The Impact of Knowledge-Building through Conceptually-Coherent Read Alouds on Vocabulary and Comprehension PDF

Reading Psychology ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: www.tandfonline.com/journals/urpy20 The Impact of Knowledge-Building through Conceptually-Coherent Read Alouds on Vocabulary and Comprehension Tanya S. Wright, Gina N. Cervetti, Crystal Wise & Nicola A. McClung To cite this articl...

Reading Psychology ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: www.tandfonline.com/journals/urpy20 The Impact of Knowledge-Building through Conceptually-Coherent Read Alouds on Vocabulary and Comprehension Tanya S. Wright, Gina N. Cervetti, Crystal Wise & Nicola A. McClung To cite this article: Tanya S. Wright, Gina N. Cervetti, Crystal Wise & Nicola A. McClung (2022) The Impact of Knowledge-Building through Conceptually-Coherent Read Alouds on Vocabulary and Comprehension, Reading Psychology, 43:1, 70-84, DOI: 10.1080/02702711.2021.2020187 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/02702711.2021.2020187 Published online: 10 Jan 2022. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 999 View related articles View Crossmark data Citing articles: 4 View citing articles Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=urpy20 Reading Psychology 2022, VOL. 43, NO. 1, 70–84 https://doi.org/10.1080/02702711.2021.2020187 The Impact of Knowledge-Building through Conceptually-Coherent Read Alouds on Vocabulary and Comprehension Tanya S. Wrighta, Gina N. Cervettib, Crystal Wisec and Nicola A. McClungd a College of Education, Teacher Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA; bSchool of Education, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; cCollege of Education, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; dSchool of Education, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY We explored whether knowledge building through Received 29 January read alouds of a conceptually coherent (CC) set of 2021 texts might support children’s incidental acquisition Accepted 15 November 2021 of vocabulary in these texts and listening compre- hension of related texts. Eleven classrooms of first KEYWORDS (n = 83) and second grade students (n = 112) were Early literacy; vocabulary; randomly assigned to read alouds of either a set of reading comprehension; six CC informational texts or a set of texts that knowledge; read aloud addressed a range of topics. After the read alouds, we found larger effect sizes favoring the CC group on conceptually-central target words and no differ- ences between groups on general academic words or on the listening comprehension passages. Within treatment comparisons demonstrate the CC partici- pants had stronger listening comprehension of a passage that contained both concepts and vocabu- lary from their text set than of other passages. Findings suggest that CC read alouds may be a prom- ising way to enhance learning opportunities during read alouds for young learners. There is substantial evidence that an individual’s knowledge about the topic of a text supports text comprehension (Cervetti & Wright, 2020). Yet, there has been limited attention to knowledge-building as a support for reading comprehension or other aspects of literacy development in CONTACT Tanya S. Wright [email protected] College of Education, Teacher Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA. © 2022 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC  Reading Psychology 71 primary grades literacy instruction. For example, while read alouds are a staple of the curriculum in primary grades, we have limited under- standing of whether read alouds designed specifically to support knowl- edge-building might have particular affordances for children’s literacy development. Therefore, in this study, we explore whether building knowl- edge through read alouds of conceptually-related (CC) texts (i.e., multiple texts on the same topic with concepts that re-occur across the texts) might support primary grade students’ incidental vocabulary learning and their comprehension of related texts. Role of Knowledge in Text Comprehension and Vocabulary Learning Empirical studies provide strong evidence that having more knowledge related to a text supports the reader’s ability to comprehend new mate- rial (Cervetti & Wright, 2020). Theoretical models of text comprehension explain that in order to comprehend text, the readers’ existing knowl- edge is activated and integrated with information from the text (Graesser, Singer, & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1988; van den Broek, Risden, Fletcher, & Thurlow, 1996). This activated knowledge enables the reader to fill in gaps in texts and to form connections among ideas, helping to build a coherent mental representation of the meaning of the text. The connections between existing knowledge and new textual knowledge facilitate comprehension, and they make texts more mean- ingful and memorable, supporting readers in acquiring new knowledge and modifying existing knowledge through engagement with text (e.g., Kintsch, 1988). The large body of research on the relationship between knowledge and comprehension has primarily focused on students who are already reading independently. However, preliminary evidence suggests that knowledge supports text comprehension for young children (Pearson, Hansen, & Gordon, 1979). For example, Kaefer, Neuman, and Pinkham (2015) showed that four-year old children with more preexisting back- ground knowledge demonstrated stronger listening comprehension of a read aloud than students with less preexisting knowledge of the text’s topic. Hansen (1981) found that second graders who learned to access their related prior knowledge before reading a text demonstrated stronger reading comprehension compared to children who were not taught this strategy. Recent research has explored the possibility that the benefits existing knowledge brings to reading may reach beyond text comprehension. There is some evidence