Chapter: Learning Word Meanings from Definitions: Problems and Potential
Author: McKeown, M.G. Publisher: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publication Date: 1991 Publication City: Hillsdale Publication State: NJ Editor: P. Schwanenflugel (Ed.), Pages: 137-156 Book Title: The Psychology of Word Meanings
Brief Description: In this chapter, McKeown reviews research that demonstrates the difficulty that standard definitions typically present students, especially at the elementary level, in deepening their understandings of words. Based on her analyses of the problems with typical definitions for students, McKeown identifies four principles for writing comprehensible definitions. Finally, McKeown summarizes the results of a study where the effectiveness of these "student-friendly" definitions were compared with that of typical definitions. Students who received the student-friendly definitions provided significantly more acceptable understandings of words than those provided usual dictionary definitions.
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