Framing our Reading – Vocab
Mod 6
Liam Breathnach
The three
words I chose were endocrinologist, genome and variant. They were all included
in an article on how genetics influences height. The article linked here, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170201131513.htm
details how genes are linked to height and how we may learn from, and influence
this in future.
There are many reasons I chose the word endocrinologist. Its length goes
against it initially but it is a great example to show how we can break up
words in to sections to get to the meaning. Teaching the word we can expand
biological vocabulary and talk about prefixes such as hemo_, and group words
like pulmonary, renal, cardiac which pertain to body parts. There is also an
opportunity to teach about the various specialized medical professionals you
may encounter such as oncologists. The lesson could even stretch to scientists
in other fields, such as ecologist or botanists.
I like the word variant as its root is well known but variant may not be
in the regular lexicon. It would be a common word root when discussing genes
and the lesson could encompass the different words such as variety and
variance, and the different concepts in biology where these words are used. There
is plenty of opportunity for linking material together around learning the word
variant. And it’s a good word to know for daily use!
The word I chose to examine was genome. It has a root which is seen
frequently when talking about genetics and this means it, and the other variants
of the word, must be explicitly taught or confusion of the basics may abound. I
also think it is a big word in its scope. With all the endless possibilities which
are encoded within your genome being a good tool to foster curiosity and reflection.
Giving context to the words, and generating the other similar words so they can
be investigated together will help students to be comfortable with the
vocabulary (Andersen
& Nagy, 1992). It is important that students
know more than just the definition, but are happy to use and apply the nuances
required when using it correctly in context (Andersen & Nagy, 1992).
“Graphic organizers are visual representations of the ideas.” They would
work best when they have been modeled to the students (McLaughlin, 2015). There
are not many students who learn from text alone and the diagrams are great ways
to link material and aid recall (Snowman & McCown, 2015). I have always
been a fan of using mind maps but with graphic organizers there is a little bit
more structure, and with the different types there are different foci too. Semantic Maps can be used to introduce a
topic, to learn what you students know. The central point or word is circled in
the middle of a blank board or page, and some general headings are linked to,
and arranged around it with space for further notes and bullet points. The
students can, individually, in groups or as a class discuss and fill in extra words
and points that are relevant to the headings and therefore the central topic (McLaughlin,
2015). A slight change on this would be
the Semantic Question Map, where the subheadings related to the central point are
questions. Students then fill out answers to the subheadings in a similar
fashion to before.
Semantic Definition Maps help foster connections between prior and new
knowledge. It also is a great tool for teaching students how to cherry pick the
most notable information and to synopsize text. I always explain to my students
that I used to rewrite notes, but make them more concise each time until I had
a just bullet-pointed words. I hoped that each word came with lots of related
knowledge though! In Semantic Definition Maps the information is all important and
structured. The definition, and explanation and some example are added where
possible. A great thing about the different maps is that students can return as
a later stage and measure progress. Students can add to maps or can try and
recreate a completed map as a review tool. Also they are great for students to
compare with other students and to start conversation.
For the word Genome I chose to use the Concept Definition Map. When you
use this tool, you have all the information in one place with links made to
other important points. The visual is a help for recall also. Students who have
and use these will have a booklet of focused and easy to assimilate material
for referencing.
Thanks
References
McLaughlin, M. (2015). Content Area Reading: Teaching and
Learning for College and Career Readiness.
Boston, MA: Pearson
McCown, R. & Snowman,
J. (2015). Psychology
Applied to Teaching (14th ed.). Stamford, Connecticut: Cengage
Learning
Anderson, R.C., and Nagy, W.E. (1992). The Vocabulary
Conundrum. American Educator, 16, 1-
13. Retrieved from https://blackboard.stevenson.edu/bbcswebdav/courses/15S8W2_ED_620_OL1/The%20Vocabulary%20Conundrum_ED354489.pdf
I appreciate that you choose some words that could work with root organizers. In agreement, endocrinologist is a term that would work well with this type of strategy. I did not attempt to find words that would work with this strategy, but I like seeing some examples that would. I enjoyed that you made the point that words that have multiple meaning must have all the meaning taught otherwise confusion might occur. I think this is interesting because one would think that the more common the word is, the more understood the use would be. However, Anderson and Nagy (1993), mentioned that knowing one of the meanings of a multiple-meaning word is a hindrance in learning the other meanings. Therefore, I think you have made a great point that we should consider when choosing vocabulary terms to teach and choosing methods that are of the greatest benefit for comprehension.
