Judith Zorfass, Karen Clay and Alise Brann

Overview of Strand Focus

Dynamic Vocabulary Support for Improving Content Understanding of 8th Grade Social Studies Text: This strand of research investigates the use of an online tool that provides access to translational and illustrative resources to improve 8th grade students' vocabulary knowledge and content understanding of social studies text materials. The intervention is a dynamic web-based vocabulary enhancement tool known as Visual Thesaurus (http://www.visualthesaurus.com). The two major research questions addressed in this strand are:

1. Do students using Visual Thesaurus, in conjunction with strategies for using context clues, demonstrate greater social studies content knowledge than students using the same strategies in conjunction with traditional print resources (dictionary, thesaurus)?
2. Do students using Visual Thesaurus, in conjunction with strategies for using context clues, demonstrate greater social studies content knowledge than students using the same strategies in conjunction with a online dictionary/thesaurus tool?

Update for 2009

After the completion of Design Study V (2007-2008 school year), we identified a research protocol for a study that would build on and enhance this body of work. This study used random assignment to condition by student in a counter-balanced order. Approximately 200 eighth grade social studies students participated in the study, exhibiting a range of reading ability, with and without disabilities. The study was carried out during two social studies units, each lasting between three and four weeks. Students were randomly assigned to one of two groups, and provided with reading comprehension strategies, as well as training in each of the two technology tools. For the first unit, half of the students were randomly assigned to use Visual Thesaurus in conjunction with reading comprehension strategies; the other half were randomly assigned to a group using Merriam-Webster's online dictionary in conjunction with reading comprehension strategies. Students in each group used the technology tool when reading digitized texts from their social studies books and secondary sources aligned with the school's current curriculum. At the end of the first unit of study, groups switched use of the technology tools for the second unit. That is, students who had been using Visual Thesaurus used Merriam-Webster Online, and the students who had used Merriam-Webster Online used Visual Thesaurus. Both Visual Thesaurus and Merriam-Webster Online can be accessed from the Internet.

Through the administration of pre and post-tests on vocabulary and content knowledge, classroom observations, in-class assignments, post-study student surveys and student interviews, we are interested in addressing the following research questions for specific groups (treatment vs. comparison, struggling readers, boys vs. girls):

1. Do students who use a dynamic online tool (Visual Thesaurus) when reading digital texts demonstrate greater gains in content knowledge than students using an online dictionary/thesaurus tool, Merriam-Webster.
2. Which features of each of the tools do students use and when do they use them?

We are now in the process of scoring and evaluating student pre- and post-tests, surveys and in-class work.