Types of memory strategies generated by fifth and seventh grade students for academic tasks
Abstract
In an effort to understand how individuals memorize material, much of the memory research in the last 10 years has focused on metamemory. Metamemory involves an awareness of appropriate memory strategies for specific tasks, knowing when and how to employ an appropriate strategy, and monitoring the effectiveness of the strategy. A test of memory performance and a metamemory questionnaire were administered to approximately 100 students. From these measures, 40 students in the fifth and seventh grades were identified for participation in this study. There were 10 students in each of four groups--Fifth Grade High Memory Ability, Fifth Grade Low Memory Ability, Seventh Grade High Memory Ability, and Seventh Grade Low Memory Ability. In individual interviews, the students were asked to state how they would study for three separate academic tasks--a spelling list, a number task involving the distance of the planets from the sun, and a visual task involving the parts of a microscope. The purpose of the study was to determine the types of memory strategies the students would generate for use with specific memory tasks. The study was designed to determine if there were differences among the groups in the types of strategies they would generate, in the number of strategies they could generate, and in the strategies they perceived to be the best for given tasks. The results of this study made it possible to develop an organizational structure or taxonomy for a wide range of memory strategies. Each of the groups was aware of a wide variety of memory strategies including rehearsal, organization, and elaboration strategies. This study revealed that the difference between the high and low memory ability groups was not in the number or variety of strategies they were able to generate, but in the appropriateness of the strategies selected as the best and in the strategies selected for monitoring study behavior.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Newby, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Curricula|Teaching
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