The findings of the study suggest that the use of science vocabulary notebooks as a supplemental tool for instruction may have helped students learn and retain content- based vocabulary. In this chapter, findings are organized by the research question and presented in a table to provide information on the results of students’ quizzes and chapter test that were taken during the study. The research data are organized into two claims that indicate alignment between science vocabulary notebooks, and students’ demonstration of vocabulary understanding on quizzes the chapter test while using science vocabulary notebooks. Findings suggest that the use of the science notebooks may be beneficial in instruction to help students learn content vocabulary in science and consequently may positively impact quiz and test results.
When the students used the science notebooks, students demonstrated proficient levels of understanding by connecting images, words, and graphic organizers to target vocabulary. The correlations are not direct, but the study suggests that, while using the science vocabulary notebooks, students performed high on lesson quizzes and chapter test. This chapter addresses the research question of the study: How does the use of science vocabulary notebooks help students in a dual language classroom learn content- based vocabulary?
Claim 1: Science vocabulary notebooks provided research-based vocabulary learning experiences that aligned with textbook content
In lesson 1, the target vocabulary was ecosystem, population, community, niche, biotic/abiotic factors and specific characteristic of ecosystems were also taught and
reinforced using the textbooks for initial exposure and reinforcement with the science notebook. Student activities in the notebook in this lesson consisted of learning about ecosystems and their characteristics. The information was presented in the textbook. The first notebook intervention was to create a T-chart of ecosystem examples covered in the textbook and reinforced with student and teacher composed definitions of each
ecosystem. This helped as an informal assessment to check if students were understating the content presented in the textbook. Student were exposed to a variety of stimulus such as drawing, coloring and writing for this activity as suggested by Carrier (2011) and implemented throughout the usage of the science notebook. The first definition on the page is of the word “system” in general. The definition was not assessed in quiz 1 but was assessed in chapter test question 1 (See Appendix B).
As suggested by Young (2005), the first definition in this activity offered establishing relationships to words the students may have known with real and
meaningful context. Students make connections suing the word and refer to in context to what they know such a bicycle or Nintendo gaming system. Students then applied the vocabulary word in context to how an ecosystem also functions as a system.
Student were given time to talk and brain storm examples of vocabulary as suggested by Carrier (2011) and shared with partners the examples they came up with in reference to a system, as suggested by Alanís (2013). This was followed by class
discussion and then student findings were added to the science notebook. The lesson was continued by students reading aloud in the text book of
ecosystems and how the components also form a system with many parts. The textbook then gave examples of different ecosystems found around the world and their
characteristics such as climate and biotic/abiotic factors present in each ecosystem. This information was also added to the science notebook and allowed students to manually participate in their learning. Students helped the teacher come up with student definitions and characteristics about what they had read and drew pictures to represent each
ecosystem as a class. This recall and varied exposure to the vocabulary content information helped students to have multiple exposure to vocabulary as suggested by Young (2005) by coming up with collaborative written definitions on the characteristics of the ecosystems presented in the text book and pictures and examples to reinforce meaning. Similar research-based suggestions that were addressed in the literature review were followed throughout the creation of the science notebook.
The following section provides overview of the science notebook content and gives examples of student work in the notebook and explanations of how it correlates to the assessments collected in the study. Figures 3 and 4 show examples of the student notebook page from a participant in lesson 1 as discussed above.
Figure 3. Example of science vocabulary notebook entry for lesson 1 on defining a
Figure 4. Example of science vocabulary notebook entry for lesson 1 with characteristics
Figure 6 and figure 6 show another method to reinforce the target vocabulary of population, community, and niche in reference to ecosystems as presented in the textbook for lesson one. Habitat and individual were not target vocabulary but were important for overall comprehension of concepts.
The class discussion consisted of first talking about the students’ own community and the different animals found at a local park with a pond. Students were able to identify animals and plants that can be found at this pond such as ducks, fish, birds, trees, flowers and how they make up different populations of animals and plants within the pond ecosystem. The students then learned how these animals interact as a system and interact in a community.
The science notebook intervention consisted of having students cut and paste pre- printed vocabulary definitions and pictures to go along with the target vocabulary. The students were asked to read aloud the definitions and explain the pictures to partners using the target vocabulary after they were finished cutting and pasting. Niche was a target vocabulary word that was not included in the pre-made printout so the students were asked to hand write the definition on the bottom of the page. The teacher-researcher walked around the room listening to students and offering feedback when necessary.
