Use of tactual materials on the achievement of content specific vocabulary and terminology acquisition within an intermediate level science curriculum

In this quasi-experimental study, the researcher investigated the effectiveness of three tactual strategies and one non-tactual strategy of content specific vocabulary acquisition. Flash cards, task cards, and learning wheels served as the tactual strategies, and vocabulary review sheets served as a non-tactual strategy. The sample (n=85) consisted of all middle school students in a small high performing middle school located in the northern suburbs of New York City. All of the vocabulary words and terms came from the New York State Intermediate Level Science Core Curriculum. Pre-tests and post-tests were used to collect the data. A repeated measures ANOVA was conducted on the gain scores from each of the treatments. Multiple paired sample t-tests were conducted to analyze the results. Repeated measures ANOVAs were used to determine if there was a variance between the academic achievement levels of the students, gender, and grade level for each of the treatments. All of the treatments significantly improved the science achievement of the students, but significance was found between them. Significance was found between the achievement groups with the above average students attaining a higher mean on the pre-test and post-test for each treatment, whereas the below average students had the lowest mean on both assessments. The sixth grade students showed significant improvement over the seventh grade students while using the flash cards (p=.004) and learning wheel (p=.007). During the learning wheel treatment, the males scored significantly better (p=.021) than the females on the pre-test and post-test. During the worksheet treatment, significance (p=.034) was found between gender and achievement group. The below average male students had the greatest gain from the pre-test to the post-test, but the post-test mean was still the lowest of the groups. Limitations, implications for future research and current practice are discussed.;Key words are: flash cards, task cards, learning wheel, tactual strategy, vocabulary acquisition.