstruction.Qualitativedatawascollectedintheformoffocusgrouptranscriptions,studentworksamples,andteacherobservations.Worksampleswereobtainedandteacherobservationsweremadeaftereachofthetenstudent-completedconceptofdefinitionwordmaplessons.

Todetermineabaseline,thefirstpieceofquantitativedatawascollectedbygivingthestudentsapre-survey(seeAppendixB)todeterminetheirbackgroundknowledgeandassesstheirabilitytoindependentlygeneratecorrectdefinitionsforeachvocabularyword.Studentswereaskedtomarkwhethertheydidnotknowthewordatall,hadheardofitbutdidnotknowwhatitmeant,orknewitandcouldwriteabriefdefinition.Forexample,onewordonthevocabularysurveyis‘species’.Studentscompletedoneofthefollowingactions:placedacheckmarkinthecolumnlabeled“Idonotknowthiswordatall”,placedacheckmarkinthecolumnlabeled“Ihaveseenthisword,butIcannotdefineit”,ortheyindicatedthattheyknewthewordbywritingadefinition.ThesurveywasadaptedfromBruun,Diaz,andDykes(2015).

Asecondpieceofquantitativedatawascollectedbygivingthestudentsapretest(seeAppendixC)toassesstheirvocabularyknowledgewhengivendefinitionchoices.Thetestwasformattedasamatchingactivity.Thestudentsweregivenalistofvocabularywordsanddefinitionsandaskedtomatcheachdefinitiontothecorrectvocabularyword.Forexample,fortheword‘species’,studentsreadalistofdefinitionsandidentified“Agroupoforganismswithsimilarcharacteristicsthatallowthemtoreproduce”asthecorrectdefinition.Studentsrepeatedthisprocessforeachwordonthevocabularylist.

Thestudywasconductedduringthesecondsemesteroftheschoolyear.Althoughmanyrelatedconceptsaretaughtinpreviousgradelevels,theresearchercouldnotattesttowhetherstudentsreceivedinstructiononthespecificvocabularywordsinthestudyortowhatextenttheymayhavebeentaught.Thewordswerenottaughtordiscussedbytheresearcherpriortotheintervention.Duringweekoneofthestudy,thestudentswereintroducedtotwovocabularywordsthroughthecontextofclassroomsciencelessons.Wordswerenotdirectlytaught;rather,astheteacherpresentedlessonsandactivities,thestudentshadtodrawconclusionsabouteachword’smeaning.Aseachlessonprogressed,theteacherstoppedperiodicallytoallowstudentstoreflectonwhattheyhaddiscussedandguidedthemthroughcompletingtheconceptofdefinitionwordmap(seeAppendixA)foreachvocabularywordthroughteacherdemonstration.Teacherdemonstrationforthefirsttwovocabularywordsconsistedofbrieflybrainstormingideaswiththestudentsofwhatcouldbewrittenineachboxofthewordmapandallowingthemtoindividuallychoosewhichideastheywouldliketowrite



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ontheirpaper.Studentsrecordedinformationontheconceptofdefinitionwordmapintheirownwordsandusingtheirowngraphicrepresentations(seeFigure1).Aftereachconceptofdefinitionwordmapwascompleted,worksamplesandteacherobservationswerecollectedtoprovidequalitativeinformationonthestudents’understandingofeachvocabularyword.Thecontrolgroupreceivedvocabularyinstructioninlinewiththeschool’scurriculum.Thisinstructionentailedstudentslookingeachvocabularywordupintheirtextbook’sglossary,makinganotecardforeachword,acorrespondingnotecardforeachdefinition,mixingthecardsup,andworkingwithapartnertomatcheachwordtoitsdefinition.



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Figure1:StudentCompletedConceptofDefinitionWordMaps

Thestudentslearnedthreevocabularywordseachweekduringweekstwoandthreeofthestudy.Theamountofteachersupportprovidedduringthelessonstocompletetheconceptofdefinitionwordmapswasgraduallyreleased,allowingstudentstoworkmoreindependently.Studentslearnedtwovocabularywordsduringthefourthweekofthestudyandcompletedthegraphicorganizersindependently.Studentscouldjotdowntheirthoughtsonthegraphicorganizeratanypointduringthelessons.Aftereachconceptofdefinitionwordmapwascompleted,worksamplesandinformalteacherobservationswerecollectedtoprovidequalitativeinformationonthestudents’understandingofeachvocabularyword.Informalteacherobservationfocusedonstudentengagement.Todeterminevocabularygrowth,thestudentsalsocompletedthepostsurveyandposttestattheendofthefourthweek.

Onthelastdayofthestudy,afocusgroupwasheldandtranscribed.Membercheckingwasemployedtoestablishtrustworthinessoffocusgrouptranscriptions.Aftertranscription,students’responseswereanalyzedtoidentifyemergingcategories,determiningiftherewereanycommonthemes.Datawascodedforthefollowingcategories:allowingstudentstheabilitytoseeorvisualizewhatawordmeans,increasingvocabularyknowledge,howstudentsusethatknowledge,andstudentexcitement.Studentconceptofdefinitionwordmapsamplesandteacherobservationswerealsousedtocollectqualitativedata.



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ResultsandDiscussion

EachThisquasi-experimentalstudyexaminedtheeffectsofteachingsciencevocabularyutilizingtheconceptofdefinitionwordmaponthevocabularyknowledgeoffourth-gradestudentsascomparedtothestrategiesusuallyusedtoteachvocabularyinthissetting.Usingasampleofconvenience,37fourth-gradersfromtwooftheresearcher’sclassperiodsparticipatedinthestudy.Oneclassperiod,consistingof19students,servedastheinterventiongroup.Anotherclassperiod,consistingof18students,servedasacontrolgroup.Theparticipantswereadministeredapre-andpostsurveyandpre-andposttesttodeterminevocabularyknowledgegrowth.

Theresearchercreatedthevocabularysurveyandvocabularytest.Toestablishvalidity,bothassessmentswerepeerreviewedbytwocolleaguestodetermineiftheywereeffectivemeasuresofthevocabularywordscontainedwithinthestudy.Peerreviewwasalsousediftheresearcherhadanydoubtsastothecorrectnessofstudentcreateddefinitionsonthevocabularysurvey.

Pre-andPostsurvey:IndependentlyGenerateDefinitions.Studentsweregivenavocabularysurveyatthebeginningandendofthestudytodeterminetheirabilitytoindependentlydefinesciencevocabularywords.Studentswereaskedtomarkwhethertheydidnotknowthewordatall,hadheardofitbutdidnotknowwhatitmeant,orknewitandcouldwriteabriefdefinition.Apairedsamplet-testwasconductedtoevaluatetheimpactoftheinterventiononstudents’vocabularyknowledge.Therewasastatisticallysignificantdifferenceinvocabularyscoresfrompre-survey[M=26.84,SD=16.00]topostsurvey[M=66.31,SD=19.78,t(18)=-9.06,p<0.001]fortheinterventiongroup,thusthenullhypothesiswasrejected.Therewasalsoastatisticallysignificantdifferenceinvocabularyscoresfrompre-survey[M=31.11,SD=22.20]topostsurvey[M=54.44,SD=19.77,t(17)=-6.02,p<0.001]forthecontrolgroup.Theeffectsize,measuredusingCohen’sd,waslarge(d=2.19).Thecontrolgroup’setasquaredstatistic(d=1.11)indicatedalargeeffectsizeaswell.TheseresultsaresummarizedinTable1.



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Table1:PairedSamplesT-TestsforPreandPostSurvey:IndependentlyGenerateDefinitions

Measure

Presurvey

M(SD)PostsurveyM(SD) T p ES

a

Treatment(n=19)26.84(16.00)

66.31(19.78) -9.06 <0.001 2.19

Control(n=18)31.11(22.20)

54.44(19.77) -6.02 <0.001 1.11

Note.ES,effectsizeasmeasuredbyCohen’sd.,2=small,.5=medium,.8=large

Thepre-andpostsurveyresultsarealsoshowninFigure2.Studentsinthetreatmentgroupmadehigherscoresthanthecontrolgroupbytheendofthestudy.Thetreatmentgroupalsomadegreatergainsthanthecontrolgroup,39pointsand23pointsrespectively.

Figure2:Pre-andPostsurvey:IndependentlyGenerateDefinitionsResults

Theresultsofthevocabularysurveysindicatethatthestudents’abilitytoindependentlydefinevocabularywordswassignificantlyincreasedbyutilizingaconceptofdefinitionwordmapduringscienceinstruction.Theseresultssupporttheresearcher’shypothesisthattheconceptofdefinitionwordmapwaseffectiveindevelopingsciencevocabularyknowledge.Thefindingsalsosuggestthatthestudentshadadeeperunderstandingofthevocabularywords’meaningsandmaybemoresuccessfulinclassroomsciencediscussions,thuspositivelyimpactingstudentlearning.



