Educators have long lamented the tendency of students to engage in rote memorization in preparation for tests rather than engaging in deep learning where they attempt to gain meaning from their studies. Rote memorization driven by objective exams has been termed a steering effect. Progress testing (PT), in which a comprehensive examination…

This study examined over 48,000 eighth-grade Chinese students' mathematics performance and use of learning strategies. In particular, this study explored how the use of learning strategies and their combinations are related to students' mathematics performance in Chinese context. This study examined three kinds of learning strategies derived from…

The intellectual foundation of early modern Japan was provided by Confucianism--a system of knowledge set forth in Chinese classical writings. In order to gain access to this knowledge, the Japanese applied reading markers to modify the original Chinese to fit the peculiarities of Japanese grammar and pronunciation. Confucian education started by…

In some situations, memorisation is useful, even necessary. It can give students enough concrete facts on which to reflect; it can limit anxiety by reducing mathematics to a set of simple facts, rules and procedures; and it can help to develop fluency with numbers early in a child's development, before the child is asked to tackle more complex…

This study evaluated how people learn about encoding strategy effectiveness in an associative memory task. Individuals studied two lists of paired associates under instructions to use either a normatively effective strategy (interactive imagery) or a normatively ineffective strategy (rote repetition) for each pair. Questionnaire ratings of imagery…

This study explored whether the learner ethnicity has any influence on the frequency and the choice of language learning strategy use by investigating learners of Japanese through the use of the SILL. The participants were 151 students of Japanese at an American University. The results of the mean SILL scores of each ethnicity revealed that the…

Memory and study skill instruction can powerfully affect middle school students' classroom performance. Students should be taught to improve their study skills by increasing their knowledge about memory, their awareness of their own memory processes, and their use of effective memory strategies. At the middle level, concrete demonstrations,…

Three experiments were conducted in which the "face-name" mnemonic was adapted for use in learning 30 painting/artist associations by a total of 183 university undergraduates. Subjects exposed to verbal and pictorial mnemonic aids were better able than were others to match artists and their paintings. (TJH)

Emerging research evidence of an approach to learning that combines memorization and comprehension, particularly from Asia, is examined and possible explanations for it are discussed. It is proposed that this approach may explain the apparent paradox of high achievement is Asian cultures, where rote learning in stressed. (Author/MSE)

A University of Michigan study that surveyed students about sexual harassment behaviors discovered that 83% of girls and 60% of boys have experienced harassment. Also, 75% of the victims had also been perpetrators. Another study examined how cultural influences may affect high-achieving Japanese students' use of will power and memorization…

The Keyword Method (KWM) of vocabulary learning is a mnemonic method designed to help students learn foreign vocabulary. It has been shown to be effective over several other memorization strategies. The present experiment was designed to explore the cognition underlying the effectiveness of the KWM. Specifically, both the degree of cognitive…

Two short-term strategy training programs were used to teach learning disabled 9- to 12-year-old students (N=42) to use an organizational strategy for a memory task. A three-rule program stressing the acquisition of specific strategy content showed a greater transfer of learning than a six-rule program teaching both specific strategy content and…

Defines memory skills as techniques for increasing initial learning and long-term retention of information, and argues that good memory skills are important. Nine ways in which teachers can improve the ability of students to remember are presented. Emphasis is placed on mnemonic strategies. (SLD)

A culturally-based approach to learning adopted by many Japanese students is hypothesized, and it is proposed that while it is effective in many areas of learning, it may hinder second language learning. Japan's politico-economic structures, geared toward efficiently manufacturing competent workers, encourages a psychology of procedure that tends…

Although rote learning is a heretical notion to many educators, memorizing, reciting, and drilling may be what is needed to improve test scores and provide students with the necessary skills for solving problems and developing complex thinking skills. Sidebars summarize direct-teaching methods for mathematics and a Core Knowledge curriculum…