Effects of Mnemonic Reconstructions on the Spatial Learning of Adolescents with Learning Disabilities

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Abstract
Thirty-nine seventh- and eighth-grade students with learning disabilities received verbal and spatial information about eighteenth-century North American battles under two conditions. In the control condition, learners were provided a map depicting locations of battles, accompanied by descriptive/decorative pictures. Mnemonic condition learners received the same map with the exception that pictures accompanying place names represented reconstructed keywords of those names. In both conditions, pictures were colored red if they represented British victories, blue if they represented American victories. After a training session and a 90-second filler activity, students were asked to locate each battle on an unlabeled map and indicate which side had won the battle. Analysis of results indicated that mnemonic condition students significantly outperformed controls on measures of spatial relocation and correct matching of place name with victor. Effects were especially pronounced on the measure of spatial relocation, in which an effect size of over two standard deviations was obtained. Implications for research and practice are discussed.