The testing effect, defined as the positive effect of "retrieval practice" (i.e., self-testing) on long-term memory retention relative to other ways to support learning, is a robust empirical phenomenon. Despite substantial scientific evidence for the testing effect, less is known about its effectiveness in relation to individual…

In the present study, we explored how linguistic skills (phonological and semantic) influence the multiple components of school arithmetic (numeration, computation, and word problems) by analyzing them sequentially. We studied a sample of 262 schoolchildren, aged 8 to 11, nested in 27 classrooms, using the following measures: semantic skills,…

An account was tested of the development of the interplay between automatic processes and cognitive resources in reading. According to compensatory-encoding theory, with advancing skill, readers increasingly keep automatic processes from faltering and provide timely, accurate data to working memory by pausing, looking back, rereading, and…

The relationship between partial word knowledge and instruction was investigated for 132 college students. When correct usage could be chosen on the basis of general semantic constraints, subjects did well and instruction had no effect. However, studying dictionary definitions did increase the amount of specific information available in memory.…

The retention of semantic, surface grammatical, and lexical information obtained from reading prose passages was tested after four time intervals, ranging from just after reading to one week later. (Editor)

New vocabulary was taught to 147 college students, in two experiments, by 1 of 3 methods: keyword, semantic context, and no-strategy control. There was no evidence that keyword-mediated gains on learning vocabulary-associated definitions were obtained at the expense of acquisition of other information. Applications for instruction are discussed.…

This study identified cognitive processes that underlie individual differences in working memory (WM) and mathematical problem-solution accuracy in elementary school children at risk and not at risk for serious math difficulties (SMD). A battery of tests was administered that assessed problem solving, achievement, and cognitive processing in…