that bringing relevant background knowledge to reading supports the incidental accrual of vocabulary knowledge during 72 T. S. WRIGHT ET AL. reading (e.g., Barnes, Ginther, & Cochran, 1989; Diakidoy, 1998, Kaefer et al., 2015; Pulido, 2003, 2007). Incidental vocabulary learning is strongly associated with literacy development and most word knowledge is acquired incidentally during reading including, for young children, during read alouds, of text (e.g., Elley, 1989). Studies beginning with preschool children (Kaefer, 2018) have shown that relevant topic knowledge supports incidental word learning from text. Knowledge may support incidental word learning by enabling readers to use the context surrounding unknown words to infer their meanings. In addition, as it eases com- prehension, knowledge may enable the reader to devote cognitive resources to determining the meaning of unknown words. While existing studies inform our understanding of the role of knowl- edge in comprehension and its potential to support vocabulary acquisi- tion, this research has largely remained descriptive, examining the nature of these relationships, rather than considering their instructional potential. With few exceptions (e.g., Connor et al., 2017; Guthrie et al., 2004; Kim et al., 2021; Romance & Vitale, 1992), studies have relied on the knowl- edge that students bring with them to school, rather than attempting to build knowledge through reading instruction in an effort to support students’ reading comprehension. Similarly, studies examining the benefits of knowledge for incidental word learning have focused on students who come to the text with topic knowledge but not on examining ways to build knowledge through literacy instruction in support of enhanced incidental word learning. This focus on preexisting knowledge is con- cerning because students arrive at school with differential access to knowledge that may support comprehension of school texts (Neuman & Celano, 2006). Therefore, this study examines the possibility that efforts to build knowledge might support incidental vocabulary learning as well as comprehension of related texts. We focus on children in first and second grade because it is critical to understand how we might leverage knowledge to support literacy development beginning in the early grades of school. Conceptually-Coherent Texts Sets Several researchers have recommended read alouds of text sets on the same topic to support children’s vocabulary and knowledge devel- opment (e.g., Gilles & Pierce, 2001). The idea is that repeated encoun- ters with a set of words and ideas will build and deepen both knowledge and vocabulary. Read aloud text sets have been used as part of broader effective interventions for supporting young children’s vocabulary development (e.g., Neuman, Newman, & Dwyer, 2011; Pollard-Durodola et al., 2011; Wright & Gotwals, 2017). Yet, these are  Reading Psychology 73 multi-­c omponent interventions, and it is difficult to isolate the par- ticular affordances of the read aloud texts on knowledge or vocabulary development. One study examined fourth graders’ independent reading of CC texts (Cervetti, Wright & Hwang, 2016). Fourth grade students were randomly assigned to read either six informational texts that cohered around a set of concepts or six texts that addressed a range of topics. After reading, students who read the CC texts learned the concepts in their texts and demonstrated more incidental word learning than students who read the unrelated texts. Students who read the CC texts also demonstrated greater recall after they read a passage with related concepts, but did not out- perform the comparison group on reading comprehension of this text. Therefore, for older students, who read texts independently, preliminary evidence suggests that reading experiences can be designed to build knowledge, support incidental word learning, and promote recall of related texts. We do not know whether CC text sets have similar affor- dances for younger children who are listening to read alouds rather than reading independently. Therefore, in this study our goal was to structure knowledge-building read aloud experiences in order to support incidental word learning and text comprehension for students with a range of background knowledge. The Current Study We examine whether building children’s knowledge through read alouds of CC texts supports incidental vocabulary building and listening com- prehension in the primary grades. We asked whether knowledge building through read alouds of a CC text set supports: (1) children’s incidental acquisition of conceptually central vocabulary and other general academic words in these texts, and (2) children’s listening comprehension of related texts? Methods Participants and Conditions This study took place at a primary school, serving students in kinder- garten - Grade 2, in a rural school district in a Midwestern state in the United States (85% Caucasian; 1.5% Native American or Alaskan Native, 5% African American;.5% Asian American; 5% Hispanic or Latino; 3% Other) with 34% of students in the school eligible for free or reduced lunch. Participants were first- and second-grade students (N = 195) from 11 heterogeneously grouped classrooms. Students in 11 classrooms were 74 T. S. WRIGHT ET AL. invited to participate. All students who returned parental permission forms and attended all intervention sessions were included in the study. Classrooms were randomly assigned to one of two groups: Conceptually Coherent (CC) treatment group or Non-Conceptually Coherent group (NCC). In total, 48 first-grade and 57 second-grade students participated in the CC group and 35 first-grade and 55 second-grade students par- ticipated in the NCC group. Intervention The instructional intervention consisted of read alouds and discussion of six texts over three days. The texts were different across the two treatment groups. In the CC condition, the six texts were about con- cepts related to birds. In the