Janis M. Harmon

Research on Vocabulary Instruction in the Content Areas: Implications for Struggling Readers

ABSTRACT This article provides an overview of current knowledge about vocabulary teaching and learning—understandings that influence learning across different disciplines. Research on the teaching and learning of vocabulary in particular subject matter areas, including mathematics, social studies, and science, is discussed. Based upon the instructional implications evident in this body of work, this article also offers suggestions for providing effective vocabulary instruction for students reading below grade level.

A STUDY OF READERS THEATER IN EIGHTH GRADE: ISSUES OF FLUENCY, COMPREHENSION, AND VOCABULARY

This study investigated the impact of Readers Theater on eighth-grade students, the majority of whom were reading below grade level. Over six weeks of a short story unit, one class participated in Readers Theater. The comparison group of like-ability students received more traditional literary and vocabulary instruction. Quantitative measures showed that when compared with students in the comparison class, students in the Reader Theater class made statistically significant growth in reading level, as well as significant gains in fluidity and expressive measures of oral reading. Groups were not significantly different on comprehension measures. However, the Readers Theater class nearly doubled the vocabulary acquisition of the comparison group. Qualitative measures attested to the potential of Readers Theater to motivate struggling adolescent readers and to build their reading confidence.

Picture/Text Relationships: An Investigation of Literary Elements in Picturebooks

The major research question was: How do pictures and texts function in developing literary elements in picturebooks for younger readers and picturebooks for older readers? We examined 30 picturebooks for younger readers and 30 picturebooks for older readers to determine how pictures and text work to develop plot, character, setting, and mood. Findings reveal that in books for younger readers, illustrations played a major role in developing each element; yet the illustrations and text worked together in diverse ways. In books for older readers, findings indicated that illustrations played a dominant role primarily in setting, mood, and character relationships. These findings suggest that comprehension may be enhanced by instruction that focuses on the interplay between pictures and texts to develop literary elements in picturebooks.

The TAB Book Club Approach: Talking (T) About (A) Books (B) in Content Area Classrooms.

The TAB Book Club Approach allows the merging of literature with content area instruction to motivate students to develop different viewpoints as the curriculum comes alive.

Constructing Word Meanings: Strategies and Perceptions of Four Middle School Learners.

Using verbal protocols as the major methodological tool, this qualitative inquiry investigated word meaning constructions of four middle school learners during self-selected reading events where learners targeted unfamiliar words. Interviews were also used to explore learner perceptions about vocabulary acquisition. Individual case study analyses and cross-case analyses unveiled similarities and differences in how focal learners constructed meanings for self-targeted words when forced to examine context. Focal learners used multiple strategies in single encounters with new words, were not inhibited by inaccurate word meaning constructions, focused on key words and phrases as they explored content, and relied on syntax to articulate definitions. Results indicate that these middle school learners were at least aware of ways to figure out unfamiliar words. Some readers in the study processed word meanings in flexible and diverse ways, whereas others exhibited a narrow band of strategies. Perceptions about word learning and attitude toward learning new words are important considerations for understanding vocabulary learning through independent reading.

An Investigation of Teachers' Concerns About Vocabulary and the Representation of These Concerns in Content Literacy Methodology Textbooks

The purpose of this study was twofold: to (a) find out what questions currently practicing middle grade teachers have about vocabulary instruction and (b) determine what current undergraduate content area textbooks include that provide answers to these vocabulary questions. As researchers and practitioners directly responsible for teaching preservice middle grades teachers, this was a beginning step in examining whether our own teacher preparation programs are meeting the needs of new teachers as they encounter the demands of teaching vocabulary in their content areas. Teacher concerns about vocabulary instruction were determined by a survey instrument administered to 390 middle school teachers to ascertain questions they have about teaching vocabulary. A content analysis of the three leading content area textbooks was then undertaken to determine to what degree the top five concerns of middle grades teachers were addressed in these texts. Though direct information on how to teach vocabulary was provided, the researchers found that twice as much information was presented indirectly, embedded under subheadings where it was mentioned. In other words, only half the time did the texts explain how to teach the principles advocated.

Tutoring Struggling Adolescent Readers: A Program Investigation.

Abstract This study examined a reading tutoring program for struggling adolescent readers. The major objectives of the tutoring program were to help struggling adolescent readers develop an understanding of the strategic nature of reading and to encourage these reluctant readers to take control of their reading. The results of the study hold implications for the implementation of strategy instruction. The results also indicate critical program features for working with struggling adolescent readers.

“Pick a Word—Not Just Any Word”: Using Vocabulary Self-Selection with Expository Texts

Students, for the past few days we have been brainstorming and discussing what we know about the Holocaust. Today we will start our readings for this study. From this point on, you will be the educational directors for the learning that goes on in this unit. Your first task as directors is to pick words for the passages you will read. But not just any words—you must decide what words or phrases are critical to understanding the passages. You will then use these words and phrases as guides for the learning tasks that will follow. This description does not represent a typical introduction to an academic learning unit for middle school learners. We are so accustomed to being in control of our students’ learning, and we usually decide what words and phrases need to be addressed to support content area reading comprehension and learning. Having students make these decisions may create some uneasiness and doubts in our minds about the quality of the learning that can result from such endeavors. Nonetheless, we do know that the more control students have over their own learning, the more likely they are to learn (Kohn, 1993). Student-centered tasks, such as having students select vocabulary to be learned, offer one way of “Pick a Word—Not Just Any ord”: Using Vocabulary Self-Selection with Expository Texts

The Flipped Classroom Model of Learning in Higher Education: An Investigation of Preservice Teachers’ Perspectives and Achievement

Abstract One teaching style gaining popularity is the flipped classroom model of instruction. In this model, what generally occurs during class time, such as lectures and demonstrations, occurs at home, and assignments typically completed out of class occur during class. Currently, there is a dearth of research about the effectiveness of this instructional model. Therefore, to contribute to this line of research on the flipped classroom model of instruction, this study investigated preservice teachers’ perspectives of the flipped classroom model and examined the impact of the model on student achievement. While we found no significant differences between the flipped model and the traditional model in terms of academic achievement, we found different factors that may influence the effectiveness of this teaching model.

Guidelines for Integrating Comprehension-Based Word Study in Content Classrooms

Comprehending texts is critical to achievement in all content areas. Students must handle the demands of increasingly more difficult texts in a variety of formats as they progress through the upper grades—when concepts become even more complex and sophisticated with each successive year. New vocabulary and more complicated language structures become major obstacles for many students as they try to make sense of texts (Fang & Schleppegrell, 2008), especially for those students who are ill equipped to comprehend such texts. Teachers often recognize and express concern about this overwhelming challenge (Taylor, Mraz, Nichols, Rickelman, & Wood, 2009; Wood, Vintinner, Hill-Miller, Harmon, & Hedrick, 2009) and, with good intentions, resort to vocabulary instruction to lessen the comprehension load. Yet, many teachers may be unaware that not all vocabulary instruction impacts comprehension (Nagy, 1988; Stahl & Fairbanks, 1986), despite calls in the recent literature for more comprehensive approaches to vocabulary teaching and learning (Fisher, Blachowicz, & Watts-Taffe, in press). In this article we introduce a broader term, vocabulary literacy (Wood, 2009), to expand our thinking about word knowledge and word study beyond the surface, definitional level in order to increase comprehension. Vocabulary teaching and learning is not a task isolated from other dimensions of instruction. Rather, the act of promoting vocabulary literacy is multidimensional and involves making the connection between vocabulary and comprehension using all aspects of literacy: reading, writing, listening, speaking, viewing, and visually representing (Standards for the English Language Arts, 1996). When vocabulary is taught using a surface, definitional approach, students leave the experience with an inadequate understanding and no long-term retention of key terms. This linear approach to vocabulary instruction is depicted in Figure 1. Here, instruction begins from the bottom up—beginning at the word level and a corresponding definition, then attending to sentences and paragraphs, and ultimately focusing on comprehension as the final element. A classroom scenario using the linear approach to vocabulary instruction might look like this: