The kind of semantic information that facilitates relearning was investigated. The paradigm consisted of three stages: (1) learn a list of number-word pairs; (2) return for a retention test; and (3) relearn a new list of pairs that have various kinds of semantic relatedness to the originally learned pairs. (Author/CTM)

Based on a comparison between two types of questions reflecting a distinction among various levels of learning--verbatim or rote and high order or meaningful--it is hypothesized that meaningful learning postquestions would facilitate retention more than rote-learning postquestions. (RC)

This paper outlines several "tricks" that aid students in improving their memories. The distinctions between operational and figural thought processes are noted. Operational memory is described as something that allows adults to make generalizations about numbers and the rules by which they may be combined, thus leading to easier memorization.…

The purpose of this study was to determine an optimal schedule for the frequency and spacing of drill and practice in the learning of verbal information. Subjects for the first phase were 62 fourth, fifth, and sixth graders in a public elementary school. Using a computer-based drill involving the naming of the capitals of the 50 states of the…

Description of a study testing for retention of visual material identified as being familiar or unfamiliar to the subjects. (HB)

The comprehension and recall of instructional text is heavily dependent upon the contexts in which information input and retrieval occur. College students (N=44) recalled the contents of a hierarchically structured text immediately after study and again six weeks later. Total meaningful recall was better when the superordinate concepts, or cues,…

Retroactive interference (RI) in prose learning was investigated in an experiment where passages were constructed on the basis of a predetermined logical structure. This structure made it possible to operationally define similarity and assess the effects of RI for inferential information as well as that stated directly in the original passage.…

Reports a study which examined the effects of audio and visual approaches to rhythm reading and short-term retention in second and sixth grade students. Sixth graders learned the patterns twice as fast as younger children. Simultaneous use of both auditory and visual channels facilitates learning. (Author/AEM)

A cross-sectional study that investigated memory variables in 100 subjects in 4 age ranges (17-22, 40-50, 60-70, and 75-99) found that the 60-70 year olds were more impaired with respect to retrieval than storage and the major problem with memory among the 75-99 year olds was retrieval from short- or long-term memory. Because the study was…

Assessing the effect of memory improvement strategies upon long-term forgetting, two studies investigated the influence of popular mnemonic devices (the keyword method and the "method of loci") upon forgetting relative to rote rehearsal. The first study (79 subjects) compared the forgetting of French vocabulary words learned either by…

Undergraduates enrolled in a Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) (Keller Plan) section of Principles of Educational Psychology at Mississippi State University were subjects in a study of the effects of no review (NR), review questions (RQ), and review concepts (RC), on short-term retention in a PSI class. The NR group received no review. The…

This was a study to see whether students learn specific material better in classes which emphasize recitation on fact questions or recitation which involves the students in higher cognitive reasoning and interpreting skills. A series of 10 one-hour ecology lessons were taught by specially trained teachers; the same curriculum materials were…

Compares two studies on the relation between comprehension and memory: (1) how access to text affected comprehension; (2) the effect of different learning goals (memorization or comprehension) on learning. Concludes that constructive learning activities are important for later utilization of information. Suggests a model of reading, learning, and…

A study was made to determine how the rate of spelling and the retention of spelling words was influenced by the number and spacing of practice presentations on unlearned words. Sixth-grade students (42) in East Palo Alto were drilled by a computer for 6 weeks on six lists of 12 different spelling words each. They drilled on one list until (1)…

Rote learning and retention performance was studied as a function of method used in original learning and as a function of intellectual level. Sixty educable mentally retarded and 60 mentally normal junior high school students were randomly selected and assigned to one of three treatment groups, each learning to a different criterion, for each…