Figure 5. Target vocabulary presented in science notebook with pictures and a hand-
Figure 7 shows the target vocabulary activity for biotic and abiotic factors present in some ecosystems. This activity presents the target vocabulary by providing short and precise definitions of each target vocabulary on the left. Students colored, cut, pasted and sorted examples of each example for biotic and abiotic factors with the corresponding pocket of the target vocabulary definition. As informal assessment, students were asked to first write the corresponding words of the picture in each pocket to assess they
understood where each picture should be located and could use the content vocabulary in context of objects they were familiar with, as suggested in Sadeghi & Sharifi (2013).
In figure 8, students were asked to cut and paste the illustrations of two ecosystems and identify the biotic and abiotic factors present in a forest and pond ecosystem. After they worked individually, students were asked to check with a partner before calling over the teacher-researcher to assess and give feedback. Language engagement through dialogue was suggested by Buenger, et al (2010).
Figure 8. Student activity to check for understanding of content presented on
Figure 9 shows the lesson 1 quiz that was used to assess the lesson content and vocabulary. The quiz format consists of the first 4 questions assessing definitions presented in the textbook and reinforced with the science notebook activities. Questions 5-8 are true/false questions that pertain to abiotic/biotic factors and characteristics of certain ecosystems that parallel what was written in the science notebook. Question 9 on the quiz was not assessed and was completed as a class. The question addresses a math problem on the population of birds diminishing from one year to the next.
Target vocabulary presented in lesson was herbivore, carnivore, omnivore and decomposer. The vocabulary was presented to deepen the understanding of consumers and producers as presented in the textbook and how decomposers play a role in
ecosystems. The science notebook activity to reinforce consumers consisted of coloring, cutting and pasting illustrations and definitions behind the pictures as shown in Figures 10 and 11. Students were able to engage with the vocabulary by folding and flipping up the illustration and revealing the definition.
Figure 12 shows an activity that consisted of coloring, cutting, pasting, and
folding the manipulative into the science notebook. This activity was added to the science notebook to offer another exposure to the target vocabulary while also providing a
guessing game in which students worked with a partner to try and guess the illustrations that were present in each group as implemented in Sadeghi and Sharifi (2013).
Figure 12. Multiple exposure to target vocabulary. The flaps manually fold in to cover
Figure 13 demonstrates an informal assessment completed by the students to demonstrate knowledge of the content presented in lesson 2. In this notebook activity, students were asked to cut and past the consumers in the corresponding vocabulary boxes according to what type of consumer was shown in the illustrations. Partner talk and class discussion was followed after this activity to address incorrect answers.
The following activity in figure 14 was completed in the student notebooks as practice in lesson 2 for identifying consumers, decomposers and producers. This activity consisted of first circling the correct category for each illustration. Then students were asked to cut, paste, and sort illustrations into the three categories, providing the students with another varied approach to interacting with the vocabulary as was suggested by Thornbury (2006).
Figure 15 is a foldable activity that helped support content from food chains and energy flow presented in lesson 2 and revisited in lesson 3. Students were asked to color, cut, and paste the diagram into their science notebooks. Students also used this activity as a dialogue activity to explain the flow within the food chain to a partner and the source of energy as assessed in the chapter test question 6 (see Appendix B).
Figure 16 was also an activity that presented the students with examples of a food chain and a food web. Class discussion was used to show the similarities and differences between the two. The food web was also assessed on question 8 of the chapter test with another example of a food web (see Appendix B).
Figure 16. Science notebook activity with examples of a food chain and food web.
Figure 17 is a blank copy of the lesson 2 quiz. Questions 1- 4 consist of identifying vocabulary presented in the textbook and reinforced using the science notebook. Question 5 and 6 ask students questions using clues in context to the target vocabulary and 7 and 8 ask questions pertaining to how energy moves in a food chain and food web (see Appendix B). Question 9 asked students to write, in order, how
Figure 18 was a matching activity used during lesson 3 to practice vocabulary presented in all three lessons. No new vocabulary was presented in this lesson and this activity was used as a review of vocabulary in context to what was learned in the other two lessons. Students worked individually and called the teacher-researcher over to their desk to assess. Students that did not have the correct matching were instructed to try again until successful completion of the activity. Once the student had all the correct matching, they pasted the activity into their science notebooks. As seen in this student example, the vocabulary words were sorted into two larger groups of consumers and ecosystems (left side of figure) demonstrating deeper comprehension of the concepts.
