Of particular concern to educators is the development of academic language. We also know that there are degrees of word knowledge, from “I’ve never heard this word before,” to “I know this word and can apply it in multiple contexts” (Lubliner & Scott, 2008), as well as metacognitive knowledge about how to apply prior knowledge and strategies to vocabulary learning (Beck et al., 2008). Studies confirm the high correlation (0.6 to 0.8) between vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension (Baumann & Kame’enui, 2004 Pearson et al., 2007). Why is vocabulary learning so important? To understand a text, one must understand the words that represent the ideas or concepts. Books and articles on vocabulary instruction are popular (e.g., Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2008 Blachowicz & Obrochta, 2005 Graves & Watts-Taffe, 2008), and research on vocabulary is enjoying renewed attention. The Nat ional Reading Panel Report (NICHD, 2000) and the RAND Reading Study Group (2002) heightened the importance of vocabulary instruction for student literacy learning. Across all three areas, the role of interest and engagement with words and word learning is addressed.Įven within our increasingly visual world (Kress, 2003), words remain our pr imar y means of communicat ion. In the following sections, we first summarize research on vocabulary learning and then present 10 eVoc strategies organized by three principles of vocabulary instruction applied in a digital context. We hope that they share their successes and limitations with their colleagues and with the broader literacy community on the Internet. We encourage teachers to select one or more of these eVoc strategies to try out and adapt to their particular students, curricula, and teaching context. Given the fast pace of technology innovation, not all of these eVoc strategies have direct research evidence however, they are all supported by research on effective vocabulary instruction, much of it carried out with print materials (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2000 Pearson, Hiebert, & Kamil, 2007), and multimedia learning (Fadel & Lemke, 2008 Mayer, 2001). The purpose of this article is to highlight 10 eVoc strategies that hold promise for improving vocabulary learning in intermediate grades and that employ digital tools and resources that are readily available and feasible to implement in today’s schools. We believe that digital tools and media are available in most schools that teachers could harness now to improve vocabulary learning, tools that capture the interest of students and that provide scaffolds and contexts in which to learn with, and about, words more profitably. Vocabulary is also an area where teachers are asking for guidance on instructional approaches, strategies, and materials (Berne & Blachowicz, 2008). Improving students’ vocabulary is an area of urgent need if we are to develop the advanced literacy levels required for success in school and beyond (Biancarosa & Snow, 2006 Graves & Watts-Taffe, 2008). Department of Education’s inclusion of technology in education reform (National Education Technology Plan, 2010).Īlthough the pervasiveness of ICTs in all aspects of 21st-century life is quite clear and well accepted, it is less clear how teachers might successfully integrate technology into literacy instruction and specifically vocabulary instruction. In 2010, we can assume that access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) will continue to improve with the increased availability of inexpensive mobile devices and the U.S. Nearly 100% of schools in the United States have Internet access (Wells & Lewis, 2006). We use the term eVoc both to highlight that the strategies rely on digital tools and resources and to suggest the evoking of learning potential that is possible when technology and media are part of the instructional mix.Īs literacy educators, we need to use the tools that 21st-century technologies afford us (International Reading Association, 2009). An eVoc strategy is an electronic or technology-based strategy that teachers can use to develop students’ vocabulary learning and interest in words.
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