DEMONSTRATING THE IMPORTANCE OF VOCABULARY ENGAGEMENT TO PRE-SERVICE

CONTENT AREA TEACHERSJacqueline Ingram & Jacquelyn Rust – Sam Houston State University

TCTELA 2015

How can I convey this

to Pre-service

Teachers?Hands on

Cooperative

Visual

Prior knowledge (structural analysis & morphemes)

Unknown vocabulary

Develop concepts

Concept relationships

Use/apply words in context

How was vocabulary presented to you in your Math, Science, and Social Studies

classes?

Teaching and learning words well involves

multiple opportunities to develop word

meanings and learn how words are

conceptually related within the subject

being studied.

Vacca, Vacca, & Mraz, 2011

Look upDefine

MemorizeUse in a Sentence

Challenges faced by Pre-Service Content Teachers in Teaching Vocabulary

◦Level of knowledge of strategies to teach vocabulary

◦Level of literacy knowledge within their content area

◦Time

◦School, district, and state expectations

◦“Isn’t teaching vocabulary the ELAR teacher’s job?”

◦Others?

Social Constructivism

◦Lev Vygotsky (1978)◦Learning is social◦Activate prior knowledge◦Provide supporting structures for learning

Research says…

◦Blachowicz & Fisher (2000):◦Students should be active in

developing their understanding of words and ways to learn them.

◦Students should personalize word learning.

◦Students should be immersed in words.

◦Students should build on multiple sources of information to learn new words through repeated exposure. (p.504)

Research says…◦Marzano (2009) – Use or create

picture associations for concepts and definitions

◦Nagy (1988) – Concepts are best learned through direct, concrete, and purposeful experiences

◦Fisher & Frey (2014) – Prefixes, morphology, fluency, prosody, expression, context clues

◦ Johnson & Johnson (1999) -Cooperative learning outcomes include:◦ retention◦ application and transfer of principles

and concepts◦ verbal development◦ problem-solving◦ creativity◦ divergent thinking ◦ productive controversy◦ awareness and utilization of

individual capabilities◦ the ability to understand and take on

others’ perspectives.

Support for Teaching Content Specific Vocabulary

Receptive Vocabulary-listening and reading

Expressive Vocabulary-speaking and writing

3 Types of Vocabulary

◦General- words used in everyday language (confirm, miscellaneous, determination)

◦Content-Specific- specific meaning in content area (foot/math, culture/biology, current/science)

◦Technical- used only in certain disciplines (iambic pentameter/poetry, dyslexia/reading, isotherm/science)

Support for Teaching Content Specific Vocabulary cont’d

◦“Content area teachers cannot leave development of vocabulary to chance” (Greenwood, 2002; p. 258).

◦“Students shouldn’t be left to their own devices or subjected to the vagaries of a look up-and-define strategy as their only access to understanding the language of an academic discipline” (Vacca & Vacca, 2011; p. 239)

Engaging Pre-Service Teachers

◦“It’s how someone uses the strategy that determines whether it produces great results, mediocre results, or no results at all”(Marzano, 2009).

◦Teach pre-service teachers several ways to teach a strategy.

◦Search and read studies that show a gain in student achievement.

◦Experiment with the strategies and see how it works in a given setting.

◦Teach pre-service teachers through activities and strategies.

LEARNING VOCABULARY

PROCESSES WITH LEGOS

Debrief

Lego Activity◦Word Sort

◦Visual Representation

◦Cooperative Interaction

Vocabulary Development◦Prior knowledge & Forming

concepts

◦Concept relationships & Context

◦Applying newly learned vocabulary

References◦ Blachowicz, C. L. Z., & Fisher, P. (2000). Vocabulary processes. In M. L. Kami, P. B. Mosenthal, P. D.

Pearson, & R. Barr (Eds.). Handbook of reading research (Vol. III, pp. 503-523). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

◦ Fisher, D. & Frey, N. (2014). Content area vocabulary learning. The Reading Teacher, 67, 594-599. doi: 10.1002/trtr.1258

◦ Greenwood, S. C. (2002). Making words matter: Vocabulary study in the content areas. The Clearing House, 75, 258-263.

◦ Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (1999). Making cooperative learning work. Theory to Practice, 38, 67-73.

◦ Kane, S. (2011). Literacy and learning in the content areas. Scottsdale, AZ: Holcomb Hathway.

◦ Marzano, R. (2009). Six steps to better vocabulary instruction. Teaching for 21st Century, 67, 83-84.

◦ Nagy, W. E. (1988). Teaching vocabulary to improve reading comprehension. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.

◦ Vacca, R. T., Vacca, J. L., & Mraz, M. (2011). Content area reading: Literacy and learning across the curriculum (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

◦ Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mental development of children and the process of learning. In M. Cole, V. John-Steiner, S. Scribner, & E. Souberman (Eds. and Trans.), Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.