Figure 18. Review activity presented in lesson 3.
Figures 19 and 20 were added to the science notebook to demonstrate flow of energy in a food pyramid. Figure 19 is the top layer that folds to reveal the type of consumer in context to consumers in an energy pyramid. This content was not directly presented in the textbook but was added to the notebook for further development and comprehension of energy flow in an ecosystem.
Figure 21 shows a copy of quiz 3. Question were true/false. The content of question 1-3 asses content on habitats of organisms found in aquatic ecosystems.
Question number 3 assesses food web content and the remaining questions asses content on decomposers. Question 9 ask students to address what would happen if decomposers did not exist in ecosystems. This question was not included in the grade as was used as a discussion point during lecture.
The science notebook was developed taking into consideration the
recommendations and suggestions in the literature review. Research demonstrates that vocabulary notebooks are more effective in helping students to learn the target
vocabulary in a set of course materials, in direct contrast to more traditional method of addressing vocabulary (Bozkurt and Walter 2009).The activities presented in the notebooks offer an interactive and varied approach to expose students to science vocabulary and content which contributed to the student success in the assessments as presented below. Through these activities, students were able to reinforce and
demonstrate their understanding of science content and vocabulary that aligned with quiz and chapter test assessments from the textbook.
Claim 2: While using science vocabulary notebooks, students’ demonstrated proficient understanding of science vocabulary in vocabulary quizzes and on the chapter test.
The results indicate that all participants were able to maintain proficient averages on weekly quizzes during the use of the science notebooks. The overall participant average was 92% proficiency on the three weekly quizzes assigned in chapter 3 during the study. The participant average percentage for the first weekly quiz was 91% proficiency. The week two quiz average for all participants in the study was 94%. The week three average was 92% proficiency. The chapter test average during the study when the science notebook was implemented was 92%. Table 3 shows the average percentage grade for each weekly quiz and average percentage score for the three quizzes combined for each participant along with the percentage grade for the chapter test in which the
science notebook was implemented. Mean and standard deviation is located at the bottom of the table.
Table 3
Chapter 3: Percentage of weekly quizzes and chapter test percentage for each participant during the implementation of the science notebook
Participant Percentage Score Week 1 Percentage Score Week 2 Percentage Score Week 3 Participant Mean Score Chapter Test Percentage 1 88 89 94 90 82 2 94 88 94 92 93 3 88 94 94 92 96 4 88 100 100 96 93 5 81 89 81 84 89 6 94 100 94 96 96 7 93 100 81 91 96 8 91 89 100 93 91 Mean 89.6 93.6 92.2 91.75 92 Standard Deviation 4.09 5.21 6.94 3.56 4.47
Data indicate that the participants were able to maintain a proficient 92% average with a standard deviation of 3.56 when assessed on the content quizzes during the study period.
The findings suggest that students were able to meet proficiency percentages on weekly quizzes while the science vocabulary notebook was in use, and that the addition of science vocabulary notebooks did not hinder academic achievement. The participants were able to meet proficiency percentages at all times during the study which may
suggest concepts being carried over into sequential lesson for deeper understating of the science concepts.
The data indicate that students were able to recall vocabulary and content learned during the use of the science notebook on chapter test. The test average percentage for the chapter test during the study was 92% for all participants, with a standard deviation of 4.47.
The findings of the action research suggest that, while using the science vocabulary notebooks, students retained the target vocabulary and concepts learned in context and demonstrated that understanding during the chapter test. Concept activities presented in the notebook helped students have multiple exposure to the vocabulary and may have aided in retention of concepts and vocabulary when assessed on the chapter test.
Summary
The action research on science vocabulary notebooks suggests that implementing the notebook as an instructional tool to reinforce vocabulary and content, provided the opportunity for students to learn target vocabulary and content while helping to retain the information presented for both weekly quizzes and the chapter test.
CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS