Impact of Vocabulary Instruction on Transfer Measures of Word Knowledge and Word Solving: A Meta-Analysis

• In Event: Interrogating the Effectiveness of Reading Comprehension Strategies

Abstract

The goal of this meta-analysis was to better understand the impacts of vocabulary instruction on transfer measures of K-5 students’ verbal knowledge and skill. The authors identified 32 experimental or quasi-experimental vocabulary instruction studies that tested an intervention focused either on direct teaching of word meanings or instruction of word-solving strategies, such as using context cues or morphological knowledge to discern the meanings of unknown words. Each study also included a distal measure of overall breadth of vocabulary knowledge or word solving skill. Among the studies involving the direct instruction of word meanings, the mean effect size is small and non-significant. For studies involving instruction in word solving strategies, such as, the mean effect size is moderate and significant.

Authors

• Gina Cervetti, University of Michigan

• Miranda Fitzgerald, University of North Carolina - Charlotte

• Elfrieda H. Hiebert, TextProject

• Michael Hebert, University of Nebraska - Lincoln