ReplyDeleteReferences
Anderson, R.C. & Nagy, W.E. (1993). The vocabulary conundrum. American Educator, 16, 14-18, 44-47.
Hi Liam,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading about your thought process for choosing vocabulary terms. Your justification for the word endocrinologist was one I especially liked. As you said, “endocrinologist” is a great word for structural analysis, but it also provides you with an opportunity to make a connection between the content learned in class and the real world. You can show students how working professionals use the knowledge they acquired in biology classes to study and treat their patients. Many students ask the question “when we we use this in real-life?” and students in high school are thinking about potential career paths. What you described is a great way to make learning more meaningful for these students.
I also hadn’t made the connection between using semantic maps and rewriting notes to be more concise. Rewriting notes is a strategy I use for study, but I liked how you described graphic organizers as ways to pick out important details and relate them to each other. Then, when studying for assessments, students can look back on their graphic organizers and add to their understandings (McLaughlin, 2015). Julie and I liked the strategies like semantic maps and concept of definition maps that were flexible, and could be used before, during, and after reading. You explained why in your blog post. Thanks!
John
References
McLaughlin, M. (2015). Content Area Reading: Teaching and Learning for College and Career Readiness. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Thanks Guys.
ReplyDeleteYeah Lauren it is something I rely upon. When groups of words can be taught or links can be made with words people already know it helps a lot. The other day in ecology we got onto Bears or Constellations for some reason (obviously you can't talk about one without the other :-) ), but an opportunity came to discuss Ursine, and then we moved to Feline, Canine Equine etc. Many students know canine and feline but explicitly showing the link and other examples can help with comprehension and hopefully further use.
I John, yah like the bunching words for dog like, canine, explicitly making the link from biologist and endocrinologist etc makes it all more real and students might go "oh yeah , I had not thought of that but it makes sense". The more times we can get them to arrive at the pattern, or see the sense involved, the easier our teaching will be.
That's how I used to work things John and I push it still, or at least I push the reasoning for it. I see kids using the couple of minutes before a test to read the Book! I like the idea that they would have a list of key words and would check that they have related knowledge ready for each keyword or phrase. It has a hierarchical organization that resembles what organization of the Semantic Maps.
Thanks
Hi Liam,
ReplyDeleteI liked how you used the concept of definition map for the word genome. From your map, I can see the essential information all in one place. The questions you used helped provide a useful definition of the word and more pertinent information of the topic. This visual tool will definitely help the students understand the word better and use it correctly in context.
Liam,
ReplyDeleteI find your method of note taking extremely fascinating. Over the years I have had countless teachers who have pushed for students to re write their notes, arguing that students retain the information a bit more from writing it down as opposed to merely looking at it. And this belief certainly seems to be logical. But, your method takes this idea and improves upon it. Re writing and condensing each time allows you not only to retain the information more easily, but also forces the note taker to determine the most important or overlying concepts. Whether consciously or not, by condensing you are asking yourself which parts need to stay and which parts get axed with each round of cuts, so to speak. This way you are actually evaluating the information and determining the most important concepts, which also will help lead to a better understanding.
I am fascinated by this as well, but more because I don't remember being asked to re-write my notes and would consider doing so a waste of time in my teen years. I don't see my own children using this as a study strategy. Their method of study is to just re-read their notes, which is not a very effective! Using graphic organizers to aid in this effort and teaching students specific skills about how to effectively re-write notes would be an excellent way, as Walker said above, to evaluate the information and determine what is important.
DeleteI did not realize I was such a visionary!!! I will have to patent the idea!
ReplyDeleteWhen I wrote notes I would try and rewrite a couple more times and I would end up with a fairly small word web. But I would have a lot or associated knowledge with each word. I would also have mental pictures of the rewritten notes so I would be able to try and recall all the points I had written for each prompt word.
When I was studying then I could look at (or just recall) the final word web and then try and tell myself all I should remember. You can have a mental checklist of, for eg 10 points to mention and four links to make, and check them off as you go through. If you can recite all you need you do not need to study that area again. If you are recalling what you sold know about a prompt word and you know its missing something then you can go back through your lengthier notes to review that area.
The goal was to be able to check my short list of prompt words on the morning of an assessment and be able to give my little inner lecture about each one. If I failed at this I had a focused area for quick review.
Thanks