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Pre-andPosttest:Matching.Studentsweregivenavocabularytestatthebeginningandendofthestudytodeterminetheirabilitytomatchwordstothecorrectdefinitions.Thestudentsweregivenalistofvocabularywordsanddefinitionsandaskedtomatcheachdefinitiontothecorrectvocabularyword.Therewasastatisticallysignificantdifferenceinvocabularyscoresfrompretest[M=53.68,SD=25.21]toposttest[M=72.63,SD=20.77,t(18)=-4.32,p<0.001]fortheinterventiongroup,thusthenullhypothesiswasrejected.Therewasalsoastatisticallysignificantdifferenceinvocabularyscoresfrompretest[M=56.67,SD=19.70]toposttest[M=78.89,SD=25.87,t(17)=-2.99,p<0.01]forthecontrolgroup.Theeffectsize,measuredusingCohen’sd,waslarge(d=.82).Thecontrolgroup’setasquaredstatistic(d=.97)indicatedalargeeffectsizeaswell.TheseresultsareshowninTable2.

Table2:PairedSamplesT-TestsforPreandPosttest:Matching

Measure

PretestM

(SD)PosttestM(SD) T p ES

a

Treatment(n=19)53.68(25.21)

72.63(20.77) -4.32 <0.001 0.82

Control(n=18)56.67(19.70)

78.89(25.87) -2.99 <0.01 0.97

Note.ES,effectsizeasmeasuredbyCohen’sd.,.2=small,.5=medium,.8=large

Thepre-andposttestresultsarealsoshowninFigure3.Thecontrolgroupearnedhigherscoresthantheinterventiongroupbytheendofthestudy.Studentsintheinterventionandcontrolgroupsmadesimilargainsfromthebeginningofthestudytotheend,19pointsand22pointsrespectively.



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Figure3Pre-andPosttest:MatchingResults

Theresultsofthevocabularytestsindicatethatstudents’vocabularyknowledgethroughmatchingwordstodefinitionsincreasedaswell,althoughatalowerratethanthecontrolgroup.Theseresultsdidnotsupporttheresearcher’shypothesisinallaspects.Althoughthestudents’scoresincreasedsignificantly,theydidnotsurpassthescoresofthecontrolgroup.Althoughthevocabularymatchingtestwasaneffectivemeasureofthevocabularywordsandwaswrittenatalevelappropriateforfourth-gradestudents,notallstudentsreadongradelevel.Thismayhavelimitedstudents’performanceonthetestandmaybebetteradministeredinthefutureifreadaloudtostudents.

QualitativeAnalysis.Thisstudyalsosoughttodeterminethewaysinwhichstudentscanusetheconceptofdefinitionwordmaptosupporttheirunderstandingofcontentareatextsand/orconcepts.Atthecompletionofthestudy,afocusgroupwasconductedtodeterminecommonthemesabouthowthestudentsusetheconceptofdefinitionwordmaptoaidintheircomprehensionofsciencediscussionsandconceptsandtheirfeelingstowardsusingit.Thefocusgroupwasguidedbythefollowingquestions:

1. Wehavebeenworkingonthisnewgraphicorganizer.Canyoutellmehowit’shelpedyouorhowitmighthelpyouinthefuture?

2. Wheremightyouseethewords?

Studentresponsesweretranscribedandmembercheckingwasemployedtoestablishvalidity.Analysisofstudentresponsestoidentifyemergingcategoriesrevealedthefollowingthemes:allowingstudentstheabilitytoseeorvisualizewhatawordmeans,increasingvocabularyknowledge,howstudentsusethatknowledge,andstudentexcitement.Theresearcheralsoanalyzedworksamplescompletedbystudentsduringthetimeoftheinterventionandrecordedobservationalnotes.



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Thestudentsinthefocusgroupindicatedthatusingtheconceptofdefinitionwordmaptolearnvocabularymeaningshelpedthemtovisualizethewordtobetterunderstandit.Onestudentresponded,"Itshowsmeexamplesandpicturesofitanditmakesmeunderstandthewordmore."Anotherstudentsaid,"Ithelpsmeimaginewhatthewordmeans."Figure4showsastudent-completedconceptofdefinitionwordmap.

Figure4:StudentCompletedConceptofDefinitionWordMap

Theresponsesprovidedinthefocusgroupindicatedthatthestudentsfelttheirvocabularyknowledgehadincreasedfromthebeginningofthestudytotheendandthattheirknowledgeofvocabularywordscanhelpthemwhenreading.Onestudentdeclared,"Istartedknowingwhatallthewordsmeantandit'llhelpmeifoneofthewordsisinabook."Thestudentsalsospecifiedthattheirknowledgewillhelpthemknowwhatawordmeansiftheyseethewordonasign,poster,orontheInternet.Anotherstudentstated,"Inthefuturewemightrunintothewordsandthenweknowwhatitis."

