Dr. Jones' Final Entry/Reflection on Vocabulary Learning

Of all the assignments I have designed for students, this is one I am most proud of.  I had that "teacher gut-instinct" that the elements were in place to make this a rich literacy-learning experience for the students, as learners as well as teachers.  


In what ways did I benefit as a word learner from keeping a vocabulary journal this semester?
Certainly I thought it would be a useful example of "student-generated texts" (Wade & Moje, 2000) which would be seen as legitimate texts in classroom learning.   On the other hand, what I didn't realize is how much I would learn as well. 


I have always been a diligent reader of my "word of the day" email, but I found that this semester I was much more interested in checking my Google Reader to see what new words had been posted by the students.   These words became more important because I felt a deeper sense of connection to the posts because these were written by people I knew.   Having this personal connection was key.   


In addition, I also found that I have a personal preference for entries which included relevant/meaning images.   When I would check my Reader, often it would be the image that caught my eye and would entice me to read more about the word which reflected the concept in the image.   


What do I notice about my word learning inclinations?
I found that I was just as interested in learning what words my students were selecting as in finding words myself.  I found there were weeks when I used this journal purely for my own learning needs -- for example, when I was researching extended definitions on validity and reliability.   In fact, I even ended up sharing the link to these entries with my colleagues who are serving with me on the TEAC steering committee.   


Other times though, I did find it hard not to select words I knew well and wanted the LTED 625 students to reflect on (or consider for the first time).   Often I found I would select words based on questions students raised in class or statements they would make which needed further clarification.   This blog became an extension of the classroom reciprocal teaching discussions since I tried to be careful to limit my participation in the circle so that the students' voices would be the "primary sources of knowledge."   

In what ways did taking the vocabulary tests add to my word learning?

Although I didn't take the tests along with my students, I can certainly say that designing the vocabulary tests certainly added to my professional knowledge of test design.   Perhaps the most challenging component of the test was including the actual definitions from the students' blogs on the test.   Sometimes the students' explanation of what the word meant was not easy to pull out of the context of the blog entry and simply copy and paste into the test.   

I will certainly be interested to hear what the LTED 625 students say about this component of the assignment and if they include any reflections on the matching definitions section of the test.   I wonder if they felt the same struggles when studying for the tests because of limitations of lack of clarity in their peer's explication?

How will you continue to keep learning new words after the semester is over?
I think I will continue to take time to think about words that I come in contact with -- when reading, in discussion, in the hallway, on the radio, at the movies, etc. -- but that most likely I will not consistently take the time to reflect in writing about these words.   When I do return to this blog (when I teach LTED 625 again next Fall), I will be interested to see if I think my habits waned because I did not take the extra step of writing about the words that I find interesting rather than simply taking a few moments to consider their interestability, usability, and transferability.