Examining the Impact of Semantic Mapping and Multiple Exposures on Fifth Grade Students' Science Vocabulary Achievement

Examining the Impact of Concept Mapping and Multiple Exposures on Fifth Grade Students' Science Vocabulary AchievementStephanie WoolardMAEd ReadingEast Carolina UniversityMarch 31, 2014

Hello my name is Stephanie Woolard. I received my bachelors degree in Elementary Education from ECU in 2007. After that, I taught third grade for five years. I returned to ECU in 2011 and entered the READ program. I currently work in the college of education as a graduate assistant and will be graduating this summer. Beginning in the fall semester I designed an action research project, which I carried out in a local elementary school starting in February. I decided to focus my research on content area vocabulary. As a classroom teacher I remember being frustrated with my students difficulties learning and retaining vocabulary in Science and Social Studies.

1Academic VocabularyThe Common Core Standards, adopted by North Carolina in 2012, include literacy strands interwoven into the content areas compelling teachers to increase their focus on vocabulary instruction

A growing awareness is taking place in reading education of the importance of academic vocabulary for supporting understanding in the content areas. Teachers consistently see a relationship between low reading comprehension and poor vocabulary development, predominantly in intermediate grades when the academic language in content area text becomes increasingly difficult.

2What Works

Extensive practice with words, breadth of knowledge about words including both definitional and contextual knowledge, and active student engagement.

Direct instruction of Tier 2 and Tier 3 academic vocabularyTier 2 words:Less familiar, yet useful vocabulary found in written text and shared between the teacher and student in conversation. Tier 3 words aredomain specific; they are critical to understanding the concepts of the content taught in schools. They are best learned when teaching specific content lessons, and tend to be more common in informational text.3What DoesntUnfortunately, vocabulary instruction in many content area classrooms still consists of outdated methods such as copying definitions from the glossary and writing them in a sentence.

According to Greenwood (2002), Looking up words or committing definitions to memory leads, at best, to a superficial understanding and rapid forgetting of words.

4PurposeThe purpose of this research project was to investigate the impact of concept definition mapping and multiple exposures on fifth grade students science vocabulary achievement compared to traditional vocabulary instruction.

5MethodologyIndependent Variable: Vocabulary InstructionDependent VariableTreatment Group: Semantic Mapping, Multiple ExposuresComparison Group: Traditional Definition-Based InstructionVocabulary Achievement-Vocabulary Pre/Posttest-Knowledge Rating Survey-Researcher Log-Vocabulary Pre/PosttestThis study employed a quasi-experimental pretest/posttest comparison group design. Due to setting constraints it was not possible to randomly assign students to each of the two groups: treatment group and comparison group. Instead two fifth grade classes, receiving science instruction from the same teacher, were assigned to either the treatment group (N=21) or the comparison group (N=20).

Both groups were administered a teacher-made vocabulary test containing specific content-area words at the beginning and end of the study. A comparison of pretest and posttest scores determined the degree of growth in vocabulary acquisition. Additional data sources included vocabulary knowledge rating surveys, and a researcher log.

6Concept of Definition MapThe intervention consisted of a concept definition map based on techniques that teachers use to clarify word meanings for students: synonyms, brief descriptions, examples and non-examples, context, associations, and unique expression.

