The use of the "keyword" method as a tool for improving memory in learning disabled students is explained. The keyword method consists of two stages: an acoustical link stage and a stage in which the student is provided with a picture of the keyword interacting with the appropriate response term. The method can be modified for use in…

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…

This article describes the concept and varieties of mnemonic instruction and how mnemonics interacts with the specific learning characteristics of learning-disabled students. The effectiveness of the techniques, as reported in research studies, is described. Implications for classroom instruction and further research are provided. (DB)

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…

Comparison of teaching U.S. history content to learning disabled junior-high school students using either mnemonic or nonmnemonic materials found that students learned substantially more information when instructed mnemonically. Teachers felt the mnemonic materials were significantly more appropriate for these students than traditional…

Thirty studies that examined mathematics strategies for use with learning-disabled students are reviewed. The studies evaluated reinforcement and goal setting on seat work performance, specific strategies for computation and problem solving, mnemonic strategies, peer mediation, and computer-assisted instruction. Virtually all instructional…

The paper describes the keyword method for vocabulary instruction with learning disabled, mentally retarded, gifted, and typical students. The keyword method, a mnemonic technique using visual imagery, involves recoding, relating, and retrieving. Building fluency, using scientific word parts to understand complex words, and generalizing to…

The keyword and pegword methods, related mnemonic strategies to improve performance in encoding and retrieving factual information, are described as effective procedures for helping special education and remedial students increase their learning and memory skills. (JW)

A study compared the reading fluency, comprehension strategies, and content test scores of 16 students with mild disabilities who participated in a nine-week world history class taught using peer tutoring or teacher-directed guided notes. Students who were participated in peer tutoring significantly outperformed the other students on content-area…

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.…

This evaluation study (with 45 middle school students with learning disabilities) found that students trained in summarization procedures performed significantly higher on all dependent measures of reading comprehension than those receiving traditional instruction. Also, on some measures, students also trained in self-monitoring outperformed those…

This critique of Edwin Ellis's Integrative Strategy Instruction model for integrating cognitive strategies into content area learning for students with learning disabilities comments on the model's similarities to other cognitive strategy training models, the role of mnemonic techniques in content area learning, and the need to incorporate…

Two experiments comparing the effectiveness of direct versus mnemonic instruction in teaching learning-disabled high school students (N=56) and educable mentally retarded junior high school students (N=8) about the hardness of minerals indicated that students taught with the mnemonic pictorial method substantially outperformed direct instruction…

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.…

Seventh- and eighth-grade students with learning disabilities (n=29) who reasoned through factual prose sentences did not recall more information than students who were prompted to try to remember the content after each sentence. However, students trained in thinking skills produced more correct explanations of the information than control…