Two studies concerned with the effects of maps on academically gifted junior high school students indicated that prior presentation of a spatially organizing picture increased learning of prose material. (CL)

In two experiments, differences were investigated between youths (mean age 13 years) and comparison groups with respect to (1) performance on paired-associate tasks involving meaningful and nonmeaningful words, (2) reported use of spontaneously produced learning strategies, and (3) degree to which learning strategies facilitated recall. Under…

The technique of reconstructive elaboration is applied to content area learning, with illustrations and discussion of classroom practice. The purpose of the technique is to make content more familiar or more meaningful and link information to be remembered. (MSE)

Sixty-eight learning disabled and reading disabled junior high school-aged youths participated in two experiments regarding use of spatial organizers to increase prose recall. In Experiment 1, learners were required to study either a spatially organized illustration or a randomized (list format) illustration prior to hearing a related prose…

Sixty-eight learning disabled and reading disabled junior high school students took part in one of two experiments, both using spatially organized and randomized illustrations in an effort to measure effects of the type of illustration on recall of verbally presented prose passages. Results are discussed in terms of instructional variables for…

Describes how one form of illustration, the spatially organized map, can improve reading comprehension. (HOD)

This report describes the outcomes of a 3-year project that investigated the effectiveness of mnemonic instruction of secondary students with learning disabilities. Classroom-based mnemonic instruction was implemented in junior-high school self-contained classrooms. The report first presents theoretical and empirical support for mnemonic…

Adolescents (n=25) with learning disabilities were randomly assigned to either mnemonic conditions or experimenter-directed rehearsal conditions and individually taught difficult vocabulary words, half abstract and half concrete. Results included higher scores on both recall and comprehension tests by mnemonically trained students for both…

Mnemonic and non-mnemonic pictures were used as teaching aids with 67 learning-disabled students in grades seven, eight, and nine in reading expository passages about the extinction of dinosaurs. Both types of pictures aided students' free recall, while only mnemonic pictures facilitated recall of the plausibility order of the passages. (TJH)

Students in three inclusive third-grade classes (n=74 students) were taught story vocabulary using the keyword method, vocabulary words with pictures, or vocabulary with definitions. The keyword method was more effective in increasing vocabulary learning. Using the keyword method, the achievement of students with learning disabilities matched…

Gifted and nongifted students (n=96) in grades five-six were assigned to a free-study or one of three mnemonic conditions for learning mineral hardness levels. Both ability groups learned more in mnemonic conditions, and gifted students demonstrated an ability superior to nongifted students in employing mnemonic strategies independently in…

Fifty-nine students enrolled in 4 inclusive world history classes in a suburban high school participated in a within participants research design to compare the relative effects of mnemonic strategies and direct instruction on academic performance. Regularly assigned high school teachers delivered instruction during history class periods. Keywords…

The use of reconstructive elaborations for teaching content to secondary students with learning disabilities is described. The technique provides a framework for adapting all content-area information into more familiar, more concrete interactive elaborations. Its use with United States history in a recent study illustrates the strategy.…

Junior high learning-disabled students (n=29) were taught U.S. states and capitals. Students scored higher on items taught mnemonically than on items taught traditionally, whether students were required to provide forward or backward information. Significant correlations were found between performance and reported mnemonic strategy usage.…

This study compared the effects of comprehension fostering strategies on science and social studies texts with 54 eighth-grade students with learning disabilities. Strategies included text-structure-based strategy, paragraph-restatement strategy, and traditional instruction. Text-structure-based reading strategies had a significant effect on…