aortauA concept definition map is a graphic organizer that helps students to enrich their understanding of a word or concept and to develop new vocabulary. It is a graphic way to focus attention on learning the meaning of and relationship between words. Concept definition helps students learn and understand key terms by examining details, comparisons, and characteristics from the text. Students describe what the concept is and is not and cite examples of it. This process is especially effective when students work with abstract concepts or text with technical or difficult vocabulary. The concept used in the intervention was based upon the Frayer model and Schwartzs Basic Concept of definition map. Information recorded on the map included: the word in context, a student definition, the textbook definition, a synonym, a non-example, and a mnemonic (memory) device, picture, or example. 7Intervention Implementation TimelineDateInterventionInstructionJanuary13 - 17Pretest of unit vocabulary, Introduction to semantic map and jigsaw strategy.January22-24Week 1 Vocabulary Terms: Infection, Nutrients, Sternum, Stethoscope, Pulmonary, Cardiac, Heart Rate, AortaCirculatory SystemJanuary27-31Week 2 Vocabulary Terms: Abdomen, Cells, Cranium, Lumbar, Membrane, Organs, Spinal Cord, ThoracicFebruary3-7Week 3 Vocabulary Terms: Flexible, Fuse, Allergic, Dander, Energy, Exhaust, Flu, GermsFebruary10-14Week 4 Vocabulary Terms: Pneumonia, Bronchitis, Lobes, Bronchial, Bolus, Chyme, Dissolve, GastricDigestive SystemFebruary18-21Week 5 Vocabulary Terms: Saliva, Stool, Urine, Villi, Peristalsis, Alimentary Canal, Fiber, DigestMarch3Posttest of unit vocabularyThe intervention vocabulary included terms from the body system unit that students began after winter break. Over the five week intervention period treatment students were introduced to 40 new terms; 4 new words each day, two days a week. Students completed their word maps in a jigsaw format. Jigsaw is a cooperative learning strategy that enables each student of a home group to specialize in one aspect of a topic, or in this case one vocabulary word. Students met with members from other groups who were assigned the same word, this is called the expert group. After mapping the word, they returned to their home group to share the word with their group members and record all 4 words in their vocabulary journal.

8Multiple ExposuresConcentrationWord SortsAortaThe largest blood vessel in the human body.InfectionThe attack on healthy parts of your body by germs.PneumoniaChymeGastricBronchitisSalivaStomachEmphysemaBolusDigestProviding students with multiple repetitions of the same information about each words meaning (drill and practice) and providing students with multiple exposures to a word in different contexts or settings both have been proven to significantly improve comprehension. An analogy I really like is that learning word meanings is a lot like getting to know people. As with words, there are people you spend a lot of time with and know extremely well, others you are acquainted with, and some you have little contact with and do not know well. Knowledge of people depends on the experiences you have with them. The people you know the most about are the ones you spend most of your time with, often family members and close friends. In the same way, learning words varies according to how much time you spend with them and the types of experiences you share. Repeated exposure in multiple contexts was provided during the intervention by giving students sorts, games, and word cards for use at home and in school.

9Vocabulary Mean Gain ScoresPre/PosttestMean GainTreatment7.7Comparison3.6Two-tailed p.002120 Item Subset Mean GainTreatment5.6Comparison2.6Two-tailed p.0001Notes: Treatment N=21; Comparison N-20A unit vocabulary pretest was given during the first week of the study to both the treatment and comparison groups. The test consisted of 40 multiple choice questions. An analysis of the pretest data suggested there was not a significant difference amongst pretest scores for both groups. The mean missed items for the treatment group was 18.10, while the mean missed items for the comparison group was 18.90. Therefore, the pretest data helped support the hypothesis that the intervention accounted for the difference in achievement.A posttest was administered during the seventh week of the intervention to determine the change in students vocabulary achievement. The descriptive statistical analysis showed that for the treatment group the mean gain score was 7.7, the mean gain score for the comparison group was 3.6. At the conclusion of the five-week intervention period, the treatment group had been introduced to all of the vocabulary for the body system unit (40 terms). Due to pacing and missed instructional time resulting from school cancellations, the comparison group only received instruction covering the first two chapters of the unit (20 terms). Therefore, the mean gain scores for both groups were analyzed using the 20 question subset of words that were taught to both classes during the intervention timeline. For this subset, the descriptive statistical analysis showed the mean gain score for the treatment group was 5.62; whereas, the mean gain score for the comparison group was 2.55. The mean gain scores from both groups were analyzed with an independent samples t-test to determine if the vocabulary instructional intervention impacted student achievement. The results imply that there was a significant difference in vocabulary achievement between the two groups (p < .05), with students in the treatment group learning significantly more science vocabulary.