Whilecompletingthepostsurvey,theresearcherobservedthatstudentsintheinterventiongroupweremuchmoreconfidentinindependentlycomposingandwritingvocabularymeaningsthanthecontrolgroup(seeFigure5).Studentsintheinterventiongroupwrotethedefinitionsindependently,whilestudentsinthecontrolgroupwerehesitanttowritetheirthoughtsandraisedtheirhandstoaskforassistanceonaregularbasis.Theresultsfromthepostsurveysupportthisobservation.



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Figure5:StudentCompletedPostsurveys

Theresearcherobservedthatstudentsintheinterventiongroupbecamemoreexcitedtolearnnewvocabularywordsasthestudyprogressed.Duringthefirstweek,studentsgaveshortdescriptionsoutloudduringclassroomdiscussionsandonthegraphicorganizer,withonlyafewstudentsraisingtheirhandtosharetheirideas.Bytheendofthestudy,moststudentswereexcitedtosharetheirindependentlygenerateddefinitionswiththeclass.Studentsalsoshowedincreasedeagernesstocreatesentenceswitheachwordatthebottomofthegraphicorganizer.Duringthefirstweek,studentsneededassistancetocreateasentenceusingtheday’svocabularyword.However,aftertheintervention,severalstudentsaskediftheycouldwritemorethanonesentenceusingthevocabularyword.

ImplicationsandConclusion

Thepurposeofthisstudywastoexaminetheteachingofsciencevocabularyusingtheconceptofdefinitionwordmaponstudents’knowledgeandcomprehensionofsciencetextsandconcepts.Thisresearchstudyprovidesevidenceofpositiveoutcomesintheuseoftheconceptofdefinitionwordmapforvocabularyinstructioninscienceclassrooms.Utilizingtheconceptofdefinitionwordmapincreasedvocabularyknowledgebyallowingstudentstoaccessbackgroundknowledge,makeconnectionsbetweennewandpriorknowledge,construct



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definitionsindependently,exploreexamplesandnon-examples,andvisualizeaword’smeaninginanengagingmanner,thusincreasingcomprehensionofcontentareatextsandconcepts.

Theresultsofthesurvey,test,andresearcherobservationssupportthefindingsofSchwartzandRaphael(1985)andGillis(2015).Theydemonstratehowtheconceptofdefinitionwordmaphelpedstudentsusedetailstodescribethewords,refinetheirthinkingtofindexamples,andgeneratetheirowndefinitions.TheresultsofthefocusgroupsupportthefindingsofCohen(2012)andindicatethatintegratingimagery,ornonlinguisticcommunication,withvocabularyinstructionwasaneffectivestrategyforincreasingthestudents’vocabularyknowledge.

Asvocabularydevelopmentisdirectlyrelatedtoastudent’sabilitytocomprehendcontentareatextsandconcepts(Bromley,2007;Cohen,2012;Manzo,Manzo,&Thomas,2006),developingvocabularyknowledgeiscrucialtostudentsuccess.Utilizingtheconceptofdefinitionwordmapoffersteacherstheopportunitytodirectlyteachvocabularyinameaningfulandengagingmannerandallowsstudentstoutilizebothlinguisticandnonlinguisticrepresentationstocommitvocabularytolong-termmemory.

Takingalldataintoconsideration,theresultssuggestthatstudentsintheinterventiongroupmaybemoresuccessfulincomprehendingclassroomlessonsandcontentareatextsandhaveanincreasedabilitytoapplythisknowledgeindailylifesituationsthanthecontrolgroup.Theresearch-basedknowledgeprovidedbythisstudywillenableboththeresearcherandtheteachersontheresearcher’scampustoredesigntheirsciencevocabularyinstructiontoensurefuturestudentsuccess.Theconceptofdefinitionwordmapwillbeutilizedastheprimarysourceofvocabularyinstructionwithineachteachingunit,providingstudentswiththeopportunitytobrainstormideas,usedetailstodescribewords,utilizebackgroundknowledge,usebothlinguisticandnonlinguisticrepresentations,andparticipateinin-depthdiscussionstoincreasetheirunderstandingofsciencevocabulary.Studentswillbeslowlyguidedthroughcreatingtheconceptofdefinitionwordmapontheirowninavocabularyjournal,reducingtheirrelianceonapre-printedgraphicorganizer,thereforehelpingthemtointernalizetheprocess.

