Explores the challenge presented by the exercise of memory, through oral history, as an historical method. Notes the use of historical data generated by memory projects. Concludes that memory recollection, as a historical medium, can be a resource for bearing witness to history's power to shape lives as individuals experience it. (KDR)

Discusses the need for new models and understanding of how we learn and develop independence to successfully prepare our youth for the 21st century. Topics include a new model of learning based on current understandings about the brain, human intelligence, and memory; and a transnational program called the 21st Century Learning Initiative.…

Details language, memory, and reading information gathered for a five year follow up study of 30 children and adolescents with Down syndrome. Concludes that early learning skills may be significant predictors of mean length of utterance five years later. (PM)

Summarizes relevant aspects of the theory of field dependence. Topics discussed include stages of information processing, developmental issues and implications, and future directions for research. (RJC)

Individual differences in retention, with an emphasis on their relationship with learning speed and other cognitive factors, were studied in 685 military recruits. In all of the forgetting conditions, the fastest learners remembered more and relearned faster. Results support the existence of individual differences in retention. (SLD)

Discusses field dependence-independence from an information processing perspective. Topics discussed include field dependence theory, stages of information processing, developmental issues and implications, and future directions. The information reviewed indicates that field-independent individuals are more efficient than field-dependent…

Investigated the relation between age and rate of forgetting in 72 three-, four-, and six-year-olds in a task that eliminated differences in level of initial learning. Rate of forgetting was nearly identical in every age group. (RJC)

Describes research on young children's long-term memory under 2 conditions of acquisition: direct imitation followed by a 10-minute delay, or deferred imitation. Children were able to encode and retain as much from visual pickup of modeled acts as from feedback obtained through imitation. (Author/GH)

Two studies compared the effects of imagery-based instruction and rote learning on the long-term recall of English translations of Chinese ideographs. In no instance was there any indication that imagery-based mnemonics conferred an advantage beyond the immediate test of recall. (27 references) (Author/LB)

Dramatic developments in brain research and imaging technology are rapidly advancing our understanding of the human brain. The new biologically based brain theories suggest that "nature" dominates "nurture" and that many current beliefs about instruction, learning, and memory are wrong. This article explains neural Darwinism…

Describes a study that examined five influences on college students' schemata to determine what affected their ability to make effective use of instructional thematic maps. Topics include use of the Group Embedded Figures Test to determine field dependence/independence; sex differences; student preferences for data representation types; and…

Discussion of the use of the Internet to deliver instruction and multimedia opportunities for Web-page design focuses on working memory and its implications for Web-based instruction. Topics include media overload; cognitive load theory; static visual displays; animations; audio; and research questions. (Author/LRW)

A test battery was designed to test the Baddeley and Hitch model of working memory. The battery was administered to 87 children aged 6 and 7 years. Correlations between subtest scores indicated high construct validity for the central executive and phonological loop measures, although not for the visuospatial measures. (Contains 100 references and…

The authors argue that nonword repetition priming in lexical decision is the net result of 2 opposing processes. First, repeating nonwords in the lexical decision task results in the storage of a memory trace containing the interpretation that the letter string is a nonword; retrieval of this trace leads to an increase in performance for repeated…

In a previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study we demonstrated an involvement of the medial temporal lobe (MTL) during an implicit learning task. We concluded that the MTL was engaged because of the complex contingencies that were implicitly learned. In addition, the basal ganglia demonstrated effects of a paralleled…