Now that you have observed typical student responses…
What did your classroom data show you about the use vague pronouns at your school or district?
During your observations, did you hear students using academic nouns or were they replacing these important terms with vague pronouns?
Based on our work with thousands of teachers in classrooms, here is what you likely learned:
Students routinely and comfortably rely on the use of pronouns instead of using specific and correct academic nouns.
Teachers frequently utilize pronouns to refer to the key concepts and vocabulary that are stated on their written objective. For example, instead of reminding students that “historical analyses are a significant aspect of the social sciences”, they say “those are a big part of this”.
It and that are two of the most pervasive pronouns in students’ answers.
Teachers do not consistently require students to replace vague pronouns with the correct academic nouns.
Most of the pronoun use patterns students display in their oral classroom answers can be found in their written products as well.
The key finding from our own extensive research in this area is that classroom instruction today is sounding more like the language used outside of the classroom, especially with respect to the rampant use of vague and repetitive pronouns. The implication is alarming. Students are allowed to use pronouns daily in classrooms, and then are thrown for a loop on state and national assessments that require the use of specific and academic nouns.