This study investigated the relationships among vocabulary breadth,
vocabulary depth, reading comprehension, and reading rate among college-aged
students. While the relationships of some of these variables have been explored
in previous research, the current study’s focus on the role of
vocabulary depth on the literacy measures within a sample of skilled readers is
new and produced several interesting findings. First, consistent with the
hypotheses, both vocabulary breadth and depth were significantly correlated with
reading comprehension and reading rate. Second, while both types of vocabulary
knowledge explained unique variance in reading comprehension, only vocabulary
breadth explained unique variance in reading rate. Finally, although vocabulary
breadth was significantly correlated with both of the vocabulary depth measures,
the two depth measures were not significantly correlated with each other. This
work implies that a strong depth of vocabulary affects reading comprehension, in
addition to the well-established relationship between vocabulary breadth and
comprehension.
A longitudinal study examined the relationship between contact with successful ingroup members and women’s stereotypes about their own leadership abilities, career goals, and assertive behavior in class. Upon entry into college and toward the end of their sophomore year we measured (1) participants’ quantity and quality of contact with successful ingroup members (female professors), (2) implicit and explicit leadership self-concept, (3) career goals, and (4) classroom behavior. Frequent contact with ingroup members predicted stronger implicit self-conceptions of leadership and more career ambitions, but only when contact experiences were of high quality rather than superficial. Quality and quantity of contact independently predicted assertive behavior. The findings suggest that changing implicit self-beliefs requires both high quality and frequent exposure to counterstereotypic individuals.
In large classes, students' feelings of anonymity and interpersonal distance from the instructor can be particularly detrimental to those who struggle with course material. We tested a simple method for connecting with struggling students to improve their performance. We randomly divided students who scored 75% or lower on the first exam into 2 groups. Students in one group received a personalized e-mail message expressing our concern and providing information about course resources. Students in the other group served as a no-e-mail control. Those who received the message performed better on the second exam than those who did not. We discuss possible explanations for our findings and question whether multiple e-mails might enhance performance more consistently.
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