The Use of SAFMEDS to Increase Fluency and Recall on Eighth Grade Math Vocabulary Terms

Abstract

This study examined the effect of SAFMEDS, an instrumental strategy used with flashcards, which is an acronym for "Say All Facts A Minute Each Day Shuffled" on students' knowledge of eighth grade math vocabulary terms. One class that used SAFMEDS was introduced to 15 math vocabulary terms. For each term a SAFMED was made. This class was compared to another class of eighth grade students that did not use the SAFMEDS but were introduced to the same math terms on a daily basis. A matching vocabulary pretest and post test on math terms were used to determine any level of significant difference prior to the study and at the end of the study. In addition to the pretest and post test, a post test of problem solving abilities was administered to determine if SAFMEDS had any effect on student performance. Using a post test treatment design and the t -test for comparison between the two groups, it was found that the students who used SAFMEDS performed higher on the vocabulary post test than did the group who did not use the SAFMEDS. It was concluded that SAFMEDS do increase the rate of recall for math vocabulary terms but do not affect student performance on problem solving tests.