Thisstudycanbeexpandeduponbyresearchingstudentcomprehensionofsciencetextsbeforeandafterthestudythroughrunningrecordsandteacher-studentconferences.Lengtheningthestudytoafullsemesterorentireyeartogathermoredataandincludingmoreparticipantsinthefourth-gradeorothergradelevelswouldbebeneficialaswell.Tofurtherresearchtheeffectivenessoftheconceptofdefinitionwordmap,researcherscouldalsoapplythestrategyinothercontentareassuchassocialstudiesandmath.



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AbouttheAuthor

KimberlyJonesisaMathematicsGapInterventionSpecialistinGregory-PortlandISD,shehastwentyyearsofelementaryclassroomteachingexperience,andiscurrentlyworkingonherPh.D.inCurriculum&InstructionatTexasA&MUniversity–CorpusChristi.HerdissertationresearchisfocusedonutilizingtheConcrete-Representational-AbstractsequenceofinstructionwithTier3studentsinaResponsetoInterventionmodel.HerfreetimeisspentreadingandgoingonoutdooradventureswithherdogBerkley.Email:[email protected]



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ReferencesBromley,K.(2007).Ninethingseveryteachershouldknowaboutwordsandvocabularyinstruction. JournalofAdolescent&AdultLiteracy,50(7),528-537.Bruun,F.,Diaz,J.M.,&Dykes,V.J.(2015).Thelanguageofmathematics.TeachingChildren Mathematics,21(9),530-536.Chall,J.S.(1983).Stagesofreadingdevelopment.NewYork,NY:McGraw-HillBookCompany.Cohen,M.T.(2012).Theimportanceofvocabularyforsciencelearning.KappaDeltaPiRecord.48(2), 72-77.doi:10.1080/00228958.2012.680372.Dunn,R.S.,&Dunn,K.J.(1979).Learningstyles/teachingstyles:Canthey…shouldthey...bematched? EducationalLeadership,36(4),238-244.Elleman,A.M.,Lindo,E.J.,Morphy,P.,&Compton,D.L.(2009).Theimpactofvocabularyinstructionon passage-levelcomprehensionofschool-agechildren:Ameta-analysis.JournalofResearchon EducationalEffectiveness,2(1),1-44.Gillis,V.(2014).Talkingthetalk.JournalofAdolescent&AdultLiteracy,58(4),281-287. doi:10.1002/jaal.356.Johnson,D.D.,&Pearson,P.D.(1978).Teachingreadingvocabulary.FortWorth,TX:Holt,Rinehartand Winston,Inc.Johnson,D.D.,&Pearson,P.D.(1984).Teachingreadingvocabulary(2nded.).FortWorth,TX:Holt, RinehartandWinston,Inc.Marzano,R.J.(2004).Buildingbackgroundknowledgeforacademicachievement:Researchonwhat worksinschools.Alexandria,VA:AssociationforSupervisionandCurriculumDevelopment.Manzo,A.V.,Manzo,U.C.,&Thomas,M.M.(2006).Rationaleforsystematicvocabularydevelopment: Antidoteforstatemandates.JournalofAdolescent&AdultLiteracy,49(7),610-619.NationalInstituteofChildHealthandHumanDevelopment(U.S.),&NationalReadingPanel (U.S.).(2000).Teachingchildrentoread:Anevidence-basedassessmentofthescientific researchliteratureonreadinganditsimplicationsforreadinginstruction:Reportsofthe subgroups(NIHPublicationNo.00-4754).Washington,DC;U.S.GovernmentPrintingOffice.Pritchard,A.(2009).Waysoflearning:Learningtheoriesandlearningstylesintheclassroom(2nded.). Abingdon,Oxen;NewYork,NY:Routledge.Roberts,N.S.,&Truxaw,M.P.(2013).ForELLs:Vocabularybeyondthedefinitions.Mathematics Teacher,107(1),28-34.



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Rupley,W.H.,Nichols,W.D.,Mraz,M.,&Blair,T.R.(2012).Buildingconceptualunderstandingthrough vocabularyinstruction.ReadingHorizons,51(4),299-320.Sadoski,M.(2005).Adualcodingviewofvocabularylearning.Reading&WritingQuarterly,21(3),221- 238.Schwartz,R.,&Raphael,T.(1985).Conceptofdefinition:Akeytoimprovingstudents'vocabulary.The ReadingTeacher,39(2),198-205.StahlS.A.,&Fairbanks,M.M.(1986).Theeffectsofvocabularyinstruction:Amodel-basedmeta- analysis.ReviewofEducationalResearch,56,72-110.



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AppendixA:ConceptofDefinitionWordMap



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AppendixB:VocabularySurvey



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AppendixC:VocabularyTest



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v5 is 1 2018 articles...nonlinguistic representations. to increase students’ ability to store and...

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