MORPHOLOGICAL INSTRUCTION IN THE ELEMENTARY CLASSROOM by Peter Neil Bowers A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education in conformity with the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Queen‘s University Kingston, Ontario, Canada Final submission December, 2012 copyright © Peter Neil Bowers, 2012 An idea to consider: Orthography is human thought made visible as text. ABSTRACT In recent years the role of morphology has gained a great deal of attention regarding research on vocabulary and literacy learning. An attendant literature investigating morphology as a potentially rich context for instructional innovation has grown as well. Chapter 1 of this dissertation presents a critical review of that research. Its focus is on ways that this growing interest in morphology builds on lessons from previous decades of research on the relative effectiveness of instruction which targeted phonological features of words (sub-lexical features) compared to those which targeted learning to read words from context. A detailed description of the linguistic account of how English orthography operates to represent morphology and phonology is also presented. Two studies investigating the role of morphology and morphology instruction in relation to literacy learning and theories of reading are reported. The first study is an intervention using experimental and control classes (Grade 4 and 5) to investigate the effect of instruction about morphology on vocabulary learning. Hierarchical regression analyses controlling for initial vocabulary showed that the experimental group gained in measures of vocabulary compared to a control group and that the morphological treatment group made better use of existing vocabulary knowledge in learning new vocabulary. The second study is a quantitative synthesis of instructional studies assessing the effects of morphological instruction on sub-lexical, lexical and supra-lexical outcomes. Positive effects were found for morphological treatments compared to the 10 studies that used typical classroom instruction controls and effects equal to alternative treatments that mostly used well-established research-based instruction. Less able students and younger students generally exhibited greater gains than undifferentiated and older students. iii The results of these studies are discussed within the context of previous instructional research and established theories of reading and literacy instruction. It is suggested that the findings from these studies support the view that instruction should encourage learners to explicitly attend to the ordered lexical/sub-lexical morphological and phonological features of how oral and written words work as a means to foster generative word learning and greater literacy. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to first acknowledge and thank John Kirby for the intensive and extensive support over the course of both my master‘s and doctoral work. I have been respected, challenged and supported as a student in need of guidance and as a colleague who has something of real value to offer in return. Not only have I had the benefit of expert guidance in making sense of the literature, research and writing process, but I have been able to go through this process with an implicit trust that my interests (including my family‘s interests) were always at the centre of this relationship. That level of trust was especially important given that our perspectives have always included large differences. John provided the support I needed to do my work without changing it to his work – all the while ensuring that I met his high standards of scientific research. A student couldn‘t ask for more in terms of doctoral supervision. I owe my mother, Patricia Bowers, so much in so many ways. The fact that my mom was able to provide expert guide in academic thinking and writing over these years has been invaluable. I simply would not have made it without that support, let alone the heroic support in every other imaginable way. Thanks mom. I also need to acknowledge my indebtedness to Real Spelling and the community of scholars that has grown to guide my thinking throughout this process. In particular Gina Cooke, Gail Venable Skot Caldwell, Lyn Anderson, Dan Allen, Ann Whiting and to the other teachers, administrators and students around the world for pushing this work forward in their own ways. I would also like to acknowledge the work and the personal and academic support of Marcia K. Henry. Marcia published some of the most influential early work pointing researchers and educators to the importance of teaching about the morphological structure of the written word and the influence of etymology. Her 2003 book, ―Unlocking Literacy‖ was also the first reference I have seen in the research literature to highlight the work of Real Spelling, including the morphological matrix. More personally, I was lucky that Marcia was the kind of academic who didn‘t think twice about reaching out to a young teacher who was just beginning to work with these tools from Real Spelling. Marcia went out of her way to support my work since before I had any interest in research, and that support and friendship has been crucial at each stage of my journey since. Marcia not only supports the work of those she mentors, she publically acknowledges how her thinking evolves by considering that work. I owe Marcia Henry a great deal, as does the field in general. Finally, my love and appreciation to my amazing wife Sus and our kids, Jess & Skyler, for not only putting up with me so patiently, but actually supporting this too-often absent husband and father all these years! v STATEMENT OF CO-AUTHORSHIP Study 1 was co-authored with John R. Kirby Study 2 was co-authored with John R. Kirby and S. Hélène Deacon vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................. v STATEMENT OF CO-AUTHORSHIP ............................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. xiii LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................. xv CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................... 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................1 The Current State of Word Level and Sub-Lexical Literacy Instruction ............................2 Instructional Focus: Lexical or Sub-Lexical? .....................................................................3 Limits of Sub-lexical Phonological Instruction ...................................................................4 What Might Be Missing from “Best Practices”? ................................................................7 Morphology in English Orthography ......................................................................................9 Morphological Conventions .................................................................................................9 The Interrelation of Morphology and Phonology in English Orthography ...................12 Implications of English Orthographic Conventions for Instruction ...............................14 The Place of Morphology in Psychological Models of Reading .......................................18 The Acquisition and Use of Untaught Morphological Knowledge ......................................24 Acquisition of Morphological Knowledge Via Exposure .................................................25 The Nature of Morphological Representations Acquired Through Exposure...............27 Morphology and Vocabulary Development.......................................................................33 Morphological Awareness ...................................................................................................36 Predicting Literacy Development from Morphological Knowledge ...................................39 Morphological Knowledge and Reading ............................................................................41 vii Morphological Knowledge and Vocabulary ......................................................................48 Morphological Knowledge and Spelling ............................................................................49 Summary of Findings of Predictive Research on Morphological Knowledge................52 Morphological Interventions...................................................................................................53 Study 1: Effects of Morphological Instruction on Vocabulary Acquisition ...................56 Study 2: The Effects of Morphological Instruction on Literacy Skills: A Systematic Review of the Literature ..................................................................................................56 CHAPTER 2: EFFECTS OF MORPHOLOGICAL INSTRUCTION ON VOCABULARY ACQUISITION ............................................................................................................... …58 Abstract .....................................................................................................................................58 Introduction ..............................................................................................................................58