Too Many Words, Too Little Support: Vocabulary Instruction in Online Earth Science Courses

As online coursework become more popular, students with disabilities that need vocabulary support for reading comprehension will be among the increase in cyber school students. Researchers have some evidence that certain types of vocabulary support strategies are more efficacious for students with disabilities. The purpose of this article is determining if what was known about strategies for supporting vocabulary was being applied to online learning coursework. A content analysis of types of vocabulary and types of support strategies was performed on science courses from three online course vendors. The results of this study indicate a need for online course vendors to pay more explicit attention to the types of words supported and the strategies they use to do so and for those who support online learners (teachers, parents) to be more proactive about vocabulary support deficiencies that are likely to be present in the courses.