NCC condition, the six texts discussed a wide range of topics (bees, glaciers, wolves, coral reefs, thunderstorms, and the sun). Each text was adapted from a trade book and modified to equate the length and readability and to focus on a set of core concepts (see examples in Table 1). In addition, five unique target words related to the key concepts were embedded in each set of texts. Five general academic words were included in both sets of texts (cross-condition words). Each word appeared six times across the texts in each condition (see Table 1). Each word was defined twice across the set of texts with a definition that used words children were already likely to know (e,g., “A bird that has just left the nest is called a fledgling.”). Table 1. Target concepts and words. Cross-Condition Concept General Academic Condition Examples of Concepts Words Words Conceptually What distinguishes birds from all other fledgling dependent Coherent (CC) animals is feathers. Feathers serve distinct safeguard Treatment many functions for birds—providing incubate simulation insulation, shade, and protection; molt terrain helping birds attract mates; plumage vital providing materials for nests; helping birds fly; and so on. Birds use a wide variety of materials and structures to make nests. Non Conceptually Wolf packs work together to survive. erode Coherent (NCC) They live, hunt, and travel together deluge Comparison and follow their leaders. plankton radiate A glacier is moving ice. As they move, stealthy glaciers change or wear away the land and rocks they touch (i.e., through erosion)  Reading Psychology 75 Classroom teachers rotated across the three days, so students were read to by three different teachers. Each day, teachers read two books aloud to students. After the read aloud, teachers engaged students in a brief discussion using a comparable set of open-ended questions across conditions (e.g., “What did you learn about [topic]?”). The teachers did not use any of the target words during the discussion. After students had listened to all six texts, they took a set of posttests in a one-on-one session with a member of the research team. Students were asked all items orally and they responded orally. Assessment sessions were audio-re- corded and transcribed for coding and data analysis. Data Sources Incremental Word Knowledge (IWK) Assessment For each of the 15 target words (five CC concept words, five NCC concept words, and five cross-condition words), students responded to three questions. The student was asked the meaning of the word (“What does safeguard mean?”). Then, the student was asked to choose a correct definition/synonym from two choices (“Is safeguard more like harm or protect?”). Finally, the student was asked to choose between two pictures (“Touch the picture that shows safeguard.”). The open-ended items were scored as 0 for no response or an incorrect response, 1 for an example, and 2 for a correct synonym or definition. The remaining two items were scored as incorrect (0) or correct (1). Three raters double scored 20% of the responses with 90% agreement. Cronbach’s alpha for this assessment was.65. Listening Comprehension Assessments Students took two of three listening comprehension assessments. For each assessment, the participant listened to the passage being read aloud by a trained data collector and responded to a set of ten open-ended questions. Seven questions asked about text explicit information and three required bridging inferences (connecting information across the text). The passage in the first assessment (concepts-only) was conceptually related to birds but did not contain any target words from the CC treatment texts. The second was conceptually related to birds and included the CC treatment target words (concepts + vocab). The third texts was not conceptually related to birds, but included the CC treatment target words (vocab-only). We administered two of the three passages to each student, to reduce the testing burden on these 7- and 8-year old students. The responses were scored as incorrect (0), partially correct (1), or correct (2) for a maximum score of 20 point on each passage. Two coders scored all responses at 90% reliability. The Cronach’s alpha for 76 T. S. WRIGHT ET AL. the topic-only passage was.64, the vocab-only passage was.75, and the topic + vocab passage was.55. Analytic Strategy Means and standard deviations were examined for each variable of interest by treatment group and grade. We used correlations to examine the rela- tionships between knowledge of target words in passages and comprehension. We employed independent samples t-tests to compare the treatment group to the comparison group on each variable of interest by each grade. Finally, we examined within treatment group comparisons for comprehension. Results We first present the findings from the vocabulary assessment followed by the results for the comprehension passages. Vocabulary and Comprehension As shown in Table 2, we determined whether knowledge of target words (i.e., based on scores on the relevant IWK items) in a passage correlated with comprehension of the passage that contained those words. Not surprisingly, knowledge of the target words contained in a passage was significantly and positively correlated with listening comprehension of the passage that contained those target words. Additionally, we found that across grade levels, listening comprehension scores were correlated across passages. Table 2. Correlations between vocabulary and comprehension across passages. Comprehension: Comprehension: Comprehension: Concepts + Vocab Vocab-only Concepts-only Grade 1 Comprehension: Concepts.65*** +Vocab Comprehension: Concepts-only.38*.42* Knowledge of words:.53***.48***.23 Vocab-only Knowledge of words:.53***.42**.26 Concepts + Vocab Grade 2 Comprehension: Concept + Vocab.51** Comprehension: Concepts-only.70***.54*** Knowledge of words:.27*.24*.23* Vocab-only Knowledge of words:.27*.21.13 Concepts + Vocab Note. *p <.05, ** p