Flocabulary Research

Pilot Study Results
Learn how Flocabulary materials are proven to raise student achievement and state test scores. Independent studies in school settings and after school programs show that students benefit from Flocabulary in urban, suburban and rural settings.

The Flocabulary Research Base
The research foundation supporting The Word Up Project's approach to vocabulary instruction, this paper describes the need for teaching vocabulary and the best practices in vocabulary instruction and cultural relevant learning environments. By Roger Farr, Ed.D., Jenny Conner, Ph.D. and the Educational Research Institute of America.

Research Summary
A very brief overview of some of the research strands supporting Flocabulary's method of instruction, including: multisensory learning, student engagement, clutural relevancy, higher-order thinking, and multiple exposures.

Engagement

High-School Survey of Student Engagement
A survey of high school students conducted in 2006, this study examines what activities and teaching techniques students find most interesting. Spoiler alert: students don't like lectures.

Motivating Students
A professor at UC Berkeley outlines some general techniques for motivating students.

Cultural Relevancy

One of the greatest challenges to teachers in diverse classrooms is keeping their lessons relevant to students of all backgrounds. Studies show that students respond best to lessons that relate to their own cultures.

Teaching Teachers How to Connect With Urban Students
A good article on connecting with urban students and developing 'cultural competence.' As former professor Ishmail Conwayn notes, "It doesn't change 1 + 1 = 2... It just possibly changes how you get that message across on a day-to-day basis."

The Uniqueness of the Urban Student
English teacher Katherine M. Searle writes with impressive honesty about the successful and unsuccessful techniques she's tried to reach the at-risk youth in her classes. What's one of the most powerful methods, according to Ms. Searle? Sharing some of your own pain and difficulties with students to create a personal connection.

We Can Relate: Hip-Hop Culture, Critical Pedagogy and the Secondary Classroom
Here a teacher recounts his experiences using popular and underground hip-hop to teach social studies curricula. He has used Outkast, Mos Def, Talib Kweli and Mystic. Although the paper is written like a research paper, you won't have to wade through phD-isms.

Music, Rhyme and Memory

Proving Music Has Power
An article that focuses on research on music helping those with memory loss recover memories and heal from strokes. The psychologists have found that “clinical evidence has shown that persons with memory deficits can still recall familiar music.” They are currently conducting an experiment to determine whether people with short-term memory deficits can retain information embedded in a song.

Music Instruction Aids Verbal Memory
This article outlines the connection between learning an instrument and having a strong verbal memory, concluding “students with musical training recalled significantly more words than the untrained students.”