Impact of the InferCabulary App on Vocabulary Knowledge of Fifth-Grade Students With Disabilities

Abstract

There are multiple pathways for students with and without disabilities to learn new vocabulary terms. However, the number of empirically tested and validated multimedia options is surprisingly limited. In this study, researchers tested a commercially available app (InferCabulary) to evaluate the impact on vocabulary performance of fifth-grade students with and without disabilities. A key practice that can take many forms while maintaining its core characteristics is explicit instruction. Therefore, researchers paired the functionality of the app with explicit instruction to evaluate its impact on student learning. Based on a counterbalanced design across 6 alternating weeks accessing the app or teacher-led business-as-usual instruction, students scored higher on weeks when they used the app plus explicit instruction to learn new terms. Implications for future research are included.

Semantic Reasoning: Building Vocabulary With Critical Thinking Skills

“….use of the app combined with explicit instruction was more effective than BAU in almost all weeks for almost all groups (i.e., special education, struggling, and general education)." (Kennedy et al, 2019). Results of this study provide important preliminary evidence of the effectiveness of semantic reasoning as a useful vocabulary instruction approach.…”

“…Research suggests the usefulness of teaching word learning strategies to improve vocabulary skills (Graves et al, 2018;Kamil et al, 2008). One such strategy involves teaching learners to use semantic reasoning, an instructional approach that pairs critical thinking, multiple visual examples, and language-based instruction (Kennedy et al, 2019;Lawrence & Seifert, 2019). Semantic reasoning teaches learners to apply critical thinking skills to the process of understanding word meanings thus expanding the cognitive-linguistic tools available for the vocabulary learning process.…”

“…Semantic reasoning has garnered preliminary research support through one published study that examined its effectiveness. The semantic reasoning approach was empirically tested (Kennedy et al, 2019) using a counterbalanced research design with 75 fifth grade students that compared 3 weeks of "business as usual" (BAU) instruction alternated weekly with 3 weeks of explicit instruction using an iPad app featuring the semantic reasoning approach. For each vocabulary word, the iPad app provided students with an array of images and captions that represented the word in a variety of contexts prior to seeing the definition for the word.…”

“…During the three BAU weeks, students were exposed to more traditional, definition-first instruction. According to Kennedy et al (2019), results showed that ". .…”

“…Vocabulary instruction that focuses on building semantic networks extends beyond teaching basic definitions by including multiple examples of words in context. Understanding how words are used in a variety of contexts helps form a deeper understanding of word meanings (Elleman et al, 2019;Kennedy et al, 2019;Marzano et al, 2001;Tannenbaum et al, 2006).…”