Constructing more meaningful relationships: Mnemonic instruction for special populations

Abstract

This article describes a model for reconstructing associative learning tasks along the dimensions of meaningfulness and concreteness, and for providing pictorial elaborations between stimulus and response information to promote learning in a variety of content domains. The research reviewed is of direct relevance to students with histories of learning failure in schools; we argue that such elaborative strategies are suitable especially for these handicapped learners. Initial investigations of mnemonic techniques involving the use of keywords and pegwords are described. Next, the broader approach of “reconstructive elaborations,” incorporating such strategies as the keyword method, is described. Several recent field investigations are presented, in which this approach was implemented in classrooms over extensive time periods. Finally, we discuss future applications, with particular reference to the transfer issue.