Language and Learning Science

Students in an English classroom read novels, poems, and plays. They do not often read science texts because most English texts focus on fiction.

This study looked at the problems students have with reading science texts. There is a disconnect between understanding in English class and understanding in Science class. The problem lies in the vocabulary.

The vocabulary and sentence structure of a novel is different from that of a science article. The researchers used Word Genereation to help bridge that gap. This program inserts scientific vocabulary into high interest texts.

This program gives students the opportunity to learn vocabulary that they would not normally read. This gives them the opportunity to learn the vocabulary in an organic way.

Application
Word Generation is available for free to schools. Teachers could also make a more concerted effort to teach students how to read science texts. By creating texts that contain science vocabulary.

You Must Learn Control

Teachers must exert control over their classes. Without control over the classroom you have chaos. A first grade teacher uses stickers while a high school teacher might use the threat of lunch detention. Sometimes these methods work and sometimes they do not. This is a problem that researchers have discovered some new information about.

We often point out to students those who are behaving. We make comments like, "Look at Sally. She already has her materials out." Researchers looked at how observing behaviors in others effects the observer. In this case the behavior they looked at was self control.

Researchers had one group of participants imagine themselves as someone exerting self control, and another group read about someone exerting self control.

The group that put themselves in the shoes of someone exerting self control felt drained. It made them less likely to exert self control over their own actions. The group that read a story about self control found themselves better able to exert self control.

Application
A teacher wanting students to show more self control should give their students a story about someone using self control. Instead of pointing out how well controlled another student is they could strengthen that student’s self control.