This study investigates the use of translational resources (both software and traditional print-based materials) to improve 8th grade students' comprehension of social studies text.
Category: EDC
Research Team: Judy Zorfass, Karen Clay, Alise Brann Investigating the use of Visual Thesaurus to improve word knowledge and reading comprehension of social studies texts by middle school students with learning disabilities.
About EDC
Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC), an international non-profit organization, bridges the worlds of research, policy and practice to advance learning and healthy development for individuals and institutions around the globe.
EDC Progress Report June 2007
The research carried out by Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC) focused on helping middle-grades students improve reading comprehension in social studies by building word knowledge through the use of a web-based tool, Visual Thesaurus (VT). VT allows the reader to look up a word directly from a piece of electronic text. It does not directly define words; rather it presents an array of concepts that capture the varied word meanings. The features of VT align with the following e-text resources: translational, illustrative, enrichment, and collaborative. From August, 2006 to May 2007, EDC carried out a series of four brief design studies, with each one building on findings of the previous study. Read the executive summary and download the June 2007 progress report of research on the Visual Thesaurus: Progress Report June 2007
An Interview with EDC about Visual Thesaurus
An Interview with EDC about Visual Thesaurus
EDC Senior Director Dr. Judith Zorfass and and her associate Alise Brann talk about the connection between Visual Thesaurus and reading.
Read on
Research Report November 2006
The following research report was written in November 2006 and describes a pilot study conducted in the Fall of 2006. The goal of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of Visual Thesaurus as a translational resource for middle school students with learning disabilities. Continue reading “Research Report November 2006”
Research Report August 2006
The following research report was written in August 2006 and describes exploratory work conducted in the Summer of 2006. The goal of this research was to determine whether Visual Thesaurus was a possible tool for providing translational resources to middle school students with learning disabilities. Continue reading “Research Report August 2006”
About NCSeT Research at EDC
Dr. Judith Zorfass and her research team at EDC are investigating the use of Visual Thesaurus to improve word knowledge and reading comprehension of social studies texts by middle school students with learning disabilities Continue reading “About NCSeT Research at EDC”
NCSeT Research Team at EDC
The NCSeT Research Team at Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC) is comprised of the following individuals:
- Dr. Judith Zorfass, Principal Investigator and Site Research Coordinator
- Karen Clay, Research Associate
- Alise Brann, Research Associate