Research has clearly shown the relationship between a student’s vocabulary and his or her crystallized intelligence as well as the direct correlation between vocabulary development and socio economic status (Robert Marzano What Works in Schools: Translating Research into Action, 2003). Is there a way to provide direct vocabulary instruction that is effective and can add to the instructional strategies we already employ as effective teachers?
Well, yes… there actually is a lot of research that says we can impact our students achievement gains by 33% IF we will forgo rote memorization of definitions and allow our students to expand on the information that may be initially presented. In other words, not looking at words as words in isolation, but words specifically related to the academic content and in context.
Marzano found that research implies a process that is best for learning academic terms:
Students are presented with a brief, informal explanation, description, or demonstration, and asked to describe the information in their own words.
Students are presented with or asked to add an imagery based representation of the new term (a picture, diagram, etc. a non linguistic representation).
Students are asked to elaborate on the term by making connections with other words.
Over time, students continue to add information or alter erroneous information as their understanding of the term expands.
HOWEVER I should note - that using a "student understood" definition, does not supplant the need for teacher and students to be able to correctly use the "language of the standard" - Example - Definition of Volume: - The amount of cubits that an object occupies. The FULL understanding of the term does require the full understanding of the 'hard' words too.
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