New Research on Vocabulary and Learning

The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) has announced new research that helps document the connection between standards-based vocabulary instruction and future academic achievement. The findings are based on an evaluation study of ASCD's Building Academic Vocabulary program, a six-step process for vocabulary instruction in the major disciplines for all grade levels through high school.

The study, conducted between 2004 and 2005, found that the Building Academic Vocabulary program enhances students' abilities to read and understand subject matter content and ultimately helps students build a store of academic background knowledge that raises their academic achievement. The program produced

• A statistically significant positive effect on students' abilities to read and comprehend unrelated subject matter content in all dependent measures. The dependent measures included the ability to read and understand information about mathematics, science, and general literacy and the aggregated ability to read and understand information across the three subject areas.
• A similar effect from grade level to grade level, which included similar mean scores for grades 1, 2, 3, 4 5, 6, 7, and 9 about 91 percent of the time.

The findings were particularly encouraging for two subgroups: English language learners (ELLs) and students on free and reduced lunch. Both groups were represented in large numbers in the experimental (those using the Building Academic Vocabulary program) and control groups.

"ELL and students on free and reduced lunch programs demonstrated gains in achievement after using the vocabulary program," said researcher Robert Marzano. "This is a particularly significant finding because the program is low cost and easy for schools and districts to implement." Marzano created the vocabulary program based on his book Building Background Knowledge for Academic Achievement.

The evaluation study was comprised of experimental and control groups that included 118 teachers and 2,683 students from 11 schools in 5 U.S. districts and covered a broad range of demographic and socioeconomic factors. Pre-tests were conducted in October 2004; post-tests were conducted in April 2005.

_Key Findings
• In written and multiple choice assessments, the students who participated in the Building Academic Vocabulary program showed greater mean scores on the comprehension of new reading material that were statistically significant across the general literacy, mathematics, and science subject areas.
• The expected passing rates for the Building Academic Vocabulary participants exceeded the control groups across all measures by percentages ranging from 8.4 to 14.8 percent.
• For students on free and reduced lunch, the expected passing rates for the Building Academic Vocabulary participants exceeded the control groups across all measures by an average of 8.9 percent.
• For ELLs, the expected passing rates for the Building Academic Vocabulary participants exceeded the control groups across all measures by an average of 16.5 percent.
• The findings compared favorably to federally-funded Comprehensive School Reform programs.

View the full report:
http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/Building%20Academic%20Vocabulary%20Report.pdf

You have read this article with the title New Research on Vocabulary and Learning. You can bookmark this page URL http://universosportinguista.blogspot.com/2006/12/new-research-on-vocabulary-and-learning.html. Thanks!