mccoy 1 lauren mccoy isl: results of pre and post ...users.manchester.edu/student/lkmccoy/profweb/e7...
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Lauren McCoy
Heather Schilling/Stacey Stetzel
March 19, 2012
ISL: Results of Pre and Post Vocabulary Tests for Language Arts
I went about my Impact on Student Learning project in a unique way, and used a different
approach to teaching vocabulary. I was pleased with the outcome, and my instincts (and research)
proved to be of great benefit to my students. I asked my students to pair up and pick a word from the
dictionary and have it okayed by me. Once they did this, they had to find and create a creative way to
present their word to the class so that the word and its meaning would stick with the class’ memory.
They could do a poster, a skit, make a PowerPoint or Prezi, record their own video clip, bring in an
example, etc. (I attached the directions to the assignment). I then gathered all the words and put
together a vocab word study list for the students and gave it to them after they took the pre test over
the words they got to pick. Later in the week, each pair of students presented their word to the class. On
Friday, they took the post test.
While I thought of this assignment off the top of my head, I found that I had incorporated
several teaching strategies and methods. First off, the way I wrote the pre and post test were the same
way my cooperating teacher wrote her pre and post vocabulary tests. I gave them matching questions
for the definitions and then in the post test I added application of the definitions; meaning the students
had to fill in the blank by using context clues to figure out what word went in which blank. My
cooperating teacher said she used AbraVocabra for her Master’s and found that this was the best and
more effective method for teaching her students vocabulary. After I administered the pre test a student
asked me if I was going to grade and count off if the spelling of the word was wrong. I hesitated before
saying no. I would usually have spelling count, (hello, this is Language Arts class), but then I reminded
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myself that I was testing the students’ knowledge of vocabulary, not spelling. The true results of the pre
and post test would be affected if I were to count off for spelling errors, so I decided to strictly stick with
the meaning of the words, rather than the spelling. AbraVocabra mentions this as a best practice by
stating:
The problem is that learning to spell and learning the meaning of the word are
two different processes. You can learn to spell something without knowing its
meaning, just as you can learn a word’s meaning without having an idea how to spell it.
That doesn’t mean that knowing both isn’t a good idea. It just means that one is neither
dependent on nor necessary for the other. (5)
AbraVocabra also suggests using and teaching common words when teaching vocabulary, which is
exactly what I did. I had each pair of students show me their word to make sure it was a word they could
use and might see or use when writing, hearing, or speaking. Some of the words I allowed some leeway
with (such as jute), but for the most part, I had students pick a word that they would most likely see and
use. I introduced my students to weird and unusual words for fun (like writing a Word of the Day on the
board), but when actually teaching and testing over vocabulary, I think it is important to use words that
students are actually going to use.
For the presentation part of my vocabulary unit, I encouraged my students to go above and
beyond and really use their imagination and creativity to get the meaning of their word across and make
it memorable. When presenting their idea, they could not simply get up in front of the class and recite
the information I asked them to write down. They had to use graphics, or something visual. This best
practice is mentioned in Comprehension and Collaboration, by Stephanie Harvey and Harvey
Daniels. Harvey and Daniels (2007) state, “Illustrations and photographs play a prominent role in
inquiry-based learning ( p. 81). This was one of the requirements for the vocabulary project: students
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needed to have visuals, illustrations, or other creative ways to teach the class their word. Harvey
mentions that using and teaching with objects and artifacts are beneficial to learning. The textbook
states, “ Bringing intriguing objects and artifacts into the room adds to our kids’ engagement, teaches
them to think, and builds content knowledge….Objects naturally invite high level thinking and provide
an authentic context in which to cultivate it” ( Harvey, 2007, p. 83). I suggested to the students they
bring in an artifact to help explain their word’s meaning. A couple students took my word, and came to
class with awesome ideas. One student’s word was ‘jute.’ He brought in celery and tore the stringy stuff
from the stalk and said that was the ‘jute.” Another student brought in mini snickers bars for the word
‘snicker,’ so the class could actually see and eat the object, making the meaning of the word easier to
understand.
Perhaps my most helpful resource for putting together my vocabulary unit was the activity book
called Stretching Students’ Vocabulary, by Karen Bromley. While researching best practice methods, this
book showed me many strategies I was using and implementing in my vocab unit that I was not even
aware of. I realized my cooperating teacher did not use hardly any best methods and I didn’t like how
my cooperating teacher taught vocabulary. She simply had students take a pre and post test, review the
words with them, and have the students do a writing prompt using as many vocabulary words as they
could. Many students didn’t even use the words correctly, and since the writing prompts were never
collected, they did not even know if they were using the words in the correct context. I wanted my
students to be excited about learning and discovering new words on their own, and I hoped the words
to be meaningful to them. So, I had my students do something different and interactive, which really
seemed to help their learning. Once the students had their words okayed by me, they were given free
range to make their own project for the word. I had them write down not just the word’s definition, but
also the prefixes and/or suffixes, root words, and they also had to write a sentence using their words
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correctly. I also made them find synonyms or antonyms if their word had any. Most of my students
chose to make a poster board or a visual. Bromley (2002) states this as an effective best practice,
“Drawing their own pictures also helps them make personal connections with new words” (p. 37). I also
had my students work on pairs, since I knew that students often learn better while working with their
peers. This is also something Bromley mentions as an effective teaching technique. She claims, “Social
interaction contributes significantly to students’ ability to make meaning of words and text, because,
when students interact, they extend and deepen their thinking” (Bromley, 2002, p. 37). I saw my
students thinking together to find ways to represent and teach their word, and could actually see their
understanding of the word develop. When presenting their words, I observed students making personal
connections to the words through the pictures, skits, or tangible models that other students used. It was
neat to actually see knowledge blossoming right in front of me.
