The Vocabulary SIG pays tribute to scholars and recognizes graduate students in the area of vocabulary research.

Notable Vocabulary Researcher Award

This annual award recognizes an important scholar in the area of vocabulary research. The award is presented to an individual who has been nominated by a Vocabulary SIG member and is determined by the Award Committee to be deserving of the tribute.

This award honors the efforts of scholars who have given their professional efforts to the field of vocabulary research. It bridges emergent researchers with those who have paved the way before them, and provides an opportunity to engage in a group presentation and discussion about the researcher’s work.

The following criteria are used to identify and evaluate possible vocabulary scholars:

1. An Award Committee led by the Program Co-Chair of the Vocabulary SIG is determined at the yearly SIG business meeting. 
2. Following the Annual Meeting, the Award Committee takes nominations from SIG members for notable vocabulary researchers.
3. The Award Committee reviews nominations that are submitted according to award criteria- important contributions to the field over an extended period of time.

The timeline for making the Notable Vocabulary Researcher Award is:

• AERA Annual Meeting: Determine the Award Committee members. The committee is led by the Program Co-Chair and also includes the previous year’s student award winner, as well as an at-large member elected at the annual business meeting.
• May-June: The Award Committee accepts nominations from SIG members for the Notable Vocabulary Researcher
• June 30^th-September 10: The committee reviews the nominations according to award criteria, and comes to an agreement about the paper most deserving of the award.
• September 10^th: The Program Co-Chair notifies the SIG Chair and AERA leadership about the winner of the Notable Vocabulary Researcher Award.
• Septmeber 20^th: The researcher is notified about the award and is invited to attend the SIG business meeting to receive the award the following spring.
• AERA Annual Meeting: The award winner receives the award (a plaque) at the Vocabulary SIG business meeting and shares highlights from his or her research. The process repeats itself for the next year’s award.

Student Vocabulary Research Paper

This annual award recognizes an exemplary research paper focusing on vocabulary research or instruction by a student author.  The award has been granted informally over the past six years through the Vocabulary SIG and we now wish to officially sanction the process. The award is presented to the individual or individuals who meet the following criteria as approved by the SIG and Council: An original research paper presented in the previous year’s annual AERA meeting on the topic of vocabulary research or instruction; applicants must have student status at the time of paper submission to AERA; and must be a SIG member by the award application date. 

This award encourages upcoming researchers to focus on vocabulary topics, and rewards an outstanding effort in this area. It helps move our collective knowledge forward, and provides an opportunity to engage in a group presentation and discussion about the research topic.

The following criteria are used to identify and evaluate possible award papers:

1. An Award Committee led by the Program Co-Chair of the Vocabulary SIG is determined at the yearly SIG business meeting. 
2. Following the Annual Meeting, the Award Committee reviews vocabulary-related research papers that were presented from student authors. 
3. Authors are contacted to inform them of the SIG Student Vocabulary Research Paper Award, and are encouraged to apply for the award if they meet the criteria. 
4. The Award Committee reviews papers that are submitted according to award criteria- importance to the field, quality of presentation, and methodological soundness. 

The timeline for making the Student Vocabulary Research Paper Award is:

• AERA Annual Meeting: Determine the Award Committee members. The committee is led by the Program Co-Chair and also includes the previous year’s student award winner, as well as an at-large member elected at the annual business meeting.
• May-June: The Award Committee reviews vocabulary-related research papers from the annual conference and contacts presenters to inform them of the Student Vocabulary Research Paper Award and encourage applications for the award.
• September 10: Application deadline to be considered for the award.
• September 10-October 31^st: The committee reviews the papers according to award criteria, and comes to an agreement about the paper most deserving of the award.
• November 1^st: The Program Co-Chair notifies the SIG Chair and AERA leadership about the winner of the Student Vocabulary Research Paper Award.
• November 10^th: The student author is notified about the award and is invited to attend the SIG business meeting to receive the award the following spring.
• AERA Annual Meeting: The award winner receives the award (a plaque) at the Vocabulary SIG business meeting and shares highlights from his or her paper. The process repeats itself for the next year’s award.

