Low Tech Vocab Check

Authored/Posted by Rachel Morris

Although that is not the line for which Mandy Patinkin’s Inigo is best known, my observations of students in my introductory pathology and molecular diagnostics courses certainly was bringing it to mind more and more often. They were hearing and repeating the right words, but the precise meaning, so important in medicine, was somehow never quite grasped. For reasons I didn’t completely understand, what had worked for years wasn’t working in my classroom anymore, so I set out to find a practical solution. My first step was discovering reasons for the change. 

The extended version of that “why” I discovered is material for another whole article. Emphasis on context-based strategies for learning vocabulary in K-12 education, multi-tasking while studying, the effects of reading from screens, not reading at all, decreasing attention spans, and the collective effects of education during the COVID-19 pandemic were all likely contributors to students’ “light” understanding of the necessary vocabulary. I was pretty discouraged when I realized that I couldn’t change any of those things! 

However, I wasn’t ready to give up, so I started looking in the literature for strategies and solutions. As you might imagine, not a lot has been published about teaching vocabulary to college students, but I did find some ideas when I read about teaching vocabulary to bilingual students and students with learning differences.When you are learning a new language (or struggling with various aspects of accessing your own), you may be missing or misunderstanding the meaning of new words even in context. My students were learning a new language, kind of, as they built their medical vocabulary, weren’t they? With that hypothesis in mind, one deceptively simple activity stood out from this research, something known as a “Does it Make Sense” or DIMS activity.  Few resources were needed and little prep time. It didn’t take a lot of class time to accomplish. It seemed like a low risk place to start.

I created my version of a DIMS activity this way. I found about 25 3 x 5 cards moldering in the back of my desk drawer. On them, in bold black marker, I printed short statements about the current unit in pathology. I was teaching immunology, seredipitously the lessons in which learning precise language is most important in the course. The statements I wrote each had an error, a word or two that needed to be changed for the statement to be correct. 

At the end of a lecture with about 20 minutes of class time left, I pulled out the cards and asked the students to form groups of 4-5. Once the groups were formed, I gave these brief instructions:

1. Choose one person to read the statement on the card aloud. You may need to read it more than once. 
2. Discuss the statement. Each statement has an error. Determine the error in the statement in your group.
3. Then decide how to change the statement to make it correct. 
4. When you have your correction ready, raise a hand and I will come and hear your answer. If you get stuck, raise your hand and I will come over and help. 

I handed a card to each group, and let the discussions begin. When a group finished and they gave me a correct answer, I gave them another card. Some groups flew through card after card. Others took their time and needed a hint or two to decode their statement. All of the groups had great discussions, and they seemed to stay on task the whole time. In fact, no one, including me, noticed that the activity continued through the end of class and beyond. We had stayed an extra ten minutes when I finally noticed and sent them home! 

I had one of the best days in the classroom that I had had in a long time. From what I could see as I ran around the room from group to group, most of the students had that “aha” moment that we want for them, the moment they understand and learn something new. What did they learn? Did they learn proper use of every word in the vocabulary of immunology that day? Not at all, but that wasn’t the point. The objective was to show them the importance of precise language in medicine and to encourage them to work harder on their own to master the new words in a new context. Based on my observations in class that day and casual student feedback, I think I can say mission accomplished! 

I plan to expand my use of this type of activity and other low tech approaches in the next few semesters. I want to collect more formal outcomes data and do some actual analysis beyond casual observation. My gut is telling me that I’m on to something. Watch this space for more, and if you are interested, feel free to contact me about collaboration!

References:
How Grades 4 to 8 Teachers Can Deliver Intensive Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension Interventions to Students With High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder
Danielle A. Cravalho, Zaira Jimenez, Aya Shhub, and Michael Solis
Beyond Behavior 2020 29:1, 31-41