10Knowledge Rating Survey

A vocabulary knowledge rating survey was given to the treatment group at the beginning and end of each week of instruction. Students rated their familiarity with the weeks eight words by assigning each word a rating of one to four. One being, Ive never heard of the term, 2 for, Ive seen or heard of this term before, 3 standing for, I think I know this term, and 4 meaning, I know this term and can explain it.

11Vocabulary Knowledge RatingMeanPre-Survey 97.7Post-Survey138.8Two-tailed p< .0001Students vocabulary knowledge rating surveys were analyzed to determine students perceptions of their own vocabulary knowledge growth. Students rated themselves on a scale of 1 4 for each word, the total of their ratings fell in the range of 40 160. The descriptive statistical analysis shows the mean score on the pre-survey was 97.71, while the mean score on the post-survey was 138.76. The mean difference was Because p < .05, it can be concluded that the students self-assessed gains were a result of the intervention implementation.

12Researcher LogTheme 1: Students benefitted from purposeful talk in collaborative groups. Theme 2: Students demonstrated inquiry and engagement with high order questions.

A researcher log was used throughout the study to record observations, notes, and reflections. After the qualitative data were compiled and sorted, they were broken down into categories through a coding process that identified patterns in the data. Results from this analysis suggested two main themes that supported the research question.

13Purposeful Talk in GroupsHolly: My mom likes to eat those fiber bars, I wonder if that is the same thing as our vocabulary word.Jane: The definition says it is a substance found in food, so it could be the same thing.Holly: And the book says that it is a good-for-you nutrient. That makes sense because my mom is always trying to eat healthy.

From the beginning of the intervention, the students demonstrated a preference for working together in groups. They were able to work together to complete the word map while having discussions about the words meaning and personal connections. At the conclusion of the intervention, I asked students what was their favorite part of the intervention and why. The overwhelming response was, working in groups. One student stated, I like working in groups because you have your friends to help you if you dont understand. It seems reasonable that if students were enjoying the activity more by working in groups, they were learning more as well.

14High Order Thinking Bronchitis

Non-Examples

PneumoniaFlu

Brock explained the reasoning of his group, Pneumonia and flu are in the same category as bronchitis because they are all illnesses, but they are different types.

This is an example of one groups thinking about the word Bronchitis. Brocks answer demonstrated a good understanding of non-examples and showed that they knew that bronchitis, pneumonia, and flu are all illnesses. The classroom teacher also noticed a marked improvement in the class discussions that took place during the science instruction period. She noticed that the dialogue was richer in the treatment class, stating The students are asking more pointed and high level questions about topics and terms that have been brought up during the intervention. She felt that this was due, in part to the students having more confidence with the vocabulary terms. Having students discuss the content in this way proved valuable and was possibly one of the projects greatest successes.

15Discussion

The results are clear, active engagement with words through concept mapping and multiple exposures is more effective for promoting knowledge and retention of content vocabulary than traditional definition-based instruction.

VSThis study emphasizes the need for vocabulary instruction to be an integral part of content area instruction. Beginning in the intermediate grades (4-5) students are exposed to more domain-specific language in their content area subjects. In any given text or unit of study there will be words that are essential to understanding the topic; therefore, content area teachers should provide students with multiple exposures to words in different contexts. The traditional approach to vocabulary instruction commonly used throughout upper elementary and secondary content classrooms, which includes activities such as matching words to their definitions and fill in the blank, is ineffective primarily because it relies upon memorization rather than personal connection or active involvement with words.

16Discussion

The intervention engaged students interactively with word mapping, discussion, and games to promote vocabulary knowledge and retention. The concept map allowed for active student engagement and delivered an interactive framework for middle school content area vocabulary instruction.

I suggest incorporating direct instruction of concepts such as morphology, deciphering words from context, and finding synonyms and non-examples in order to scaffold students understanding of these strategies. Teachers should determine which guiding principles work best for their students and content area. Word maps can be customized to work in different content areas, include various techniques, and focus on areas of strength and weakness in order to promote student growth.

17Questions or Comments?Stephanie WoolardECU MAEd Readingwoolards98@students.ecu.edu