2016 Vocabulary SIG Award Winners

Congratulations to Dr. Margaret G. McKeown (University of Pittsburgh), the recipient of the Notable Vocabulary Researcher Award; and Dr. Meredith W. Moran (Stanford University), the recipient of the Student Vocabulary Research Paper Award.

MARGARET G. MCKEOWN

Dr. Margaret McKeown’s vocabulary research spans more than 35 years (1979-present). Her research has focused on vocabulary instruction and its impact on comprehension, acquisition of word meanings, academic vocabulary, and morphology, and has addressed the needs of young children through adolescent learners. Her work is published in high-profile journals and presses that include Reading Research Quarterly, Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Cognition and Instruction, Journal of Educational Psychology, Guilford Press and Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, as well as in practitioner journals, such as The Reading Teacher and Language Arts. Dr. McKeown’s vocabulary research has been funded by the Institute of Education Sciences—IES, as well as other organizations. She is a Fellow of the American Education Research Association and a member of the International Literacy Association’s Reading Hall of Fame. She began her career teaching language arts in elementary school.

MEREDITH W. MORAN

Award winning paper: The Centrality of Talk: Development of Kindergarteners’ Oral Vocabulary through Discussion of Texts Read Aloud. Paper presented at 2015 Annual AERA Conference. 

2015 Vocabulary SIG Award Winners

At the 2015 Annual Meeting, recipients of the awards for Notable Vocabulary Researcher and Student Vocabulary Research Paper were Dr. William Nagy, Seattle Pacific University, and Dr. Sean Davidson, University of California, Riverside, respectively.

WILLIAM E. NAGY

Professor of Education in Literacy/Curriculum and Instruction, School of Education, Pacific Seattle University.

Bill’s Impressive Publication Record Spanning 37 years (1978 – present) includes four books, numerous articles and book chapters, encyclopedia entries, conference proceedings, and reports.

Career Focus and Awards: Professor Nagy is interested in how children learn words, how vocabulary can best be taught, what teachers can do to help English language learners, and how students' awareness of language contributes to their reading ability. Professor Nagy has done research on incidental word learning from context during reading, the acquisition of derivational morphology, how knowledge of morphology contributes to comprehension, bilingual students’ recognition of cognate relationships between English and Spanish, and the role of morphological awareness in learning to read in English and in Chinese.  Professor Nagy was elected into the Reading Hall of Fame in 2009.

SEAN DAVIDSON

Ph.D. Candidate, University of California, Riverside, California

Award winning paper:  Morphological Analysis Training for English Language Learners with Reading. Paper presented at AERA 2014, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 3, 2014

Sean Davidson has been an educator for over fifteen years as a classroom teacher and support provider. He earned his doctorate in education from the University of California, Riverside, under the guidance of his advisor, Dr. Rollanda O’Connor. Currently, he works as an instructional coach for the Los Angeles Unified School District and as a lecturer for the University of California, Riverside’s teacher credential program. His instructional and research interests include assisting students from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds increase vocabulary knowledge and improve reading. 

Previous Vocabulary SIG Award Winners 

Notable Vocabulary Researcher  

2014 No Award Given

2013 No Award Given

2012 Isabel Beck

Student Vocabulary Research Paper

2014 No award given

2013 No award given

2012 Ersoy Erdemir,  Ph.D. Candidate in Foreign and Second Language Education, State University of New York, Buffalo, New York. Vocabulary Development Through Peer Interactions: A Case Study of an Emerging English Language Learner in a Preschool Classroom. Paper presented at AERA 2011, New Orleans, February 26, 2011

2011 Elaine Mo, Ph.D. Candidate, Harvard University Comparing Language-Minority and English Only Fifth Graders’Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge. Poster presented at AERA 2010, Denver, Colorado, May 2, 2010