| Abstract: | Used modeling data from a study of M. G. McKeown et al (1983) in which approximately 160 4th graders recalled texts containing words that were either unfamiliar or recently taught to them through an intensive vocabulary instruction program. A suppression model, in which incomplete representations of propositions containing unfamiliar words were used during processing, predicted the pattern of recall of texts containing 11% unfamiliar words better than did a substitution model, in which propositions that contained only familiar words were substituted for those that contained unfamiliar words. A remind model, in which instructed words received additional processing, predicted the pattern of recall of texts containing 11% instructed words better than did a normal model, in which propositions that contained instructed words were processed in the same way as were propositions containing only familiar words. It is suggested that learning words through well-designed, direct instruction makes the instructed words salient and results in a greater ability to use the instructed rather than familiar words during comprehension. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
