Ausubel asserts that his work is impugned in various ways in Anderson, Spiro, and Anderson. This paper argues that a more careful reading of the original paper obviates most of Ausubel's concerns. (Author/GK)

Anderson, Spiro, and Anderson (EJ 189 658) assert that the author's assimilation theory of meaningful learning and retention is "hopelessly vague." Documented examination of these assertions indicates that they are unspecified, unsubstantiated, undocumented, and based on indisputable misrepresentation of published material and on logical…

Elementary school students read and recalled normal and scrambled versions of text. Superior recall for expository text was found to be attributable to use of text structure rather than a memory factor as a retrieval cue. Students aware of structure recalled significantly more of normal passages than scrambled text. (Author/DWH)

Two experiments were performed to determine whether questions inserted after prose passages initiate reviews which facilitate retention of the information in memory. Results suggest that the backward review is not attributed to a retrieval phenomenon but to a strengthening of memory traces at the time of the probe. (Author/GK)

Using an analytically organized list of critical attributes and their relationships resulted in better performance than using best examples in classifying examples, but the former required a longer time to complete the instruction booklet. Presentation of best examples facilitated prototype formation in memory and resulted in a higher degree of…

Grade 10 students were taught a hierarchy of intellectual skills in three different contexts: skills taught in isolation; additional verbal instructions provided; and skills taught in relation to a relevant anchoring idea. Results showed that use of the anchoring idea context enhances meaningful learning of complex skills. (Author/GK)

Results indicate that transfer of learning depended on the congruence between students' previous learning in the experiment and subsequent instruction. (Author/BJG)

One hundred thirty-five studies of the facilitative effect of advance organizers on learning and retention were examined. Grade level, subject area studied, organizer presentation mode, and subject ability level were examined in relation to advance organizer effect. Advance organizers were shown to have a small facilitative effect. (Author/GDC)

Elaboration and overt rehearsal are compared as instructional paradigms for memory retention. Superior long-term retention was produced in the elaboration condition when the initial acquisition effects were statistically removed. Short-term data suggest acquisition was complexly affected by experimental condition, I.Q., and task. Elaboration…

A longitudinal research study in Israel was designed to investigate effects of mutual interrelations between courses in sequential teaching on long-term retention of learning in a science curriculum. The results implied that a program composed of a hierarchical sequence of learning units is superior to a discontinuous array of discrete courses.…

Purpose of this study was to explore the effects of stress produced by recitation strategies on retention for learners who differ in their response to anxiety. (Authors)

The effects of competitive treatments on performance, interest, and retention were examined with the use of a ten-day vocabulary task administered in sixty-six fifth grade classrooms. Neither performance nor retention was increased under the competitive treatments. (CK)