Strengthening Science Vocabulary through the Use of Imagery Interventions with College Students

Abstract

This study was an extension of previous work designed to examine the effect of imagery on science vocabulary learning. One hundred students enrolled in a private college in Brooklyn, New York were randomly assigned to four different interventions: Word Only, Picture Presentation, Image Creation—No Picture, and Image Creation—Picture. These interventions were developed taking into account the ability of images to facilitate vocabulary learning, the dual coding theory, and depth of processing. Results demonstrated that students in the imagery creation groups (Image Creation—No Picture and Image Creation—Picture) scored higher on the outcome measures than students placed in the Word Only intervention at immediate recall. However, there were no significant differences shown among the imagery treatments or at delayed recall. The outcome scores from each group also followed the pattern predicted in that the deeper the students processed the “to be learned” vocabulary words, the more words they were able to acquire and retain. This work extends the previous research and highlights the benefits of vocabulary instruction using imagery at all instructional levels.