Characteristics of Effective Direct Vocabulary Instruction
BUILDING BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE
CHAPTER 4: Characteristics of Effective Direct Vocabulary Instruction
Characteristic 1: Effective vocabulary instruction does not rely on definitions. Definitions are conventions we use to talk about words. Students’ ability to construct a definition was related more to their familiarity with the structure of definitions than it was to their comprehension ability. Recommendation: Words’ meanings be presented to students in everyday language.
Characteristic 2: Students must represent their knowledge of words in linguistic and nonlinguistic ways. The (DCT) dual coding theory explains that for information to be anchored in permanent memory, it must have linguistic (language-based) and nonlinguistic (imagery-based) representations. Recommendation: Teachers should highlight nonlinguistic techniques. Students should be asked to represent words they are learning using graphic representations, pictures, and pictographs.
Characteristic 3: Effective vocabulary instruction involves the gradual shaping of word meaning through multiple exposures. Vocabulary knowledge also appears to deepen over time. Students are quite capable to obtaining an idea of a word’s meaning with minimal (e.g., one) exposure to a word. This is called “fast mapping.” To understand the word at deeper levels, however, students require repeated and varied exposure to words, during which they revise their initial understandings. Such exposure is referred to as “extended mapping.” Without experiences that allow for extended mapping, word knowledge remains superficial but useful. Recommendation: Teachers should vary the type of interactions students have with vocabulary terms. One technique is to use both linguistic and nonlinguistic representations. Some activities should involve writing; some should involve constructing graphic representations, others should involve drawing pictures. A second way to vary how students interact with vocabulary
CHAPTER 4: Characteristics of Effective Direct Vocabulary Instruction
Characteristic 1: Effective vocabulary instruction does not rely on definitions. Definitions are conventions we use to talk about words. Students’ ability to construct a definition was related more to their familiarity with the structure of definitions than it was to their comprehension ability. Recommendation: Words’ meanings be presented to students in everyday language.
Characteristic 2: Students must represent their knowledge of words in linguistic and nonlinguistic ways. The (DCT) dual coding theory explains that for information to be anchored in permanent memory, it must have linguistic (language-based) and nonlinguistic (imagery-based) representations. Recommendation: Teachers should highlight nonlinguistic techniques. Students should be asked to represent words they are learning using graphic representations, pictures, and pictographs.
Characteristic 3: Effective vocabulary instruction involves the gradual shaping of word meaning through multiple exposures. Vocabulary knowledge also appears to deepen over time. Students are quite capable to obtaining an idea of a word’s meaning with minimal (e.g., one) exposure to a word. This is called “fast mapping.” To understand the word at deeper levels, however, students require repeated and varied exposure to words, during which they revise their initial understandings. Such exposure is referred to as “extended mapping.” Without experiences that allow for extended mapping, word knowledge remains superficial but useful. Recommendation: Teachers should vary the type of interactions students have with vocabulary terms. One technique is to use both linguistic and nonlinguistic representations. Some activities should involve writing; some should involve constructing graphic representations, others should involve drawing pictures. A second way to vary how students interact with vocabulary