I carried out the pre and post test and the vocabulary presentation to a class of 30 students, (all
Caucasian except one African-American female student). This was my ‘high’ class, but only four of the
students in this class are truly identified and classified as ‘gifted.’ Before I gave the instructions for the
presentation part of the unit, I told the class they were going to be tested on vocab, so the objective for
this ‘unit’ was pretty straight-forward and clear. I verbally gave them instructions on what they were to
do, and also gave them a typed handout of everything I wanted them to do. I went over the
requirements daily with them until presentation day came. I made sure students knew exactly what to
expect. Everything about the unit went splendidly, and the whole week’s project work time,
presentation time, and post test went smoothly. I think the best part of the lesson was seeing how
excited and involved the students were with this assignment. They would randomly ask me in the
middle of a lesson of I was going to give them more time to work on their vocab presentations. I could
tell they didn’t want to just have ‘free work time,’ but the actually wanted to do well on this project. I
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was pleasantly surprised by this. A lot of the students even told me they loved this idea, and they wished
they could do it every time they were given a new list of words to learn. They also said they really
enjoyed it, and that it was fun. A few days after I gave the post test, a student came up to me before
class and thanked me for teaching him the word ‘jute.” I asked why, and he said that he used it in a
game of Words with Friends, and scored 98 points. He was so excited to tell me this, and I was even
more excited that he found a way to incorporate this word into everyday life. I was impressed he could
find a use for such an uncommon word.
I was extremely proud of how well the ‘unit’ went, and how well the students responded to this
new idea and way of learning vocabulary. I (inadvertently) used many scaffolding techniques such as
allowing students to use resources (dictionaries), giving them a compelling task to work on, supplying a
guide (handout) for instruction and reference, and offered guidance along the way. I made sure to
always walk around the room and check the progress of my students’ work to make sure they were
doing it correctly and staying on task. I gave a lot of support and examples towards the beginning of the
project, then eventually gave more freedom to the students. Although I taught this to my high class,
they have had some trouble staying focused and engaged sometimes, and like to talk and get off-track.
However, I did not have to encourage them to stay on task at all when we worked on this ‘unit.’ Just the
simple fact that I allowed the students room for their own ideas, creativity, and leeway was what kept
the students motivated and on-task. They were so excited to work on something fun and they did what
was asked of them. Student participation was even and balanced throughout the entire week. Every
student gave as much effort as the last. Even the group work seemed to be evenly distributed
throughout each pair of students. Since this ‘unit’ was planned and carried out in a different manner
than a regular unit would have been, I am unable to give answers to patters I may have had that relate
to my questioning.
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While I could not have asked for a better, more manageable group of students to work with and
teach, one of my biggest downfalls as a teacher was asking students to use critical thinking. I did not
hardly ask any questions (this was a little hard to do for this ‘unit’), but I should have found ways to
incorporate deeper levels of thinking. I could have asked for commonalities between the vocab words
and other words they know (root words, pre and suffixes), or I could have asked if they have ever heard
any of the vocabulary words before. However, despite my lack of question and critical thinking skills, all
of the students definitely met the learning objective. According to the data below, it is clear that student
growth and learning took place. Learning and growth were measured accurately in order to best reflect
the true outcomes of the unit. Evidence that supports this is a pre and post test, and a bar graph that
shows individual student growth from the pre test scores. My students were able to define 15 words,
and also be able to use them correctly in context in a sentence. They also were able to come up with
creative, inventive ways of presenting information that helps others learn better. Students collaborate
well with one another when working in pairs, which strengthened their social and interpersonal skills, in
addition to their academic and cognitive skills.
The data provided below tells me that most of the students knew about half or a little more
than half of the vocabulary words before taking the post test. The post test shows every single student
earned 100% on their post test, except for three students. However, those who did not get a perfect
score all got 24 out of 25 questions correct, which means all students surpassed the mastery level (80%).
The pre test scores were relatively high for a pretest, so perhaps I should I have had the students choose
more difficult words to present to the class in order to up the expectations, especially since this class is a
high performing class. I will use this data to plan my future vocabulary lessons, and also form a better
idea of what kind of testing format is best for my students, since these formats that I used proved to be
effective. Since my outcomes of the post test are so outstanding, I will probably continue this vocab
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project in other classes, but I will make sure to not over use this technique or ‘unit.’ Positive results in
scores means that this unit and the techniques and methods I chose to incorporate into the unit were of
great benefit to the students learning, and met their needs.
