Previous research identified that studying texts in a second language (L2) as opposed to the first (L1) results in substantially weaker recall. We hypothesized that use of advance organizers (AOs) might attenuate this L2 recall cost by supporting L2 users in the construction of more solid memory representations. One hundred Dutch-English…

As technology continues to evolve, authentic multimedia-based teaching materials are widely used in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms. However, they may lie beyond most language learners' proficiency level. The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of advance organizers in conjunction with the cognitive theory of…

Whether preview and recall sentences affected readers' memory of text material in separate chapters was studied in seven experiments using a total of 130 undergraduate students. Hypotheses for the causes of the beneficial effects of preview signals and recall sentences on memory are postulated. (SLD)

Two experiments investigate whether advance organizers (1) help subjects with good reasoning skills compensate for poor memory or information overload; and (2) compensate for distractions. Findings suggest that the organizer technique does not help compensate for processing deficits related to information overload or distracting study conditions.…

Two experiments investigated to what extent schema activation is involved in any facilitative effect that headings may have on multiple-choice test performance following the reading of a passage. In the first experiment, 1,116 college students read a 1,760-word passage on human sexuality with headings either present or absent. An analysis of the…

In this study on the interactive effects of advance organizers and reasoning skills, 112 undergraduates read a literature text preceded by either a comparative advance organizer or a placebo introduction. Results suggest that instructional organizers produce neither serious loss nor substantial benefits for many purposes of communication. (BS)

The study examined the use of advance organizers by seven regular secondary teachers with seven learning disabled students. Advance organizers did positively affect students' retention of information, but only after students were taught to attend to and use the advance organizers. (Author/DB)

Investigated cognitive assembly processes underlying speech production. Reported results of two experiments demonstrating that when students used an organizing device (an abstract problem-solution sequence) in preparing, practicing, and delivering speeches, they exhibited less silent pausing. (PD)

Examines the effect that learners' prior knowledge has on long-term retention of information. Study (200 undergraduates) found no differences in long-term retention when prior knowledge was controlled, no interaction between prior knowledge and advance organizer strategies, no increased long-term retention with advance organizers, and no increased…

This paper presents a developmental study of the effects of item rehearsal on children's short term memory. Two experiments are discussed. The first, involving second and sixth grade children, concerned the relationship between item retrieval ability and rehearsal strategies in item recall. The design of the experiment involved varying the visual…

The effects of prepassage questions quizzing information of different structural importance on college students' memory for expository prose passages were compared. Results indicated that questions which direct the subjects' attention to material at the top of the organizational structure facilitate the effective encoding of the central…

Young children's intentional preparation for future recall of the location of an object was examined within the context of a delayed-reaction paradigm. Children older than 3 years stored the object at distinctive locations and thereby facilitated retrieval. Feedback, viewing consequences, and suggestions for strategy positively influenced…

The effects of pictorial advance organizers presented before reading a passage on the retention of passage information were examined for 48 children in grade 5. Those given an integrated pictorial advance organizer recalled more than did others on both immediate and delayed tests of recall. (SLD)

Three experiments examined the effects of outlines prefacing text and headings inserted in the text on the recall of prose by 178 undergraduates. Results indicate that a combination of outlines and headings best benefit readers' recall. Results are discussed from a schema activation perspective. (SLD)

To provide a test of the notion that criterial task knowledge facilitates learning and, consequently, performance in studying, a study examined the effects of an explicit prereading task directive and an explicit postreading criterion on the studying behaviors of 40 college undergraduates. After presentation of a prereading task directive prepared…