The keyword method of vocabulary learning was compared with five methods designed to increase semantic processing of the definitions of vocabulary words. The method enhanced vocabulary/definition (associative) learning, but not definition (response) learning per se. In contrast, the semantic conditions tended to increase nonassociative learning of…

Elaborative interrogation was compared to the construction of imaginary representations to determine its efficacy in fact learning. Four experiments, involving a total of 260 undergraduate students, indicated that elaborative interrogation is equally as powerful a learning procedure as is imaginary representation and that both are useful during…

Evidence is presented to demonstrate that arranging word lists on distinctive visual patterns results in better recall performance than does presenting the same word lists on a pattern that is always the same. Results of three experiments using college age students are reported. (Author/LMO)

The keyword method was compared to the context method of learning new vocabulary in two experiments with undergraduate subjects. In both experiments the keyword method produced significantly greater definition recall. Implications for vocabulary learning theories in particular, and discovery learning approaches in general, are discussed.…

The relationship between reading achievement and ability to process verbal information in achieving and nonachieving fourth-grade readers is examined. Evaluation of verbal processing abilities indicated that achieving readers performed better on all abilities measured except automatic word processing. (Author/PN)

The utility of the keyword method is assessed in three experiments where eighth-grade students were asked to learn the purported accomplishments of various individuals, as described in several short fictitious passages. The method appears to hold promise for improving students' learning of a variety of school content. (Author/AL)

Phonological coding in printed-word recognition in English was studied by examining the use made of syllable information by skilled and less skilled readers in the second grade and by adults. The results are discussed in terms of an interactive model of reading. (Author/PN)

Original thinking was examined in 142 middle- and lower-class children across a wide range of age (7-13 years) and intellectual ability (low average to gifted). The instruments were lenient and stringent solution-standard measures of original problem solving and two subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. (Author/PN)