In my credo, I stated that I was an educator that supported the idea of Progressivism. I still hold
this belief today, and my proof of this philosophy is evident in my vocabulary unit, and other lesson
plans I have created. I like to give my students choice and make them feel as though their ideas are
important too. A teacher should not be a dictator, but should make the class and material enjoyable and
allow student freedom. In the vocabulary lesson, I allowed students to choose their own word to learn
and present to the class, and I also gave them the freedom to choose the method they would use to
present their word’s meaning to the class (so long as it was appropriate and got the point across clearly
to the class).
Another philosophy of mine that has remained steady and consistent from the beginning of my
first year is that of Existentialism. Learning has always been a passion for me, and I have always believed
the more one educates themselves, the more aware and understanding they are of themselves, their
world, and others. The zeal of learning can better a person indefinitely, and it is something that helps
one keep making discoveries. Learning is not only about reading and writing, but also defining what it
really means to live and exist. I think this is what is the most fun about my discipline. Through reading
and literature, I can teach students the importance of life and all the lessons (and challenges) life brings
with it. I can choose topics and themes that relate directly to real life so students see the importance of
themselves and others. In many of my lessons, I often require student to work in groups or in pairs (like
I did for the vocab unit). This is just one way I try to incorporate my belief in Existentialism in my
classroom. I think that we have a lot to learn from others and the way we interact with others helps us
see importance in life. Also, the lessons I taught during my student teaching experience were
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constructed around the theme of slavery. Towards the end of the quarter, I taught my students about
Human Trafficking and the realities of Modern Day Slavery. This really opened their eyes to the reality
of the world, and how we all right now can do something to help or improve someone else’s existence
and life. This is truly what I think learning and teaching is all about. To go along with this, I also stated in
my Credo that I want not only to teach students the curriculum material and academic standards, but
also life-long lessons they can carry with them forever. My effort in trying to teach this is evident in my
Slavery quarter theme as well. All in all, I think my philosophies of teaching have stayed the same,
which, I think is a positive thing. I am consistent in my ways and thinking, and I have developed into the
type of teacher that is admirable, respectable, and professional. A good teacher nurtures, cares for and
encourages all of their students. Great, effective teachers find creative, fun ways to teach, and display
learning as something of importance.
Although it have learned much from my years at studying at Manchester College, it is hard to
state things and concepts I have learned from, since I think I learned and grew a little more each and
every day. It was not just one lesson, one philosophy, one class, or even one year that really made a
significant impact on me; rather it was the totality of my undergrad career. It is hard to pinpoint exactly
what concepts have made the most impact on my learning, but the things that I have really started to
pay attention to and focus on doing myself are varying my teaching strategies and activities,
incorporating best method strategies, and cooperating and interacting professionally with everyone. I
have learned much from student teaching, but I am always being asked by myself and others, “How am I
using student data to drive instruction?” “How do I really know if my students understood the
material?” “What best methods or teaching techniques did you use?” “What did you do to
accommodate for exceptional learners?” By thinking in a more focused manner, I have become a better
teacher. Professionalism is also a thing of importance. I have learned how to interact, communicate, and
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make connections with other teachers and administrators, and I feel as though I know the etiquette of
this profession quiet well, and I am more prepared on how to handle situations with other teachers,
parents, or even students. Knowing how to talk and deal with others will always be an essential skill to
have in this career. Needless to say, student teaching has encompassed and reinforced so much of the
knowledge I have obtained from my courses at Manchester.
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References
Bromley, Karen D'Angelo. (2002). Stretching students' vocabulary. New York: Scholastic professional.
Harvey, Stephanie, and Harvey Daniels. (2009). Comprehension & collaboration: inquiry circles in action.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Rider, Amy. (2003). AbraVocabra: The amazingly sensible approach to teaching vocabulary. Fort Collins,
CO: Cottonwood Press, Inc.
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Vocabulary Activity for Miss McCoy
Your assignment: You will create a fun, quick project on an interesting way to remember the meaning and definition of a vocab word of YOUR choosing! After planning with a partner on how you want to present your word, you will present it to the class. The presentation should not be longer than 2 or 3 minutes!!
Steps:
1. Find a partner 2. Get a dictionary 3. Pick out a word that is interesting/intriguing to you that you want to
learn its meaning, or a word you already know that would be a fun word to teach that you already have good ideas for.
4. Plan your activity and come up with an idea on how you want to present your word in a CREATIVE way! It can be anything!
5. Later next week, you will all present on the same day 6. You will have a pretest and posttest over all the words that were
presented in class, so give your best effort and pay attention to the presenters!
Getting started: On a piece of paper write:
1. Your word 2. It’s definition(s) 3. The root word (if your word has one) 4. Any prefixes or suffixes (if your word has them) 5. Synonyms and/or Antonyms for your word 6. A CREATIVE idea on how you will teach the word 7. How to use it in a sentence CORRECTLY. 8. CHECK WITH MISS MCCOY SO SHE CAN APPROVE YOUR WORD
BEFORE YOU GET STARTED!!! 9. See me if you need ideas for a creative fun way to teach your word. 10. Hand your paper in to MISS MCCOY when you have completed it!
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