Mnemonic Techniques for Improving Young Children's Prose Learning: Providing versus Constructing Illustrations

by Theodosiou, Gabriella.

The major purpose of the current study was to compare four different instructional variations (providing or constructing either representational or mnemonic pictures) to determine which approach is best for improving second and third-grade students’ prose learning. The four experimental conditions directly compared the immediate and delayed memory benefits associated with these four approaches. The to-be-learned materials consisted of passages describing prehistoric animals and their distinguishing characteristics. Findings indicated an overall mnemonic advantage on both the immediate and delayed tests. No memory benefits appeared to be associated with picture construction. These results are in agreement with previous research findings that demonstrated the prose-learning superiority of mnemonic illustrations in comparison to representational pictures. 10