Effective vocabulary instruction examined

A recent study in the Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness looks at the effects of Rich Vocabulary (RVOC) classroom instruction on fourth and fifth graders' vocabulary and reading comprehension in a multi-cohort randomized trial.

 

Rich Vocabulary is an approach where students are exposed to specific vocabulary words that are incorporated into classroom instruction for multiple exposures in varied contexts to promote easier understanding. The hope is that this carries over into increased reading comprehension. Researchers designed a treatment using recommendations of earlier studies of vocabulary learning: that specific, low-frequency words allowing for specificity of thought be taught across several domains. The current study used at least 12 exposures per word per week. Students were given vocabulary instruction 30 minutes per day for four days, with a 10-minute quiz on the fifth day using two novels, A Long Way from Chicago andManiac Magee, over the course of 14 weeks each year. The students had seven weekly reading assignments per book, and teachers were provided with all necessary materials to teach related lessons (worksheets, overheads, etc.).
 

The study took place each year for three years in fourth and fifth grade classrooms in the Pacific Northwest. A total of 1,232 students were assigned to treatment (n=627) or control (n=605) classes from 61 classrooms at 24 schools. Students were pre-tested in the fall, and post-tested in the spring each year. Preliminary analysis showed that RVOC treatment students scored significantly lower at pretest than control students. Authors suggest this was due to the randomization assignments, and that they controlled for this in their analyses. Results showed that on norm-referenced tests, the RVOC group scored better than controls in tests of targeted vocabulary, but did not improve general vocabulary knowledge or general reading comprehension. 

Johns Hopkins University 

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